© Dartmoor Pony Rescue Centre 2007
Re-homing Socks & Star
Socks and Star are our first ponies to be rehomed and they have been taken on by a lady called Mandy. For more information on how they are getting on please look at our updates page or news section.
They are now living with 2 goats and a horse called Marco. They settled in remarkably well and were very well behaved throughout the journey. You can see how they get on on ITV’s This Morning show on Thursday the 12th of October.
If anyone is interested in taking one of our ponies on loan then please contact us for more information.
All ponies that we re-home have been castrated and vaccinated.
We try and find homes for the ponies in pairs to minimise the stress they suffer going to a new home. We have a questionnaire that we send out to people who are interested in our scheme and if we think we have something suitable then we will set up a home check to visit their facilities and check that they are suitable.
Once this goes ahead we ask the new ‘Loaner’ to come out and work with the ponies 2 or 3 times before the ponies go to their new home. This is so that they can learn how they have been trained, any things that need to have special attention and things that need to be worked on.
Once the pony has gone to its new home we keep in regular contact with the loan home via the telephone and we go out and do a number of home visits. After the first month, 3 months after this and 6 months after this and if everything is okay we will start visiting yearly. The ponies always belong to the DPRC, but we have a loan agreement that states that the pony is looked after completely by the loaner. We are able to take the pony back at any point if there are problems, but generally we try to make the new loaners feel that they are their ponies, part of their family and with them for good! We try not to interfere in any way though we are able to give advice on training, worming etc.
Basil and Reggie have successfully moved to their new home with Phil and Deb on the outskirts of Exeter. They are living with two five year old mares Strawberry and Meander and have their own American barn to wander in and out of. The move went very smoothly with Basil surprisingly being the bravest out of the two and deciding to load almost straight away. Reggie cautiously followed him and both soon settle for their journey when they found the hay!
On arrival at the their new home they both unloaded perfectly and took in their new surroundings. We led them in to their field and waited whilst Phil and Deb caught Strawberry and Meander and brought them over to introduce them. We let them all sniff each other and then let them all go! They were very quiet at first with Strawberry being more interested in the hay that had been put out! Meander took an immediate liking to Basil and was licking him almost immediately. She later tried to get closer to Reggie but having once turned her backside on him he wasn’t so keen to say hello again just yet!
We left them to it and then a few days later had an update on their progress from Phil and Deb as follows:
“Basil and Reggie are now in charge-they have shown Strawberry and Meander where the hay is kept and taught them how to gallop across the field tearing up as much grass as possible.
They wander everywhere as a group and if either Basil or Reggie stray off on their own Meander rounds them back into the herd with 'moon' eyes and maternal instincts. Strawberry for so long bossed about by Meander is enjoying showing how big and strong she is but in a friendly manner.
Seriously guys things are going really well-the ponies seem happy and every morning there are flattened bed shapes in the straw in the back of the barn. They are happy to be groomed and look forward to bucket time!-especially if there's a sprinkle of cool mix with their chaff. They are a real pair of characters and holding their own easily with the big girls-We were wondering if they were brave enough to come into the barn but on the first night when we brought the girls in they followed on , managed to barge the gates and discovered the hay store.
It's a shame you didn't stay for 10 minutes longer on Sunday-after you left all hell broke loose with 2 horses and 2 ponies careering around the field bucking veering charging and everything else physically possible. Just as we started to panic they all stopped and started doing their favourite thing - eating!
They all seem very happy together and we cannot thank you enough for the great work you are doing-please feel free to call round anytime and see them.”
Welcome to the Re-homing section:
For our latest news please click here.
To view our new sales list please click here.
To view our new rehoming journal please click here.
Click here to download a Loan Homes Questionnaire & Contact Details Document
The ponies that we take on at market every year stay with us until they are happy to be around people and when we feel that they are ready to be re-homed we start looking for possible loan homes for them.
At the moment we have quite a few ponies taken on in 2006 that will be looking for loan homes in spring summer 2007. For pictures of them please go to our website photo gallery and look at the “Meet our ponies” section. Here you will find some lovely photos of some of the ponies that will need re-homing soon.
We normally look for loan homes that will take on two ponies, as this will give them more stability when they go to their new home. Also, as the ponies are only normally a year old when they are re-homed we try to find homes that already have an older horse or pony so that the new ones have a role model. This again makes them feel more secure in their new homes.
We do, however, consider homing ponies individually, but this only really happens when we have a really confident pony, and there must be an older horse at the new home.
We try to vaccinate and castrate all the ponies that come to us before they are re-homed. If we feel a pony is ready to be re-homed before they can be castrated (they are too young to be operated on,) then we would either ask the loaners to arrange for the castration, or try and sort out alternative arrangements e.g. the ponies coming back to us for the operation.
We try and make sure that all ponies are happy to be caught, led around, have their feet picked up and be tied up before they are re-homed. However, most ponies will always require more work when they go to their new home. They may need more work on picking up their feet for the farrier for example, or need a little more leading practice.
We hope to have more information on ponies currently for loan in the “Our Ponies” section of the website. Here you can find out more about individual ponies and when they will be ready to be re-homed.
Most of the ponies we take on have absolutely nothing “wrong” with them. They are just normally a bit wary of people. The ponies that we work with can go on to be fantastic riding, driving or therapy ponies, or just fantastic companions. We don’t require that you break them to ride or drive when they are old enough. Actually the most important thing to us and to them is that you can provide them with a loving, stable, long-term home. Oh and a bit of hay in the winter and lots of cuddles!
If you are interested in re-homing then either download a copy of our loan home questionnaire (you can get by clicking here) and send it back to the address on the form, or call us: Nat: 07802 218169 or Kathryn: 07751 218093. We are happy to discuss any queries you may have and are always on the look out for good, kind, long-term homes for our fantastic ponies.