Caroline Hickling

The Story of Annie the Rescue Mare

This is Annie, a 7 year old cob mare who started off life in a less than pleasant way. I rented a small holding where there was enough room for more than the 2 young ponies we had got already. I had a phone call asking can we take in a mare and 2 week old foal?! Absolutely yes! She arrived off the trailer very scared, little foal at foot. She was in a pretty bad state with scars across her chest where she had gone through a barbed wire fence, terrified of being caught. Over the coning days she lost weight very badly. It took no end of feeds, finding the right balance for her, she was like a bag of bones at one point. But then I found the right balance and she put it on very fast! She looked a picture! Lenny, her foal, was doing wonderfully too along side her. I started to gain her trust and even managed to groom her a little bit, only what she was comfortable with though, not too much. It was all going well... until... we were told that there was the wrong planning on the small holding and equines were not allowed there. It was a mess!!