Way back in June 2012 at the height of the horse crisis in the UK, a day-old colt foal was abandoned by the roadside in County Durham.
It was Appleby Fair week and many horses were on the move at that time.
Several charities were called and the RSPCA arranged for a BHS volunteer to bring him in to us - Patrick promptly kicked her on arrival (not terribly appreciative of him), which still makes us all laugh to this day 🤣.
Patrick’s coat was still damp from the birth and he was immediately introduced to hourly bottle feeds.
It was a good thing he was cute because it wasn’t much fun for the team getting up through the night for weeks and weeks, to feed him.
Orphan foals can be tricky to raise well and we set out from the start to make sure he knew he was a horse and not one of us!
An elder mare ‘Adele’ (also an RSPCA case), took to him over the stable wall and he adopted her very quickly; settling into a charmed life for a youngster here at Farnley Farm.
The rest as they say is history …
The BHS borrowed him for a while for a campaign to raise awareness of the national horse crisis but Wendy was always ‘the lady who looks after me’ and he eventually grew up and went to her friend and former Chair of our Trustees, Claire Robinson, to be backed and start his ridden career.
He has now been shown in-hand and under saddle many times and has carried riders to success at the Riding Schools Championships.
He is now settled on the Here4Horses Loanie Pony Scheme and we are delighted to have found a perfect partner for the next stage of his life.
Sponsoring with us is so important to our survival and means that we can continue our lifelong commitment to horses like Patrick - please support Patrick at Here4horses.
