Mare and foal rescued in Ebbw Vale

A pony and her foal have been rescued in Ebbw Vale after concerns were raised about their welfare.

PHOTO: RSPCA

The mare and her foal were recently found in the Brynmawr area and sadly were found alongside two dead ponies. They had strayed into private land, but were believed to be from the nearby commons.

The RSPCA were notified on 9 May and attended that day, and were able to pull together a small team who were there until dark. However due to the conditions and the need for specialist equipment due to the unhandled nature of the ponies the attempt had to be aborted.

The mare and pony have since been monitored by the RSPCA and volunteers over the past couple of weeks, whilst specialist arrangements could be made to remove them. A multi-agency team was then arranged for Wednesday 21 May.

RSPCA Inspector Suzanne Smith said: “The first rescue attempt posed too much of a risk due to environmental risks and also risks to the mare due to her poor condition.

“In the meantime we ensure they were monitored and we’re very thankful to the volunteers who provided hay, water and also checked on them until we were able to organise a specialist team and equipment to safely rescue her and her foal.

“Since our initial rescue attempt she had pushed through a fence onto derelict farmland since and this had better grazing so she has become much stronger.”

She said the RSPCA would like to thank everyone for their assistance in what has been a multi-charity operation.

“We’d like to thank all the volunteers for working with us, as it meant she was then in a better condition to cope with the stress of rescue and transport - giving her the best prognosis,” said Inspector Smith.

“We’d also like to thank HorseWorld, The British Horse Society and World Horse Welfare for their assistance. The pony and her foal are now safe in charitable care and will receive the veterinary treatment and care they need.”

Inspector Smith said public frustration is understood - but it can take time to assemble a rescue operation.

“It's always difficult in such circumstances,” she said. “Whilst we understand public frustration and that it may appear we are doing nothing - a lot of work is usually being done behind the scenes to resolve a situation - and with a number of organisations and other charities.”

The RSPCA is now appealing for information about a possible owner.

If anyone does have any first-hand information about their owners please contact the RSPCA on 0300 123 8018, quoting incident 01515234.