Pony's gone from death's door 'to winning hearts'

A tiny foal found critically ill has been nursed back to health and is now "winning hearts" at a sanctuary for horses and ponies in Lancashire.

Charlotte Melvin, from World Horse Welfare, said the pony, who had been named Pickle, was struggling to breathe and unable to stand up and riddled with infections.

"He very nearly didn't make it, but eventually turned a corner and started to recover," she said.

Now the diminutive Pickle who is so petite he has had to have a "super mini" head collar made, is a "huge hit" with visitors and the other horses and ponies at the charity's Penny Farm Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Blackpool.

Melvin, who found Pickle last year along with a number of horses, said the animal was "clearly very ill and in urgent need of help".

"He was really struggling to breathe. When he tried to stand as I walked up to him, he just couldn't get up.

"He tested positive for multiple illnesses, including strangles, equine flu, and salmonella, and was so weak that he kept collapsing."

Pickle was taken for immediate treatment at a holding yard, where he was nursed back to health.

"The team worked so hard to nurse him back to health and his vet said she's never known a pony test positive for salmonella as many times as he did," Melvin said.

She said hearing he was finally well enough to travel to Penny Farm was "amazing" news.

When she went to collect him, she said: "It was just incredible to see how bright he'd become.

"The contrast from that tiny foal who was too weak to stand and could barely breathe was extraordinary."

Now he has completed his quarantine period, Pickle has joined the other horses and ponies on the main yard at the farm and "immediately started winning hearts", Penny Farm manager Adam Cummins said.

"At a year old, Pickle is still only a teeny seven hands high (28 inches) so it's no surprise that our visitors fall in love with him as soon as they set eyes on him.

"He's both extremely cute and a really lovely character," he added.

"There's going to be a long list of people wanting to rehome him when he's ready – but that's a long way off yet.

"For now, he's enjoying being a happy young pony playing with his friends – he's got a lot of fun to catch up on after being so ill at such a young age."

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