Dartmoor Pony Training Centre - Re-homing Blog

Thanks to Face Book he has a home hooray!

2012-01-15T03:35:00.000-08:00

Well as always tends to happen one of the people who was taking a rescue foal has sadly backed out at the last minute and we have one lonely little black colt who we desperately need to find a home for. As you can see he was a little camera shy!

The vet is due out on Wednesday to microchip and passport the herd and the rest of the ponies will all have been collected by Sunday the 22nd. It would be terrible for this little chap to be left behind alone, or even worse to have to be shot.

If anyone can take this little guy asap please get in touch as soon as you can. The details are still the same as on the original re-homing page. We ask for £30 to cover the chip/passport and you have to arrange your own transport from the farm near Widdecombe on Dartmoor. Foals are approx 9 months old and are totally unhandled. Feel free to email or call me on
sarahedwardstooke@hotmail.com 07846 254682

New herd of foals urgently seeking homes!

2011-11-28T01:47:00.000-08:00

Piebald colt, shetland x type foal Reserved.
Iron grey colt foal. Reserved.
Dun colt foal. Reserved.
Iron grey with white face colt foal. Reserved.
Mousey bay yearling filly. Reserved!

Black colt foal. Reserved.
Black colt foal. Reserved.
Roan faced black colt foal. Reserved.
Piebald colt foal. Reserved.
Bay yearling filly, quite tame and friendly, was hand reared after loosing her mother! Reserved!

Bay yearling colt. Reserved.

STOP PRESS, GREAT NEWS, LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE RE-HOMED ALL OF THESE FOALS. As long as the remaining few people are good to their word and send payment, all the foals now have homes. We are so relieved and grateful to everyone on facebook and the IHDG for spreading the word and offering homes to these little tots. A special mention goes to lovely Catherine who volunteered to drive all the way from Herts to Dartmoor and back, at no profit to herself to collect these ponies for other people. People like that restore my faith in humanity, also thank you to Sam for spreading the word in Herts and to all the people who have offered these ponies homes, THANK YOU XXX

Hi everybody, well rather at the last minute another farmer quite local to us has agreed to let us look for homes for his unsold foals this years. There are now 9 all together still looking for homes, mostly this years foals but also a couple of nice yearlings. I am going to publish a list here from the photos we took. Hopefully the sex of the ponies is correct but we were running around a 5 acre field with 15 wild ponies so you can't sue us if a filly turns out to be a colt lol!

IF you think you could offer a home to one or five ha, of these little chaps please contact me asap (details at the bottom). The lots have now been drawn for the slaughter man who takes these ponies for zoo meat so time is very pressing for these little ponies. The zoo meat scheme is actually very good from a welfare point of view because the ponies a destroyed humanely on the with minimal stress but we still hate to see perfectly lovely foals destroyed before they have had a chance.

Any way the price of the foals is just £30 to cover the price of the microchip and passport, we will arrange to have this done for you once we have a group of ponies ready. Or you can take them without chip and passport for just £15 and get this done yourself later. You will then need to collect the ponies, or arrange a transporter to collect them, directly from the farm near Widdecombe on Dartmoor. We have had groups from farther afield club together to pay transport and come and collect 4 ponies at once. We do have the number of some local transporters but bare in mind that these are un-handled ponies who will need herding in secure areas and you will need to find a way to get funds to us if you are not coming in person to collect.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any further questions. It is very hard for us to guess what specific height these ponies will make as adults but at a guess the will range from 10.2hh to 12.2hh at the most. Just to reiterate, the involvement of our charity is simply to advertise and try to find homes for these ponies, we do not own them, and they are not on our property, we are unable to provide transport and we offer no guaranty as to the height the ponies will make or any other aspect, you are buying straight from the farmer and are taking the same chance as anyone buying a pony from the market or a farm. The photos above are a full list and are the only ponies available from this herd. Having said all that these ponies make wonderful companions, riding or driving ponies and will repay your good deed a thousand times over.

We are also more then happy for experienced people take on ponies to train and then sell on as this could give them the chance they need. A great place to start if you are considering it is to buy Sarah Weston's excellent book on taming the feral foal entitled "No Fear, No Force" available though her website or Amazon. Thank you so much for taking a look, from us at the DPTC and from the ponies xx

please send an email with your name, number and what you might be interested in and I will get straight back to you at sarahedwardstooke@hotmail.com

Last few foals urgently needing homes!!!!!

2011-10-31T08:24:00.000-07:00

These foals are from a very lovely farmer who is working hard at reducing numbers born each year, but this year we agreed to help him re-home these stunning foals. I have one from this herd myself and they are not only very healthy and sound and strong, they also have wonderful personalities and are highly trainable we have re-homed all but 3, which is great, if you think you could take one of these little tots and save them from a fate as lion food please contact us straight away, thanks peeps. I think these are the three that are still available, they will just cost £40 to cover the cost of microchip and passport, so free really lol, and can be collected straight from the farm. They are all fillies x

Hobo x Now happy in his new home!!

2011-08-31T07:15:00.000-07:00

I arrived at the BOYS field to find all of them, except George, lying down at the top of the field. All of them slowly got up to come say hello and the last one still lying down was little Hobo. We collected Hobo as an unclaimed stray, who turned up on a village green where he shouldn't have been, his name is perfect. He had been so lonely and chased about so much that he wanted nothing to do with people, up until a few weeks ago he would only have a halter on if a bucket of food was involved. Then last week with a little more work he progressed very qiuckly and let Natalie and me put on and take of a head collar without food. So today when I arrived I thought I'd sneak up and get a picture of him relaxing if I could get close enough. Not only was he happy with a picture but he let me spend several minutes scratching him and just chilling out while he lay there. A very special moment to see this pony letting humans be with him at his most vulnerable. Bless him. So here are his pictures because he is of course looking for a loan home. He's now 2 and a bit years old and around 11.1hh. Hobo is another really sweet but sensitive boy. He has just learnt to wear a headcollar and be led around a little bit. We'll be building up from this to get him more and more confident and then work on picking up his feet. He's learning quickly but needs a sensitive home to take him further. Would be a fab companion pony, he had a rough start in life and he may reflect this mentally and physically but we like to believe that they all deserve a chance to be loved and cherished and lead a happy little life.

Milo off to a new home with Courage!

2011-08-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

Milo came back to us recently with Merry, he is a little less flighty and has been good to catch and lead but will be getting more regular foot work now that he is back with us. He is very dark but with a little mealy muzzle, he is a very handsome little chap who could do any job in the right hands.

Merry x NOW available again!!

2011-08-31T06:49:00.000-07:00

Merry is another very very pretty pony, would make a really special little kids riding pony. He came back to us from a loan home through no fault of his own but is at the moment still feeling a little sensitive but grows in confidence every day. Merry will really thrive with someone with the time to put into him and as much as we'd miss him he is really hasn't nearly fulfilled his potential. He is in the front of the picture with Brambles peeking over in that picture when he still had his simmer coat on, he is currently gorgeous and fluffy lol!

2011-08-31T06:44:00.000-07:00

Brambles x

2011-08-31T06:38:00.000-07:00

Now here is one of my personal favourites, such a stunner and definitly going to prove that you don't need to shell out a fortune to get real quality pony. Hill ponies are by no means always the poorer cousins of the stud bred Darties! This is Brambles 3 and a bit years old. Around 12hh high and dark bay. He is a really handsome chappy and has a lovely nature. He is fine to be caught, led around and be handled but needs work on his feet. He is okay with his front feet but we're working to get him confident on his backs. Since moving to the main fields he is like a constant shadow to anyone who's around, he is desperate for attention and often chooses people over other ponies for company, I would just love to find a really special home for him. He would make a lovely show pony or kids riding pony. The ultimate diamond in the rough lol!

Rona x

2011-08-31T06:36:00.000-07:00

Next is little Rona, so pretty and such a sweet gentle nature. Rona is around 3 years old and 11hh ish. She is a really sweet mare and is very gentle with people. She is often at the bottom of the pecking order but just seems to get on with things. She has mild allergies so would need someone who had experience of this and could keep an eye on her. she loses some condition in the summer due to this so needs lots of care and TLC. I think she would make a fab kids pony / companion with the right home. Maybe you are that home?

Rowan x Gone off to his new home yay!

2011-08-31T06:31:00.000-07:00

This lovely black chap (with a couple of white hankerchiefs, incase you want to do coloured classes lol) is Rowan he's 2 and a bit years old and around 12hh high at the moment. He is really handsome chap and has a lovely mellow temperament. He can be a bit of a teenager sometimes but is very easy to pursuade! He'll make a great riding or driving pony. Needs to get better at having feet handled but very good at catching and leading. Since Hobo arrived from the main fields Rowan has become something of a protector, they can often be found together with Rowan standing guard over Hobo while he sleeps, it's very sweet to see. I guess their lookalike colours means they have formed a secret pony society lol.

Buzz x Happily gone to a new home!

2011-08-31T06:27:00.000-07:00

...and next, another of my favourites, Buzz is a really striking little chap. Buzz is a real sweetie and LOVES attention. He is sometimes a bit "in your face" so we're working with him on creating stronger boundaries at the moment and only allowing him into our space when he's asked to. He is quite stocky but only 11hh ish. Would be ideal for kids pony, driving, farm work etc.as he is very bombproof and scared of nothing! He really needs to be doing something as he has a really active brain and loves attention and fun! Could you be Buzz's forever family?

Star x

2011-08-31T06:24:00.000-07:00

Star came back to us from his previous home where he was a companion pony because he was very overweight. (yes this is the slim version eeek lol) He has a lovely sweet temperament and would make a fab riding / driving pony (quite strong build,) but needs to be doing some kind of work to keep his weight controlled. He is a lovely pony and get's on particularly well with Buzz. He is sweet ans sensitive but very friendly and cuddly and at the moment is looking like a gorgeous cuddly big walrus lol! My daughter Mina particularly loves Star and he is happy to stand and be stroked for ages. We would be so happy to see him go to a new home where he would get all the love and attention he needs.

Tiny Tim x

2011-08-31T06:19:00.000-07:00

Tiny Tim is a real sweetie and as his name suggests, one of our smallest residents he's 2 and a bit years old and around 10hh. Tiny is a real sweetie and great at catching, handling and leading. Needs more foot work - should be getting better soon when we do more work on this! Would make a sweet little childs pony or small driving pony. Needs more confidence building with small children as he's still a little unsure about all the running about that they do lol!

Tinker x in his new home with Buzz.

2011-08-30T02:46:00.000-07:00

Tinker is currently at loan home in Bridford but coming back due to lack of time to bring him on. Ready to be brought on to ride or drive. Lovely handsome cheeky chappy! Tinker turned 4 this year and is about 12hh.

About Re-homing Our Ponies

2010-04-03T20:40:00.000-07:00

The ponies that we take on at market or are donated to us every year stay with us until they are happy to be around people. 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 who have been returned to us through no fault of their own and who are looking for homes. We have been carefully reviewing our rehoming policy to try to avoid this in the future and are thinking of transferring ownership to loaners after 6 months or a year, depending on assesment and providing all parties are happy to go ahead.

We ha in the past looked for homes who can take two ponies and while this is still the ideal, the ponies we have looking for homes now are all between 2 and 5 so as long as there is other equine company we will consider single loans, as this makes them feel more secure in their new homes. It also means if there are three of them it is less likely a pony will get left by itself whilst say the other is being ridd

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 or perhaps had not developed in time to be done that year,) 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. This doesn't apply to any of our current ponies as they are all happily castrated.

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 and some may not have had their feet worked on. Again we assess the home's capability and the ponies available at the time and if we think a new home is able to carry on the ponies education we are happy to home them before being fully trained.

We like the ponies we home to be able to live out 24/7 with shelter.

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 will find it on this link http://www.dptc.org.uk/rehoming.html) and send it back to the address on the form, or give us a call on 01364 654609. 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.