With Kent facing a horse crisis I thought it would be easy finding a charity keen for us to foster horses. We had the land, the time and love to give, a win win situation for all.
A visit from a large animal charity looked promising but they declined our offer to foster saying the field was not up to scratch and they wanted the ponies to be stabled. We were puzzled, we had out buildings which were accessible from the field 24/7. Yes the field was not fully functioning but we stressed it was a work in progress and could see its potential. I felt disheartened by the rejection but Kim continued to search. Then two weeks later she came across a charity called Pukka Ponies, founded by Sarah Daniell.
We particularly liked this charity because it was small (a herd of 20), local and Sarah and her team showed resilience even after a recent arson attack. It seemed fitting to offer our support however small to a charity that was facing such troubled times.
On November 21st 2016, four Pukka Ponies arrived. Let me introduce you to the gang.
Troy
Joker
Peaches
Oreo
We pretty much left the curious ponies alone. A few weeks in and some of their characters started to unravel. Oreo was a cute little pony but don’t let that fool you. He was a cheeky opportunist, always wanting attention, looking for food or treats and trying to sneak through the gate when you weren’t looking. His party piece was knocking over my wheelbarrow full of poo and walking casually away from the crime scene. If he could laugh I’m sure he’d be in stitches.
Peaches and Joker weren’t bothered by my presence which was quite the opposite to Troy (affectionately known as Troy Boy). Troy was a handsome pony but he always kept his distance and watched me with suspicion. Moving him between paddocks was a task, he’d give Kim and I the run around so sometimes we’d drop the taped fence to enable him to cross as this was quicker then trying to catch him. Troy’s nervousness and stand offish manner made him more alluring to me. I was determined to gain his trust but I had no idea how I was going to do it or how long it would take.
