A pony found tied to the front gates of an industrial site unit in Doncaster is doing well, now he is safe in our care at Bransby Horses.
Workers arrived at S.I.M Warehouse and Logistics Company on Shaw Lane Industrial Estate to find the pony looking bewildered but otherwise calm.
They created a holding pen and gave him a bucket of water before calling our Welfare Line, which they found on our website, for advice.
Welfare manager Rachel Jenkinson said: “When we arrived we knew we would have to remove him from where he was as it was not a safe environment for him to remain in, mainly due to the high volume of lorries and trucks entering and leaving the facility.
“As we are not allowed by law to take any animal without the owner’s consent we issued an Abandonment Notice, which meant the police were then able to grant us the authority to take the pony to our main site farm, for the duration of the Notice, in the hope an owner would come forward and claim him.”
An Abandonment Notice is part of the Control of Horses Act and involves a notice being clearly displayed where a horse has been taken from, informing the owner where their animal is and how they can get it back.
This notice runs for four working days and if no one comes forward in that time the horse then becomes the responsibility of the land owner who then has a number of choices as to what they do next.
In this case, the pony was not microchipped and his owner could not be traced. As the two year old pony was in the best place, he was immediately signed over to us as we were able to provide him with the care and attention he needed.
Since being at Bransby Horses, the pony, who has been named Simmy after the company that found him, has received veterinary and farriery treatment and is enjoying life out in a securely fenced grass paddock – a far cry from the industrial estate he was found on.
Simmy stands around 12hh high, is dark grey and has a very friendly nature. Overall, he has settled well into life here at Bransby Horses and it is hoped he may be rehomed through our Perfect Partner rehoming scheme once he is ready.
What the law says about horse ownership
Since 2020 it has been a legal requirement for all equine owners to make sure their horses are microchipped and the details of ownership are up to date.
Microchips are important as they allow owners to be traced through the Central Equine Database- check www.equineregister.co.uk.
If you have a horse make sure your details are up to date with the Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO) and the microchip is properly registered with them. This will help lost or stolen horses to be reunited with their owners.
An Abandonment Notice runs for four working days and unfortunately, Simmy’s expired without anyone coming forward. At the end of the notice, the ownership of the animal is legally transferred to the landowner who can then decide what to do with the equine, which can include selling or rehoming them.
