We are now a year and a half into the campaign to rescue, rehabilitate and re-home the “Kiss” ponies. For readers who have recently joined our Friends list the “Kiss” Campaign involves a herd of 48 ponies, sixteen of which were stallions, living in appalling conditions of deliberate cruelty. The owner of these animals has been to court several times and is currently under a five-year ban to prevent him from keeping horses or ponies. Unfortunately this does not deter him from attempting to keep and breed more ponies. He has been trying desperately hard to take back 5 ponies that have remained here at the Centre and his intimidation has put us under great stress. Our whole policy here at the Centre is to rescue and enhance the quality of life for any equine. In this case, however, the intolerable, cruel conditions to which he wished to return them would make death more acceptable.

Our workload here at the Centre is made doubly more difficult because two of the ponies still remain as stallions and he refuses to allow us to have them castrated. Consequently they cannot live normal lives out with the herd and, furthermore, have to be hidden away so the owner cannot snatch them back. “But the Court has said he is banned from keeping ponies”, you say. Sorry folks, these abusers are used to court orders like this and their simple answer is, “They don’t belong to me; they belong to my wife”.

Some of the ponies that were rescued in the spring are still too traumatised to lead normal lives but all of us here are working very hard to lead them back to trusting and believing that there is another life to be enjoyed. Your support can help us achieve this but it takes £££££££££’s, time, patience and love.