Shropshire woman gives ponies a new home after elderly neighbour dies
[gallery] Nearly 20 ponies which were left alone after their elderly owner died are now being cared for by a neighbouring family.
When horse-lover Donna Bowen, 23, heard there were 19 ponies left without an owner at a stables near her family's home at Halford, near Craven Arms, she felt she had to do something.
Miss Bowen, who lives with her father Wayne, 47, and mother Trudy, 42, has her own horses and a 12-week-old baby, Kyra, to look after – but said she couldn't turn a blind eye to the ponies after a cry for help.
She said she went to investigate with her brother Rhys's partner Megan Cotterell and found the ponies up to their knees in mud and faeces.
She said: "The lady who died was two fields up from us. The police got in touch to say could you look after them for a short period while things are sorted out, and they asked us as we're more experienced with horses.
"I've had horses all my life and I've taken in lots of rescues before.
"We went down there and I couldn't believe what greeted us, it was horrific.
"I went into the stables and I thought 'these mares are about to pop, they're all in foal,' but we had a look and they were all colts – they were full of worms.
"Me and my dad let the first couple out and they literally fell to the ground."
She said the ponies were knee deep in compacted mud and faeces and their hooves had been left to curl up.
She said she is now looking after the ponies whenever she can, thanks to her mother stepping in to look after Kyra when she is out.
In addition, she is in talks with the authorities to get ownership of the ponies signed over to her.
"We're still waiting for someone to step forward as next of kin, but in the meantime we're trying to make sure they have a Christmas full of love," she said.
Already nearly £600 has been raised to help get the ponies in good health again, she said, via fundraising website gofundme.com as well as the efforts of The Brewery Inn in Coalport, near Ironbridge. We've also had loads of donations of hay and bedding and wormers," she said.
"If we get them signed over, we're going to have to find suitable new owners for all of them – they deserve all the love someone could give them."
Sophie Wilkinson, of the RSPCA in Shropshire, said an inspector had been out to see the ponies yesterday to see if there was anything they could do. She said they did not have any previous complaints about the ponies' welfare on their system.
To donate to the ponies' upkeep, visit www.gofundme.com/iuziv4
