Thursday 26th June - unwell pony - please keep an eye on her

A concerned member of the public contacted HIWWT to report that one of the ponies appeared unwell. As I was nearby, I went to check on them. At around 19:35, two ponies emerged from the thicket and wandered over to greet me near ///pints.penny.adapt. The third pony, Pandora — identifiable by the white star on her forehead — was lying down about 150 metres to the south.

After a short time, Pandora got up and came over to for a neck rub, which she appeared to enjoy, before wandering into some nearby bracken. There, she pawed at the ground several times before lying down again, rolling onto her back multiple times before settling to rest.

A little later, Pandora came back over to where I was standing and lay down on her side at my feet. She allowed me to sit with her, give her a good check, and continue stroking her. During this time, she appeared restless and at times showed rapid breathing. I immediately informed the owner, who set off for the site. 

While I waited with Pandora, I offered her some water, which she drank. Meanwhile, the other two ponies continued grazing east towards the trees, eventually moving out of sight. Pandora got up and moved towards them before lying down again. I alternated between sitting with her and watching from a distance, but thankfully, she showed no signs of deterioration.

Shortly before 21:00, Pandora got up once more and returned for another neck rub. Soon after, she urinated — initially with slight straining — and then began grazing, which was a surprising and encouraging development. As she walked over and joined the other two ponies in the thicket, I stayed close to keep an eye on her and noticed that she kept grazing without lying down again.

Eventually, all three ponies gathered near the fire hydrant sign for a drink before continuing to graze in the northwest corner of the site. One by one, they each came over to spend time with me, happily accepting more strokes and rubs. Thankfully, Pandora was no longer showing any signs of discomfort.

Unfortunately, heavy traffic delayed the owner’s arrival until after dark. By that time, the ponies had remained in the same corner, but as we approached with torches, they moved deeper into the trees and completely out of sight.

I plan to return in the morning to check on them again.