Rehome a Hugs Horse/Pony

Biscuit - Reserved

Biscuit was rescued just before the 2019 Chagford sales. Every year many ‘drifts’ occur across the moors. Here the moor ponies all get rounded up by the farmers/owners and separated into their own stock. Each pony can then be checked, have any appropriate medical care etc before either being returned to the moors or sent to the auctions. Unfortunately as the ponies are rounded up into different pens, the can lose their herds in the panic of the hustle and bustle. Sadly many foals lose their mothers either in the rounding up on the moor or in the pens which means a very sudden and stressful weaning. Doing the drifts in October means that many of the spring foals will be 6 months old by then and about ready to become more independent however this doesn’t take into account any late born foals. These babies are very unlikely to find their mothers again and would not survive if returned to the moors by themselves and so are either sent to the auction or they face the bullet. Any ponies left unclaimed that are rounded up also face this fate. Luckily last year for some of these orphaned foals and unclaimed ponies, a very lovely farmer allowed some of them to wait a week or two on her land to try and find homes before they were ‘disposed of’. Hugs were able to help 5 orphan foals and a young mare with a month old filly at foot.

Biscuit was around 2 months old when she came to Hugs, far too young to be away from her mum. They all had HUGE WORM BURDENS plus eye infections and severe rainscald! Unfortunately for Biscuit, her immune system was very run down and she was covered in infected scabs from rainscald so she was clipped and had medicated baths to treat in and help kill the bacteria. She is fully recovered now! We did a lot of handling work with them so they got used to having headcollars on (to make administration of medication easier!) plus we slowly got them used to being stroked and brushed. We are continuing to work with this little herd (and a few other youngsters from the sales) and they are now ready for rehoming. Please get in touch if you could offer a loving home, they will make fab children’s ponies and companions. Biscuit is such a character! She’s a very confident little monkey who loves giving staff the run around!! She’s always interested in what’s happening. Once caught (she does love food!), she’s quiet to lead, groom and is good with her feet. She has a very beautiful, unusual coloured coat and will make a stunning children’s pony or companion.

Branston

Branston was rescued just before the 2019 Chagford sales. Every year many ‘drifts’ occur across the moors. Here the moor ponies all get rounded up by the farmers/owners and separated into their own stock. Each pony can then be checked, have any appropriate medical care etc before either being returned to the moors or sent to the auctions. Unfortunately as the ponies are rounded up into different pens, the can lose their herds in the panic of the hustle and bustle. Sadly many foals lose their mothers either in the rounding up on the moor or in the pens which means a very sudden and stressful weaning. Doing the drifts in October means that many of the spring foals will be 6 months old by then and about ready to become more independent however this doesn’t take into account any late born foals. These babies are very unlikely to find their mothers again and would not survive if returned to the moors by themselves and so are either sent to the auction or they face the bullet. Any ponies left unclaimed that are rounded up also face this fate. Luckily last year for some of these orphaned foals and unclaimed ponies, a very lovely farmer allowed some of them to wait a week or two on her land to try and find homes before they were ‘disposed of’. Hugs were able to help 5 orphan foals and a young mare with a month old filly at foot.

Branston was around 4 months old when he came to Hugs, far too young to be away from his mum. They all had HUGE WORM BURDENS plus eye infections and severe rainscald! We did a lot of handling work with them so they got used to having headcollars on (to make administration of medication easier!) plus we slowly got them used to being stroked and brushed. We are continuing to work with this little herd (and a few other youngsters from the sales) and they are now ready for rehoming. Please get in touch if you could offer a loving home, they will make fab children’s ponies and companions. All the boys are unfortunately still ‘entire’ due to the current lock down their ‘special appointment’ with the vet has had to be postponed. They will be done as soon as possible and in the mean time are available to reserve! Branston is a stunning pony and the tallest of the bunch. He’s a chunky lad who should make approx 12hh when matured. Branston is a very intelligent boy who will make a gorgeous children’s pony when he is older. He’s still a little shy but very inquisitive and we have no doubt he will become a confident, cheeky chappie with regular handling.

DJ (Dude Junior)

Dude Junior was rescued from the 2019 Chagford sales. Chagford saw 258 ponies sold out of 300+ ponies entered. Unfortunately this meant that some were left unsold 😞 and therefore with an unsecured future. DJ was one of 4 lucky ponies that Hugs came back with last year! 3 colts and a young skinny filly. Although they are supposed to be a minimum of 6 months old when they come through the sales many are much younger and DJ was aged by our vet as only around 2 months old when he came to Hugs, far too young to be away from his mum. We spotted DJ in one of the holding pens and had to do a double take! We checked the listing and realised he came from the same area as a certain ‘cool’ individual and we think he must be some sort of sibling to our awesome Dude and we had to help him.

All four had HUGE WORM BURDENS! They were all terrified and extremely stressed from being separated from their mothers during the drifts and going through the busy sale. We had to handle them a lot in the beginning so they got used to having headcollars on (to make administration of medication easier!) And they were slowly introduced to being stroked and brushed all over. We are continuing to work with this little herd (and a few other youngsters we have rescued) and they are now ready for rehoming. Please get in touch if you could offer a loving home, they will make fab children’s ponies and companions. All the boys are unfortunately still ‘entire’ due to the current lock down their ‘special appointment’ with the vet has had to be postponed. They will be done as soon as possible and in the mean time are available to reserve! Dude Junior was very lucky, over this winter, to find a lovely foster home and has returned to Hugs with excellent manners and is ready to rehome! He’s good with his feet and to be caught and brushed etc. He is, of course, still a baby but he has a lovely attitude and will make a wonderful children’s pony.

Bramble

Bramble came to us in 2017 and was VERY nervous. He is a very handsome 2 year old Dartmoor gelding. He is now good with the farrier and to lead but is still nervous of being caught in the field/large space. He is inquisitive and would benefit from a one-to-one setting as building a relationship with someone will be the best way for him to trust humans and then be able to be caught easily.

Bramble would make the perfect pony for someone looking to build that perfect bond. He is currently in a foster home having one-to-one training and attention, helping build his confidence further.

Margaret - Reserved

Margaret was rescued from the 2019 Chagford sales. Chagford saw 258 ponies sold out of 300+ ponies entered. Unfortunately this meant that some were left unsold 😞 and therefore with an unsecured future. Margaret was one of 4 lucky ponies that Hugs came back with last year! 3 colts and a young skinny filly. Although they are supposed to be a minimum of 6 months old when they come through the sales many are much younger and Margaret was the youngest of the bunch aged, by our vet, as only around 7 weeks old when she came to Hugs, far too young to be away from her mum. She was going unsold in the auction and because of her age (She should have been relying on her mother's milk to survive at that age) and the stress she had been under, she was extremely skinny and in very poor condition. All four had HUGE WORM BURDENS! They were all terrified and extremely stressed from being separated from their mothers during the drifts and going through the busy sale. We did a lot of handling work with them so they got used to having headcollars on (to make administration of medication easier!) plus we slowly got them used to being stroked and brushed. We are continuing to work with this little herd (and a few other youngsters we have rescued) and they are now ready for rehoming. Please get in touch if you could offer a loving home, they will make fab children’s ponies and companions. Margaret was incredibly lucky this winter and went to a lovely foster home. She has returned to Hugs with a new confidence and lovely manners. She's good to catch, groom and with her feet.

Maggie

Maggie is a lovely 16.3hh TB mare who is looking for someone to understand her. She has many different issues with her feet so she is not 100% sound. With the right work her strength will eventually build up and she will be suitable for light hacking or a companion. If you would like some more information on Maggie then please message or call.

Penelope

Penelope was one of the three nameless cobs from Doncaster who arrived in March 2019. They were in appalling state. Thick matted coats hiding skin and bones. They were painfully thin. Although nervous they all came with a calm disposition and have blossomed into lovely mares. Penelope is a gorgeous mare who is now around 3 and a half years old. She is good to catch and lead. She is still learning about picking up her feet, she loves a good scratchy brush but has a hilariously independent character and will let you know when she's had enough and she wants to head back out to the field with her friends!

Penelope has seen the farrier, dentist and vet. She has also done a little long reining and took to it very well. She will continue her training with us until she finds her forever home. She just needs to learn about this big wild world and will need a confident handler. She is very beautiful and has a lot of potential. She is quiet and calm in the field and with other horses, so would also make an easy companion. She's not keen on being alone in the field or stable.

Pickle

Pickle was rescued just before the 2019 Chagford sales. Every year many 'drifts' occur across the moors. Here the moor ponies all get rounded up by the farmers/owners and separated into their own stock. Each pony can then be checked, have any appropriate medical care etc before either being returned to the moors or sent to the auctions. Unfortunately as the ponies are rounded up into different pens, the can lose their herds in the panic of the hustle and bustle. Sadly many foals lose their mothers either in the rounding up on the moor or in the pens which means a very sudden and stressful weaning. Doing the drifts in October means that many of the spring foals will be 6 months old by then and about ready to become more independent however this doesn't take into account any late born foals. These babies are very unlikely to find their mothers again and would not survive if returned to the moors by themselves and so are either sent to the auction or they face the bullet. Any ponies left unclaimed that are rounded up also face this fate. Luckily last year for some of these orphaned foals and unclaimed ponies, a very lovely farmer allowed some of them to wait a week or two on her land to try and find homes before they were 'disposed of'. Hugs were able to help 5 orphan foals and a young mare with a month old filly at foot.

Pickle was around 3 months old when he came to Hugs, far too young to be away from his mum. They all had HUGE WORM BURDENS plus eye infections and severe rainscald! We did a lot of handling work with them so they got used to having headcollars on (to make administration of medication easier!) plus we slowly got them used to being stroked and brushed. We are continuing to work with this little herd (and a few other youngsters from the sales) and they are now ready for rehoming. Please get in touch if you could offer a loving home, they will make fab children’s ponies and companions. All the boys are unfortunately still 'entire' due to the current lock down their 'special appointment' with the vet has had to be postponed. They will be done as soon as possible and in the mean time are available to reserve! Pickle is a lovely chunky boy who will mature approx 12hh. He's very stocky with a good leg at each corner! Pickle is still quite shy but he is very interested in what's going on around him and he's quick to learn. His favorite party trick is to stand with his front legs over the stable door so he can look up and down the barn to see what is going on! He's a very stunning boy and is going to make a gorgeous children's pony.

See his training videos below.

Mumma Mo (Moana) - Reserved

The beautiful Mumma Mo! This lovely filly is about 4 years old and has been confirmed pregnant. Moana was one of five rescued to Hugs after being abandoned fly grazing. They all arrived with terrible feet, lice, worms and in poor condition. Luckily for us she's the friendliest of the bunch meaning we are able to check up on her (and her foal to be) very closely. Moana is MASSIVE! She is due any day! Therefore we are all on Foal Watch. She will be available for rehoming once her baby is weaned. She is excellent to catch, groom and with her feet. Her calm and relaxed attitude means she will make a fantastic children's pony one day and would easily be a lead rein/ ridden pony. She's already had all sorts of bits put on her like 8 giant legs to dress up as a spider for Halloween and she didn't bat an eyelid!

Lady Rose

Lady Rose and her luscious locks to you!! Lady Rose came to Hugs as part of a group of pregnant, abandoned fly grazing ponies. She has now given birth to her beautiful baby Primrose. She has earned her title with her independent and feisty attitude! She is a very beautiful petite mini cob, around 4 years of age standing at 12hh. She would make a fantastic in hand show pony or possible driven cob one day. She has so much potential! Lady Rose is good to catch and lead, She has a lovely attitude and is a very friendly little mare but she will require a confident person to rehome her. She will be available for rehoming once her baby is weaned.

Frances - Reserved

The beautiful Frances (AKA Baby from Dirty Dancing)! This lovely filly is the youngest of the group of abandoned, fly grazed, cobs and has been confirmed pregnant, even though she is still a baby herself (our vet suspects just 2 years old). Luckily for us she's incredibly friendly meaning we are able to check up on her (and her foal to be) very closely. Irresponsible people using her for breeding at such a young age may cause complications with her pregnancy, such as stress on her body, inability to raise her foal due to her own immaturity and inability to produce milk. She is due any day and currently on foal watch! Franny will be available once her baby is weaned. She's excellent to catch, lead, groom and for the farrier. She is the tallest of the bunch currently at around 13hh but will likely mature around 13.2/13.3hh. She has a lovely, eager personality and will make a fantastic children's or small adult's pony when she is old enough.

Jigsaw

Jigsaw is Frances's foal and was born during the coronavirus pandemic.He is a very sweet boy, the quietest of the four foals we have had. He will make approximately 13hh/13.2hh so will be around the same size as his mum. He is available to rehoming once he is weaned and had his vaccinations. We are unsure who his father is as Frances arrived at Hugs already pregnant but we think he will mature into a lightweight cob, like his mum. Once thing is for sure, he's very handsome.

Primrose - Reserved

Primrose was the first foal to be born at Hugs during the coronavirus pandemic. She is a gorgeous little girl! She is very confident and loves human contact. She's very beautiful, just like her mum, Lady Rose and she will be available for rehoming once she is weaned (she has now been reserved). We have done lots of work with her and she is really good to catch, lead, brush and pick up her feet. She is proving to be a very kind, sweet personality and we can't wait to watch her journey to adulthood.

Molly-June Successfully Rehomed

Molly-June (MJ) came to Hugs in April 2017.  After a rough start in life we are proud to say this gorgeous mare has fallen on her feet. MJ was in a horrible condition on arrival and had never been handled. She was 1 years old, big and wild. However she is now such a star...
Look at her with her new mummy in the show ring!

Bonnie Successfully Rehomed

Bonnie arrived at Hugs in 2017 pregnant, underweight and full of lice and mites. She had been used as a broodmare and had had foal after foal and it was taking its toll on her. At Hugs she thrived and learnt lots of new skills including being ridden. She won the hearts of all staff, volunteers and children! She was an incredible therapy pony at Hugs, working with vulnerable and disadvantaged children, but when the perfect home came along, we were so happy she could finally have the love and care she really deserved from a family. Her adoptive owners update:

"Adopted from the wonderful Hugs Foundation our lovely cob mare, Bonnie, who has become the best friend of a little girl isolated from her school friends. with no siblings and also unable to attend her usual riding lessons. Bonnie has done us and Hugs proud."

Bonnie's adoptive owner

Bumbles Successfully Rehomed

Bumbles came to Hugs in November 2017 from a market sale. He was way too young to have even set foot in the sales ring. He was skinny and lethargic and desperately needed some care and compassion. Bumbles soon came round to the fact that humans are friends and Hugs were going to look after him. He became extremely friendly and even a little cheeky! But we loved his confidence!

After almost a year and a half at Hugs Bumbles was adopted by a lovely home where he had a lot of adventures, going to the beach etc. He began a little training with them and he got used to wearing some tack. Unfortunately, Bumbles returned to us through a change in circumstances, which was no fault of his own. However, in June 2020 Bumbles found his forever home. We are so excited to watch his journey and see how he progresses, he has turned into the most handsome, fun pony to have around and will be hugely missed on the yard.

Prince Successfully Rehomed

Gatsby Successfully Rehomed

Gatsby came to us in May 2017. He was young, scared and covered in horrible hair mats. Look at this beautiful and confident boy now. He was successfully rehomed November 2018. Look out for him in the show ring in Cornwall, he’s already doing amazingly well and is incredibly well loved, as you can tell!

Merlin and Hettie Successfully Rehomed

Merlin came into us extremely nervous. The Hugs team worked hard to build his confidence with the world and he started to trust people and has been lucky enough to find an absolutely amazing home with another one of our rescue horses, Hettie.

The pair are getting on amazingly well. Merlin is just starting cantering, in an open field too! This is what makes our hard work worth it, rehabilitating these horses and ponies and finding them loving homes Bringing animals and people together for their mutual benefit and happiness and alleviating suffering is what Hugs is all about.💚

"What lucky people we are to have such wonderful horses and what a cracking team that you guys are at the wonderful hugs."

Merlin and Hettie's adoptive owner

Annie Successfully Rehomed (on right in photo)

In February 2019 we were contacted by another charity, Tia Rescue, to help with a huge welfare case. Around 80 horses and ponies were in danger after being left with no food or water in a South Yorkshire village. The conditions were so horrible that some horses had already sadly died, one being as young as 6 months old and many were very sick. Rescue charities pulled together to offer somewhere safe for the horses. Hugs helped take a few of the ponies to rehabilitate them back to health. Annie was one of the cobs we rescued and she was very skinny, covered in matted hair and was suffering from lice, intestinal worms and bacteria.

Annie and her friends were in a poor and sorry state. Underneath her thick matted coats was just skin and bone. The little herd were constantly being monitored by Hugs staff, on four feeds each a day and had three paddocks of grass to graze to help build their strength up and start gaining weight. Annie was only a year old when she came to us and had an awful start to life. When she arrived at Hugs she didn’t know how to be caught, groomed, led... let alone someone touch her feet!

Along her rehabilitation journey she learnt all these things. She also had rugs on and even became so relaxed that we dressed her up as a Christmas present for our Christmas open day! She is just FAB and in July 2020 she found her forever home. Good luck Annie and her new family, we can’t wait to watch you grow up and see what your future brings 💚.

See her journey in the video above.

Gandalf Successfully Rehomed

This cheeky chap came to us as he was hard to manage plus had some medical problems that the owner was not able to afford... Well a few months down the line of treatment, rehabilitation and training and he was ready for rehoming. He was successfully rehomed in September 2017

Fern Successfully Rehomed

Fern came from the moors totally wild and was sadly going to end up in the meat market had Hugs of not saved her. She really blossomed during her time at Hugs. She is a beautiful little girl with exceptionally good manners and is very trusting. She has finally found her home and got to arrive in style! Here is an update from her new adoptive owner:

“Our new companion pony did not take long to settle in and she is now the boss. Hugs provided all the information about Ferns character and everything was spot on. She has been an absolute delight and we all love her very much already. She is about have some training and hopefully be ridden in the near future. We promise to give regular updates on her progress. ❤🐴”

Fern's adoptive owner

Natasha Successfully Rehomed

Natasha came in with Annie and Penelope from the huge rescue in Doncaster. She was the quietest one of the group, but she was very unsure about everything when she arrived. During her rehabilitation, she learnt to be handled, groomed, led and had her feet done with our farrier with no bother at all. We had to clip her coat, as she suffered with horrible skin conditions, sores and mattes of hair and we made the decision that we needed to give her coat a fresh start. During the coronavirus outbreak in 2020 she was lucky enough to find her forever home. Good luck Natasha, we know you will be loved and adored by your new family!

Idris Successfully Rehomed

Idris, a very handsome boy, came into Hugs in the summer of 2019 as a 5 (ish) year old, with a herd of his very own ladies. He was an entire stallion on arrival and like a young teenager; he wasn’t too sure he liked the idea of being tamed. However, once he was castrated and he got to know the staff, he learnt to trust humans and proved to be really quiet and sensible with a lovely, willing nature. Standing at around 12.1hh and chunky with a floating trot, he was an ideal project for someone to become a lead rein pony or similar. He did a little long reining at Hugs and showed us he was quick to learn and understand what was expected of him. In July 2020 he went to his forever home. We can't wait to see what he gets up to with his new family.

Huckleberry Successfully Rehomed

Huckleberry arrived at Hugs in October 2018 following the Chagford Dartmoor Pony Sales. He was approximately only 6 weeks old when he arrived, scared, tiny and unable to even eat hay yet. He was put on a special diet including foal creep to give him the nutrition he should have been getting from his mother’s milk.

As Huckleberry became braver and stronger he absolutely flourished. He was great with the children who visit, looking after new ponies, causing mischief with his friends and he even had a little trip out to Pets at Home before his departure where he was definitely a huge hit with the public!

Dear little Huckleberry has certainly landed on his hooves having a special and loving new home to enjoy. He is now a very successful little show pony and finally has a loving family.

April

April was born here at Hugs (Gyspy is her mum). April is a very cheeky 2 year old! She was the boss of the herd when she was at Hugs (16hh horses bowed to her!), but was always genuinely a sweetheart and very caring. April's confident attitude meant that she was often a favourite with the children and would happily stomp through obstacle courses or play football! In June 2020 she finally found her forever home and we couldn't be happier for her.

See her story in the video above.

Boris Successfully Rehomed

Boris was with a little herd of ponies that were rescued from the 2019 Chagford sales. Chagford saw 258 ponies sold out of 300+ ponies entered. Unfortunately this meant that some were left unsold 😞 and therefore with an unsecured future. Boris was one of 4 lucky ponies that Hugs came back with, 3 colts and a young skinny filly. Although they are supposed to be a minimum of 6 months old when they come through the sales, many are much younger. All 4 had huge worm burdens. They were all terrified and extremely stressed from being separated from their mothers during the drifts and going through the busy sale. Hugs spent a lot of time handling the ponies so they got used to having headcollars on (to make administration of medication easier!). The team also got them used to being stroked and brushed and their confidence grew. In July 2020 Boris went to his forever home, the photo says it all about how happy he is with his adoptive owner and that was just on his first day there! We are excited to see their partnership progress.