Poppet is a Miniature horse standing at only 33 inches.
Poppet came to us in an emergency rehome. Unfortunately her new home could no longer look after her due to health reasons and so she ended up having  many moves in a very short period of time. Due to all the moves and the lack of understanding about miniature horses, Poppet was suffering with laminitis on arrival.
Prior to this Poppet had spent a few happy years, as a therapy pony, at Lofty Therapy horses. Prior to this she had been a party pony. Poppet still loves children and is our star pony on our meet and greet the animals. With her wonderful, calm manner and her beautiful long mane. She is always a hit with the children and enjoys the interaction with the public.
Miniature horses and Shetlands need very little to live off and are best suited to high mountain grassing, where there is not much grass and  little sugar in it. Making them do a lot of exercise for the small amount of nourishment they are receiving. On lush low land they have to be restricted to tiny paddocks or concrete yards. We now have seven in our herd of miniatures and due to the steep incline of their field and the lack of grass, they get to be in a 3 acre field for the majority of the year. An idyllic life for a miniature equine.
Poppet quickly got over the laminitis and has reduced her weight and gained muscle. She is healthy, happy and spirited. She is an energetic little pony who loves a canter in the field. With her mane blowing in the wind she is a picture.
Like most of our wonderful rescue animals, Poppet has taken plenty of looking after to get her happy and healthy.
We opened the Far From Holiday Retreat in order to provide us with funds to enable us to continue our work with these beautiful animals. All new arrivals must be microchipped and passported (and normally they aren’t), vaccinated three times, rasped, wormed and given a general health check by the vet – with the majority requiring many more visits to ensure that they are happy and healthy.
If you are unable to come and visit us, you can still help us to continue our work by supporting us financially. We have included a couple of options below.
We opened the Far From Holiday Retreat in order to provide us with funds to enable us to continue our work with these beautiful animals. During the Covid crisis alone we have taken in eight horses, five pigs and a feral farm cat! All new arrivals must be microchipped and passported (and normally they aren’t), vaccinated three times, rasped, wormed and given a general health check by the vet – with the majority requiring many more visits to ensure that they are happy and healthy.
If you are unable to come and visit us, you can still help us to continue our work by supporting us financially. We have included a couple of options below.
Ponies are used to eating small meals throughout the day and breaking up the treats will help maintain their eating schedule. Almost any fruits, and many vegetables, are safe treats for healthy ponies. Apples and carrots are traditional favourites especially with our miniature ponies!
Salt is the one nutrient that ponies will self-supplement to balance their diet and is a real treat for Starburst! She gets very excited when he gets a salt lick and becomes great entertainment for her and us!
We feed Chaff to our ponies to bulk out their concentrate feed and to prevent them eating too quickly. Chaff is dried forage that has been cut into small pieces, in contrast to the long grass stems in hay and haylage. All of our ponies absolutely love it!
We use fly spray for our horses and ponies especially in the summer months. Flies are a general nuisance, but for some of our horses their bites can lead to reactions and persistent itching and discomfort, so this really is a lifesaver as they are highly effective and long-lasting!
All our miniatures have come to us either with or struggle with laminitis. Making sure minis get their vitamins is really important. Now because we have the landscape that these miniature are designed to live on, they probably don’t need all the supplements.
Linseed is high in oil and has been fed to horses for many years for its significant health benefits. These health benefits are predominantly linked to the high presence of Omega 3 fatty acids. We feeding our ponies linseed to promote healthy skin and to help with a high shine on their coats.
Farrier bills every equine needs their hooves trimmed every 6 to 10 weeks depending on the pony. To have a happy healthy ponies it is essential to have a fully qualified, caring, reliable farrier.
Pro earth is designed to make sure they get all the vitamins they need. Because they can’t be on lots of grass, they are either in large bare paddocks or tiny paddocks with very little grass.
