Newsletter 76 Feb 2017

Newsletter No 76 Fforest Uchaf Farm. Maindy Road, (Maendy) Penycoedcae, Pontypridd.

R.C.T, Wales. UK. CF37 1PS Tel; 01443 480327 info@pitponies.co.uk www.pitponies.co.uk www.sponsorapony.co.uk Open to visitors; May/Oct=Sunday 11am – 4pm. Weekdays 10am – 2pm. Closed Saturdays Nov/April= by appointment, www.visitpitponies.co.uk Adults £4:00 OAP/Children £2:00 or £10:00 per car. Groups/Schools/Clubs by appointment. Special needs visitors please telephone to discuss your needs.

NB All visitors it is always advisable to telephone 01443 480327 or 07798584735 before you visit.

PROVIDING TENDER LOVING CARE TO NEEDY HORSES & PONIES

These little ponies were the last to come in for the winter. They are native Welsh ponies and would do well out all winter but all their friends are in and they churn up the ground so it better for them and us if they also come in at night. Besides it is nice for them to be in out of the weather with hay to nibble all night long. The Black and white (piebald) pony is Thunder.

Nearest the camera is Geraldine and behind them is Rocket. Both Rocket and Geraldine have eyesight problems in one eye so Thunder keeps an eye out for them. They all get on very well and share the hay nicely. However there are hay racks both ends of the stable if they want to wander back and fro. Gerry seems to have become very protective of Rocket. Perhaps romance blossoms? Rocket was quite a loner so it must be nice for him to have a special friend. He is totally blind on the left side so someone to watch out for him will be of comfort.

Geraldine has sight problems on the same side. However love is blind so I guess neither of them know of the others problem. The curved section of wall above Rockets head protects the roots of an oak tree that was behind the stables before we built them.

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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All aboard for FREE donations.

Is the headline from easyfundraising. Help us by collecting free donations when you book your holidays and travel. Just follow these three easy steps.

1. Join https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/pitpony/ and join us and start FREE fundraising.

2. Book Your holiday there are over 300 travel retailers on-board and you can still look for a bargain.

3. Raise After you’ve made your choice and booked the retailer will make a donation to us at no extra cost to you whatsoever!

There are some small posters enclosed with this Newsletter for you to pass on to your friends or get them put up on a notice board at your local club, Doctors, Library etc. Let us know how you get on please.

Letters from friends.

Norman wrote; Dear lovely people. Please find enclosed a box of odds & ends. I hope they may be of some use to sell. Many thanks to you and all the volunteers for the fantastic work you do. It’s a good job that the world has people such as you and is not entirely filled with all the disso lutes to be polite! Can my sponsor pony Winston have a bag of carrots to share with his pals please from the enclosed donation? There is a second cheque to get some mince pies for all the staff. I have a weekly direct debit to sponsor Winston so all that remains is to say a MASSIVE THANK-YOU for all the wonderful but sadly endless work you all do. Winston and his pals had their sack of carrots and we waited to buy the mince pies until after Christmas as the ponies love them too and they were much cheaper.

Anonymous wrote; To Roy & Wife. Yes years of very hard work looking after the sanctuary.

Up early in all weathers. Mucking out, feeding, grooming etc. all aspects of hard work. Yes you must have been born grafters just like our family. Grandfather a putter working a shift and my father Dennis on his knees or back sweating to get the coal. Anyway getting back to your Farm. In your Newsletter you told us about a visitor coming on horseback to your sanctuary to see the pit ponies and was very impressed with what she saw, the Farm and all the animals in good fine-fetal. Yes all down to your love & affection for these Horses & Ponies.

Ann and her grumpy cat Evie wrote: I’ve been meaning to send a donation for months or maybe years. I give to so many animal charities. When I saw you advert for Pit Ponies I made a note of your address. Sadly no-body gets much, my donations won’t help much but I feel better for trying to help a little bit., even if it’s only pony or a couple of meals. Please gift aid as I do pay tax on my works pension. Best wishes & hugs for all the ponies. Ann. Dorothy wrote: Dear friends, weeks-even-months back I sent you a donation of Aussie banknotes-asking you to let me know if your bank accepted them. Have you received and what if so occurred? At the age of 88 you will not be receiving much in the future because (hopefully) mine will soon come to an end. Old age is not palatable. I also sent to Bransby and just got their magazine with no letter. A bit of a question mark in these greedy times both letters have “done a bunk” I hope you get or got them safely. Please let me know. Sadly we did not receive them! Please, please, please don’t send cash ever through the post. It’s not safe.

Angela and I know this from our own bitter experience. Tucking them between paper or cardboard won’t prevent a small £9.99 metal detector from the high street detecting the metal strip.

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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Dr W Hudson wrote: I just read your appeal in Animal Aid’s magazine, passed on to me by my Aunt. Sadly I did not know of your Charity until then. The plight of the pit-horses and pitponies has always been close to my heart and since the 1960’s I have been a life member of the Bristol Horse Society (now Horse-world) which was founded to provide retirement for the Pit horses in 1952. Subsequently they were very active getting first the Pit Horses then the Pit Ponies out of the mines for good and providing homes for the rest of their lives. I was delighted therefore to see your notice so that I could make contact with a Welsh Charity doing this wonderful work. I am a little bit Cornish and my maternal grandfather came from Holyhead so Welsh are very dear to me on both counts. I trust the enclosed cheque will help towards the winter feed bills. Wishing all the staff every blessing for the wonderful work you are doing. Wendy. So many times we have heard of organisations that became active working with and for Pit Ponies. So sad none of them were around to help us when asked or to help the Welsh Pit Ponies we found working in deplorable conditions in the 1990’s.

The wet weather helps the ponies churn up the land of their playground.

They have taken of late into having a competition as to who can get the most mud on them. Rocket & Patricia are seen here smothered but happy. They all just love to roll in the mud. By the morning most of it has dropped off in their stables. Next day they are off out to get some more.

Giveacar.co.uk

has provided much needed funds again from the scrappage of old cars for the ponies. Mrs Savage donated her old VW and made £148:00. Mr Sturgell donated his old Renault and made £35 for the ponies.

Easyfundraising has provided another £91.46 for the ponies.

Thank you all the people

who have signed up and use it and easysearch.co.uk

https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/pitpony/

It seems a breeze to us.

Doing our on-line shopping and raising money for the ponies without paying any-more for the items. Brilliant!

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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Visitors from Canada this summer wrote when they got back home: Thank you for our wonderful & special visit to the Pit Pony Sanctuary in early October. You both went above and beyond to make us welcome despite the fact that you had just returned from holiday, were tired and unwell and the Sanctuary was not officially open for visitors. You cared especially for my mother-in-law who walks with some difficulty. My Husband Keith, my mother-in-law and I had a wonderful & special time meeting you and the ponies and horses, as well as the sheep and so many Canada geese. Apart from my joy in visiting family on my trip back from Canada, my time at the Pit Pony Sanctuary was the highlight of my time in Britain. I do wish I was closer and could volunteer at the Sanctuary. From this Summer distance I will do what I can. I have just renewed my Visitors meeting Arnie. sponsorship of Geraldine. I have also signed up for easyfundraising and will be using it regularly when we order my Mother-in-laws groceries on-line from Tesco. I will also sort and send our stamps and tell my students some of whom will be especially interested. I have also added a review of my visit on Trip Advisor. Thank you again for welcoming us and spending time to introduce us to the horses & ponies. I think of the Sanctuary often and will try to think of other things I can do to help at a distance.

Mrs L I Robson sent a donation in lieu of a birthday present for her mum Betty Mair. Betty said she doesn’t need anything and preferred the money to go to the Ponies.

Gail Evans has been doing her Webb Ivory work for the Ponies and sent a magnificent cheque.

Well done girl.

Patricia has come back to help on Saturday mornings. She is pictured here on a murky winters day with Geraldine. We have missed her as she is a really good Pony Hairdresser! She is happy with the ponies, doing their manes & tails. The ponies like her and she is nice and gentle with them if they have a few tangles in their manes. In the background is Winston & Arnie. The yard is really messy as the sweeper machine is broken and waiting for a part. Fixed now!

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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Surfacing the yard to control the mud And cut down foot problems with the ponies.

Volunteer Jessie filling a new second-hand dumper to replace the old one. It cost us ÂŁ350 to build the wire cage around, to stop the mess blowing out on windy days.

Bella a Greek mountain

dog who has come to live at the Farm meeting the chickens. She is very good with them . The Chickens are all imprisoned in their sheds and have taken over the whole of the ground floor of the old stone barn for their winter quarters as the Bird Flu restrictions continue. They and we find it really hard keeping them shut up. As true Free Range Chickens who are normally out dawn till dusk it must be awful for them. We are buying any reduced greens etc. from the supermarkets so that they get some greenery in their diet. Hopefully when spring comes and the winter visitor birds go home the threat will subside and they will lift the restrictions. We have just heard we have to keep them imprisoned until the end of April.

Bella the Horse is pictured here in her stable that has just been mucked out by volunteers. If you would like to join the team and help the ponies Sunday morning 10am is good. Other days can be arranged just ask.

Ring Roy on 07798584735 to arrange to come. There are loads of opportunities here not just mucking out. See you soon?

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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Some children still in their pyjamas just have to touch a pony. Ellie & Angel Jake pictured here laying down in his stable. Jake never lies down and this caused us to be concerned about him. As with many of the Pit Ponies they never lay down. I never saw a Pit Pony with a stable with any bedding. Jakes stable was one of the worst. He stood in water all night long, The picture left shows the entrance and all the mess strewn about. Jakes nose is just showing over the door (top left) Sadly the pictures I took into the stable are very dark and you can’t really see the water. His droppings were sunken or floating about on about 9 inches of water at the back of the stable and less at the front. The men didn’t like Jake as he wasn’t easy to handle so Dick did most of the work. Poor Jake had a miserable existence in his stable all day and all night very often. If Jake escaped he was gone. Once he was missing for days. Eventually found near Bridgend about 5 miles away. When he first came he used to make a lovely little tune with his lips.

Obviously it’s a learnt behaviour over hours and hours of stress & boredom. We heard it for quite a while in his first couple of years when he was bored. It concerned us. We have not heard it for some time now. Oh! Jake is fine by the way. Jake has aged and is going grey but he still plays endlessly with many of the young ponies. Your support does him proud. You provide the retirement home that he deserves. Have yourselves a Brownie point!

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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Donations have recently been received in memory of; Mr Frank Wallace, Miss D K Nicholl.

oO-0-Oo The Lawrence family’s “Sooty”, Mrs Forbes-Bucks “Mollypops”

A no added sugar little taste of Wales.

Welsh St David’s Day cheesy muffins.

Ingredients 50g plain flour, 225g self-raising flour, 1 tea spoon baking powder, ½ level tea spoon bicarbonate of ¼ tea spoon salt, ½ level tea spoon mustard powder, 100grams strong cheese Welsh Strong Cheddar is best but Caerphilly will do, half grated, half cubed, 6 tea spoons vegetable oil, 150grama Greek Style yogurt, 125ml milk, 1 large free range egg, 2 x tea spoons Worcestershire sauce.

Method 1. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.

2. Mix together the self-raising and plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and mustard powder in a bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the cheese, oil, yogurt, milk, egg and Worcestershire sauce.

4. Combine all the ingredients and divide between the muffin cases in the muffin tin.

5. Place in the oven for 20-25 mins until golden. Remove and cool slightly on a rack.

6. What you need: weighing scales, measuring jug, fork, 2 mixing bowls, 12 paper muffin cases, muffin tin, cheese grater, sharp knife, tea spoon, cooling rack.

7. Mwynhewch y pryd! (Enjoy your meal

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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Selling used postage stamps you collect and send in to the Centre has paid for another load of Hay this winter. Well done all you thrifty people.

Winston like Jake digs a big hole in the middle of his stable bed every night. It is a rarity for them to lie down. We don’t understand what drives this behaviour. It’s not a problem but makes doing their bed in the stable much harder every day.

Iggy has been quite lame on his bad leg recently.

He is ok again now. Perhaps he jarred it playing with his butties.

Hopefully it’s not a problem with his old fracture site. We will keep a close eye on him.

Star is showing her age this winter. She has a nice warm stable all to herself. Over the wall are her friends Arnie, Puzzle, Rosie and Bonnie the other side so she is certainly not lonely. She seems to really appreciate it and is very content. She is almost always the first in when the yard gate is opened. She is pictured here last spring scratching herself on a convenient hawthorn bush up on top of her world.

Megan seems to be saying “even though I keep telling you I’m not overweight I’m just short for my weight! You won’t let me through with my friend Spike until he’s eaten his food. But I always get a bit.

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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