Relief as pony who went missing from charity is found

A pony who went missing from a My Lovely Horse Rescue sanctuary at the start of June has been found.

Eleanor, a Falabella pony, had been in the care of the charity for more than a year and went missing from a sanctuary in Co Kildare over the June bank holiday weekend.

Volunteers carried out extensive searches across the country and beyond, using drones in some of the searches.

Eleanor was found safe and well on Friday.

Co-founder of My Lovely Horse Rescue Martina Kenny said Eleanor is a "tiny little thing" and smaller than a Shetland pony.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said since Eleanor went missing, the charity has been publicising her disappearance across all media, "talking to whoever we could."

She added: "We've been up and down the country, we've been in the UK, everywhere searching for her."

Describing finding the black and white pony as "unbelievable", she added: "We're not letting her out of our sight."

Ms Kenny said Eleanor is being spoiled and has "got piles of treats, a new head collar. The girls, some of the kids down there the other day, they did her hair, they plaited her mane.

"She's so spoiled, she's got ribbons in her hair."

In relation to animal welfare in the recent hot weather, Ms Kenny said that the charity has come across horses and dogs tied up without access to any water.

She said volunteers came across horses in urban areas tied to poles and trees with no shelter or water.

She added; "I would love to see people really take it on board that animals do need water, food, shelter. They're the three things they really need badly.

"They can't be just tied up and left, because that was really the most horrible part of it as well, that horses were tied up to poles in the beaming sun, absolutely roasting, no water and no place to go.

"So, it's not acceptable, people need to think about it. Also, locals need to get water to them. Same with dogs, they need to get water to them," she said.

During the search for Eleanor on Friday night, the charity also appealed for help after a horse became trapped in a bog in Co Offaly.

In a Facebook post, the charity said one of its welfare officers arrived at the scene to help and was "overwhelmed by the number of people who had come together to save this horse".

The horse was successfully rescued and able to go home with her owner.