First birth joy at the Exmoor Pony Centre.

Staff at The Exmoor Pony Centre found a surprise addition when checking the stock on Bank Holiday Monday. The new foal, a filly was born to 5 year old Winnie, a very special resident, who arrived at the Moorland Mousie Trust headquarters last Autumn, in a consignment from Brendon Fair.

“She’s a very special pony. She arrived with a badly damaged eye, which is going to need removing, but because she had come off the moor, we knew that there was a chance she might be pregnant, so we needed to wait until she had given birth.” explains Val Sherwin, “Considering that she was born on the moor and not been in a domestic situation before, she has settled in remarkably well and is a real favourite with us all. She has a wonderfully kind nature, and we shall all be very relieved once her eye has been dealt with, and she can concentrate on her new family.”

Winnie is not the first Exmoor pony at the Centre with eye problems “We don’t intend to make a habit of it, but we already have “Winston”, who had to have a similar operation about 18 months ago. He’s a real favourite here at the Centre and is the most popular with visitors of our adoption ponies and has lots of fans. He is also good friends with Winnie, so we’re hoping that he’ll make a good surrogate father for the foal. It’s quite an amusing sight to see them together. They have opposite eyes, so between them they’ve got one good pair!”

The Exmoor Pony Centre is open Sunday to Friday. Visitors are welcome, but riding needs to be booked in advance.

For more information call The Exmoor Pony Centre on 01398323093 or visit our website www.exmoorponycentre.org.uk