LATEST NEWS - Updated 15/07/2008
Intelligent Horsemanship Charity of the Year
It is with very great pleasure that we can announce the support of Kelly Marks and her Intelligent Horsemanship organization through being chosen as one of her charities of the year for 2008/9. We share the stage with the Riding for the Disabled in Lambourn, Kelly’s home town. All proceeds from both the main fundraising and the classified section of her website will be split between our two wonderful charities. All our training and handling of the equines at Lluest are based upon the techniques of Monty Roberts and Kelly Marks and so we are very proud to have the support from Kelly and her supporters.
New Patron - Gareth David-Lloyd
Popular Welsh actor and one of the stars of BBC's Torchwood and Doctor Who, Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones in Torchwood) has kindly agreed to become our Patron. This is excellent news and a real boost to our morale. Gareth is over in Canada and America at the moment, at two sc-fi conventions, but we are hoping he will visit the farm later in the summer, if filming of the new series of Torchwood permits.
New Arrival - Brenin
Our latest arrival was collected on 1 July. We have named him Brenin (Welsh for King) and we think he is about one year old. He has been ridden by children for several months and we think he has been hit and abused in this time as well. He is quite nervous but also quite trusting of us already. We have given him Bobby and Zorro as company to introduce him to all of us and he will soon go out and join the bachelor herd with the others.
Llandeilo Scout Fete & Llangadog Carnval - Saturday 5th July
Saturday the 5th of july was far from a bright and sunny day but the Lluest ponies did us proud at two events. Chico and Tic Tac were stars at the Llandeilo Scout fete and attended the opening ceremony along with the mayor's representative. Despite the appaling rain and wind, the ponies behaviour was exemplary and as usual they caused quite a stir.
Meanwhile at the Llangadog carnval Llwyd and Alfie did their bit as the sugar plump fairy and a unicorn walking through the village and up to the rugby club. The carnval organiser commented later that it was lovely to see two such well behaved animals and praised the Trust for braving what proved to be one of the wettest processions she could remember.
Round Pen Handling Progress
Seen in the photographs below is Adrian working with a couple of our older unhandled ponies. Despite having been here for sometime, short staffing and lack of proper facilities has meant that there was little opportunity for the all important basic handling that these animals need in order to check their feet, teeth and general condition. As a result of the incredibly generous legacy from the estate of Janice Marlow, we now have a round pen where the animal can be safely contained while Adrian uses his double "magic" of kindness and patience that will ensure that the animals can be administered to in times of need. He leaves nothing to chance though, always wearing the hard hat and in many cases a body protector as well so that he doesn't need administering to after a session with a frightened pony.
Val |
Lucy |
Sad News - Jacko
We send our thoughts and grateful thanks to the family who looked after our lovely Jacko for the past six years. Jacko died on 11th June from colic and we share their sadness. Jacko was a beautiful pony who grew up at the farm - one of the many to have benefited from Ginny's devotion.
Llangadog Church Fete - Saturday 7th June
The summer season is in full swing here at the farm. We had great pleasure in attending the Llangadog church fete today Saturday the 7th June. The setting was beautiful and the weather almost perfect with only the slightest of showers. As you can see, Zorro and Llwyd accompanied us and kept the visitors to the fete entertained by play fighting in between walks round the vicarage garden. We made lots of new friends today meeting people from the local community and we hope to see some of them in the future.
CAVS Volunteer Day - Monday 2nd June
It was a "Grand Day Out" for staff and volunteers on Monday the second of June when we all attended the CAVS Volunteer Day at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, a day devoted to celebrating the work of dedicated volunteers in all areasof the community. Volunteers had free entry to the gardens and a number of organisations took part. Despite being the only animal charity present, our boards attracted a fair amount of interest and we met and spoke to a broad spectrum of people. Adrian had his fifteen minutes of fame being interviewed for hospital radio, an honour the rest of us felt only too pleased to pass to him. But it was business as usual when we returned with afternoon feeds and hungry horses all demanding our attention.
Market Conditions
Market conditions have always been a great source of concern for Lluest and in the early years we fought for improvements. However, since Ginny's death varying circumstances have meant that we haven't always been able to keep watch and keep up the pressure for still much needed improvements. Conditions over the past few years have varied, however at a May sale there was much to cause concern and Adrian has written a full report, which we have forwarded, to the National Equine Welfare Council of which Lluest is a member. Remember that many of the horses and ponies at these sales are 'wild' therefore frightened, easily panicked and not handled in an appropriate way, causing danger not just to themselves but also often for human onlookers. There is no provision for hay or water, many will have traveled long distances, and will have even further to go after the sale. We will continue to monitor the sales, but in the meantime if you have any comments or have witnessed bad practice at sales, please contact us.
Llandovery Carnival - Monday 26th May
A wet and windy bank holiday Monday set the scene for our first outing with the ponies for the 2008 season at the Llandovery Carnival. A vain attempt at putting up a gazebo failed when it disappeared across the ruby pitch so we set up what we could in the back of the lorry. We were made very welcome in the procession and the ponies made a big impact. Comments like "We didn't know that there was a local pony Trust" prove that we have a lot of work to do, but if we are welcomed by all the local shows as we were at the carnival then that work should be a pleasure. Thanks to all that helped on the day to make sure the ponies were well turned out. Our next outing with will be the Llandeilo Scout Fete on Saturday the 5th of July when we hope that the weather will be a bit more like summer time.
Latest Arrivals
Our latest arrival is Bobby, a little colt foal that was found in Swansea being ridden by children. A kind lady intervened and managed to get him away to the safety of Lluest where he is now getting attention without intention and enjoying life growing up with another young friend Willow. We have named him Bobby after one of our most loyal volunteers who still gives her time despite advanced years. Bobby is amazingly tame and forgiving considering the mal treatment he experienced. When the time is right he will be gelded.
Willow came to Lluest in January 2008. At 1 yr old she had been taken to Llanybydder sale but did not sell. She was ‘dumped’ in a driveway and eventually found a home with a kind lady willing to take her in. She was well looked after, but with only calves for company and very little handling she had almost forgotten what being a young pony is all about. We were asked to help when a little human life came into the family and time for Willow became even scarcer. Now approx 3 1/2 yrs old, she is still a little shy about lead reins, but we can pick up all 4 feet and groom her. Willow’s training will continue until she is eventually ready to go on to a loan home, where she can give pleasure to children perhaps through Pony Club, but most importantly become a happy, loved and fulfilled little pony.
Willow and Bobbie are like two mischievous children together! They go charging around at full pelt, running into each other, playing and whinnying and are inseparable in the field. Being little imps, if there is trouble they are often the cause of it but as soon as they think they have done wrong they gallop well away from it! They are both finding their hooves and discovering that they are two little ponies that can enjoy life together and in a herd.
Bobby
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Willow |
Basket Making Course - 27th April
A basket making course was held at the trust on Sunday the 27th April. Barbara Metcalfe and her friend Jennie instructed 7 complete duffers on how to make a basic willow basket. Lunch was provided and despite drizzly rain, much laughter and everbody having no idea about what they were doing, 7 individually styled baskets appeared at the end of the day. We still wonder how all the baskets could be so radically different when everybody used the same amount of materials but i suppose "that's art" after all.
If you are not a Lluest supporter, because your charitable giving is spoken for - please consider looking at our 'Ways to Help' page - Everyclick and Fundrasing are two ways you could help without costing you a penny - Lluest will benefit just by you using these facilities - to a little charity like Lluest EVERY PENNY HELPS.
More information on 'Everyclick' and 'Easy Fundrasing' can be found on our 'Ways to Help' page.
New Training School
The Lluest was kindly left a legacy, from which we were asked to use the money to improve certain parts of the trust. We have now had a new, bigger and better training school that boasts propper drainage with a soft sanded area - wow!. We would like to thank so much the family concerned without whose legacy it would not have happened!
