Pepper’s Journey to Trust

Our mission to Give a Second Chance to equines through Rescue, Rehabilitation, Rehoming and Education is encompassed in this very story… ‘Pepper’s Journey to Trust’

Pepper’s life began as a feral on the Welsh commons, living in a large herd and left to breed unchecked. When she came to HAPPA she was heavily pregnant, underweight, infested with lice, and had painfully overgrown hooves. Her fear and defensiveness made handling impossible until after her foal arrived and was weaned. With the hard work of the Equine Care Team and a lot of patience, they slowly earned Pepper’s trust. Pepper has made significant progress and continues to improve in confidence and trust each day.

Tessa Spencer, HAPPA Equine Care Officer, has lovingly worked with Pepper throughout her rehabilitation says “When Pepper first arrived at HAPPA she was terrified of people, due to being feral and unhandled all her life. Pepper’s nerves manifested as aggressive behaviour such as striking out with her legs and lunging at people with her teeth. This was her fight instinct and something that is a natural response in wild horses.

After spending many hours in the stable with Pepper, she slowly began to accept me in her space and started to show signs of trust. This allowed me to be able to start introducing things such as putting a head collar on, leading her, grooming her with all types of brushes, picking up and picking out the mud and stones from her hooves, and more recently being bathed in the dedicated onsite shower area and finally, her biggest achievement to date, being able to wear a rug.

Pepper’s confidence has grown over the last few months, and she is now handled by different members of the Team, showing positive behaviour, even when she is unsure. Pepper is a sweet pony who is a pleasure to work with and we look forward to seeing her progress continue.”

Pepper on arrival at HAPPA

Pepper with a rug on for the first time.

Our hope is that Pepper will be able to find a Forever Home on the loan scheme where the great work completed by Tessa and the Equine Care Team can be continued. For now, the Team work on gaining Pepper’s trust further until she is ready to move on.

HAPPA continues to be a safety net for horses like Pepper, should you wish to contribute to this vital work https://www.happa.org.uk/donate/

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