With our intervention and assistance from the Council, a pony named Treacle now has been given the Second Chance she deserves.
Treacle’s story is one of remarkable resilience. Abandoned by her owner during a difficult foaling, she was rushed for surgery to remove her deceased foal. After a brief stay at the veterinary clinic, she was travelled safely to HAPPA’s Shores Hey Farm for further treatment and rehabilitation. Arriving traumatised by her ordeal, underweight, and infested with lice, Treacle needed intensive care. The HAPPA Equine Care Team jumped into action giving the love and attention she needed to recover from her ordeal.
HAPPA Equine Care Officer, Lauren says,
Treacle on arrival at Shores Hey farm.
“Initially Treacle spent three weeks in the Isolation Unit where she continued her recovery with the addition of medication and some much-needed love and attention. She wasn’t the biggest fan of taking her antibiotics, unless it was mixed with molasses – also known as treacle, which is where she got her name from. Originally, Treacle was quite a defensive mare. She wasn’t keen on being kept in her stable, showing her cheeky side by trying to push her way out. With lots of time and patience, and since moving onto the Main Yard, she has gotten much better with this and is proving to be a sweet pony.
Treacle’s hooves were very overgrown. They needed farrier attention as soon as possible and making it a priority to teach her how to pick up her legs and allow us to pick out her hooves. She found this very hard at first, but after a few weeks of continuous practice we were able to pick up all four feet with ease which meant she was able to have them trimmed. Alongside this, Treacle was long overdue a nice, warm bath to help freshen her up and get rid of any dirt build up in her coat and make her shine again. She was very appreciative of this, and now looks forward to her pamper times.
Once Treacle had settled and received all her treatments, she was then able to go out in the fields and make some new friends. She struggled to socialise at first, but soon accepted the other mares. She has now had a very happy summer living out with them.”
Treacle and Equine Care Officer Lauren
We are hoping in the future that Treacle will make a riding pony. For now the Equine Care Team are still doing bits of desensitisation work to prepare her for the big, wide world. She is proving to be rather confident and takes everything in her stride. It’s nice to see after her rough start to life. We are excited to see what the future holds for Treacle.
If you would like to be a part of Treacle’s journey and contribute to her second chance, you can donate here.
For up-to-date updates on Treacle and her equine friends, visit or Facebook and Instagram page.
