Our Baby Holly

We have some very sad news to share today.

Yesterday afternoon, our beloved "Baby" Holly became ill with colic. She was rushed to Rainbow Equine Hospital for surgery, but it was too late, and she had to be put to sleep.

Holly wasn’t just another pony to us.

She was the first foal ever born at our farm. Her mum, Dolly, had been abandoned and was only a baby herself, just 3 years old, when she went to find Lou, one of our trustees she had formed a strong bond with, and made it clear that she did not want to be left alone. Horses usually prefer to give birth alone, but Dolly was different, she wanted reassurance. With Lou at her side, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl! The black and white photo below was taken by one of our student volunteers at the time, Tess, who was staying with us to study horse behaviour.

From her very first moments, Holly was surrounded by people who loved her.

She grew up on our fields, with the same familiar faces, the same routine, the same place she knew as home. She became a bright, confident, friendly pony, always the first to run over to greet you, and would follow you around even if you had no carrots! If someone was sad she always knew and would stay by their side to comfort them. She had so much to give.

When older she was happily rehomed to a lovely family, but later returned through no fault of her own.

Holly settled straight back into the field she was born in. Back with familiar horses. Back with the people who loved her.

We love to see horses happily rehomed, but to be honest, we were secretly so happy to have her home again while she waited for a new family to choose her. For our older Trustees and many volunteers who have helped over the years, Holly is a big part of our story. Losing this playful and adventurous pony who brought so much joy to volunteers and visitors, and had so much potential, is a devastating blow and has left everyone shocked.

This would have been devastating at any time. But what makes this even harder is knowing that Holly could not spend her final days with us, where she belonged.

Shortly after she returned, North York Moors National Park Authority forced us to move all of the rescued ponies off our own land.

Instead of being at the farm she knew so well, Holly had been forced to move away for purely political reasons.

Colic can have many causes, and we will never know for certain what caused this, but stress is a recognised factor.

We are heartbroken.