Trallwm Farm Animal Sanctuary

It all started in Hampshire, when Lady Lesley Cooper, who was heavily involved with several Dog Rescue Centres, received a phone call asking if she would buy a rescue horse. After politely explaining that this encourages people to sell neglected horses instead of giving them to a charity, the same caller phoned several times with reduced price tags, until she said "Can you take him he will be shot otherwise".

The horse, Wilber, was very ill and the only man willing and able to help was Kevin Scott, a man used to moving top class bloodstock, but also devoted to the welfare of all horses. When he saw the dreadful state of this poor animal, he was whizzed across the Home Counties to us by Kevin. Although we had horses and were heavily involved in dog rescue, seeing this horse changed the whole course of things!

His feet were so overgrown that he needed emergency farrier work so he could stand up. Once his feet were sorted the next problem was that he needed condition and some muscle to support him, if you have an under sevens footballer in your home just check out the bony legs and that would be Wilber!

He had had the same rug on for many months so his skin was pretty grotty, his eyes were infected and sunken, and the sadness within was evident to any horse lover.
Lesley continues.....

"Well, he survived, much to the amazement of local riders, and we ended up with a 15.1hh, pure white, pink skinned horse called Wilber that could hobble!

Two days after he came to us, a family bereavement meant that Wilber became a very important sponge for mopping up my daughters tears. We started dragging him out for short walks until he gained muscle and flexibility and we had his tomb stone teeth filed so he could start eating again. A year later he had a birthday party complete with carrot cake!

Because of our success and reputation with Wilber, more horses started flooding in. I figured there had to be a better way of doing this so I started the loan and rescue list on the Internet. Any animal needing a home could be matched up to a kind or caring new owner. Any horse risking being shot came to us with the help of Kevin. So then we ran out of space, which led me to buy Trallwm Farm, halfway up a mountain in Carmarthenshire, Wales. So, at the last count we have fourteen horses marauding about having fun as part of their own herd!"

Heres a brief resume of some of the animals at Trallwm Farm today:

Magan the Dragon Who is a gorgeous little bay Falabella. He's only three but he's been out for little walks on the road and will make the most fantastic pony for a child. He was fat as a barrel but is losing weight. He was the companion of a 30yr old Shetland mare who sadly was put down because of severe Laminitis. The owner didn't know what to do with Magan so he was going to be shot too. He is a lovely natured little person and will make a great child's friend when he is grown a bit. Meantime he goes all googly eyed when Emma, one of our other residences, flashes a leg which at least gives him lots of exercise keeping up.

the foals pictured before their rescue

The two Foals These two little chaps were the ones we helped rescued from living next to a main road and marauding through a council estate on late night snack reccies. The police asked that they be moved before they caused a road accident. They are now about 10 months old and until they went to the rescue that took them in, were very wary of people. They are full of fun and mischief. The little Chestnut should make 13.2hh and I would think the grey about 12.2hh. Because of their tender age and background they will only be going to very experienced people who can provide them with a future as riding ponies.

Irish Shortly a beautiful young mare will arrive here to join the herd. She was imported from Arizona and is a Missouri Foxtrotter. After she arrived she showed signs of lameness and has been investigated at NewMarket. She may or may not became sound but no real prognosis has been reached. She is only 4 years old. She has developed behavior traits that require her to have a very long holiday with the rest of the maniacs up here on the mountain. She needs to go back to being a horse and forget about work. Irish is very strong mentally and needs to learn manners within a natural herd. It is possible that in the future if she improves and settles, she may be able to be rehomed with someone who can truly understand her and on a one to one basis. However for the long term foreseeable future she will remain here within our herd.

Other residents!
We also have a collection of rescued piggies, goats and an assortment of other farm livestock!
Many of these animals were kept as pets by owners who realised they were unable to provide the space and care needed, others were less fortunate having met with vicious dogs or victims of accidents. Some of these animals are open to rehoming, but only to experienced owners with smallholding homes.

Our Aims
We are always seeking experienced homes, we want all of our animals to live loved lives. We ask people who wish to rehome animals to call us due to the sheer quantity of requests we get. We take rehoming very seriously as we want the horse to remain in a permanant home with the right people.
For this reason when people call us we will 'vet' them and try to find the correct horse for them. We ask adopters to make a donation to our work when taking home an animal, we also welcome private donations and fundraising schemes to finance the Sanctuary and ensure that we can continue to make a difference.
We will also be there for animals and adoptive owners with advice if things do go wrong, and encourage them to keep in touch with their progress.
We will always take on any animal in an emergency. We dont refuse any needy case and are always willing to help out in a crisis where animals have become the victims.
We have our rescue cases checked out by our vet and farrier to ensure they have the best chance.
We also hope, in the future, to run Holiday Breaks at Trallwm where people can see the horses, learn to milk the goats, make cheese, feed the piglets, and generally understand our work.

If you would like to find out more about Trallwm Farm, and see photos of some of the residents, visit http://www.trallwmfarm.co.uk, we are also contactable on 08707 469232.