Newsletter No 79 Fforest Uchaf Farm. Maindy Road, (Maendy) Penycoedcae, Pontypridd. R.C.T, Wales. UK. CF37 1PS Tel; 01443 480327 info@pitponies.co.uk www.pitponies.co.uk www.sponsorapony.co.uk Open to visitors; May/Oct=Sunday 11am – 4pm. Weekdays 10am – 2pm. Closed Saturdays Nov/April= by appointment, Adults £4:00 OAP/Children £2:00 or £10:00 per car. Groups/Schools/Clubs by appointment. Special needs visitors please telephone to discuss your needs.
NB All visitors it is always advisable to telephone 01443 480327 or 07798584735 before you visit.
PROVIDING TENDER LOVING CARE TO NEEDY HORSES & PONIES
Weeds have been a big concern this year and made a lot of work for us. Many Ragwort have appeared with the usual Docks, Foxgloves, Thistles and Nettles. Jake Spike and Puzzle pictured here inspecting our work and making sure, we have done a good job. Foxgloves and Ragwort are poisonous whilst Docks etc. Are just a nuisance and spread like wildfire. Apparently, one common Ragwort plant can produce 200,000 seeds. The seeds once mature are wind-blown on their little individual parachutes. The weeds Act is under threat of repeal as many powerful land-owners find it costly to remove or control and it is not
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dangerous to their building sites road sides etc. only to their downwind neighbour’s horses Cattle etc.
Muley and Arnie (behind) with Iggy watching over the gate.
Do you remember Muley? ( AKA Shadow Fax ) He came late summer 2011. Angela & Roy recently made a trip to the Donkey Sanctuary to see how he was doing. We found him at one of their Farms where they keep the mules in Mule Heaven. He has a special two-legged friend called Lily and many four-legged ones. He was busy eating and not really interested in us. He did come for a little sniff but soon went back to his munching. He is now 20 years old and doing very well. He is pictured here with some of his friends at a satellite Farm that belongs to the Donkey Sanctuary at Tawn Barton in Devon. Apparently, the one above his ears is a very special friend and they are always together. It is a lovely feeling that he has lots of his own kind to share his life with as Ponies and Mules do not always get on. Lily
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knew nothing of his previous experiences including with men trying to bully him into horse logging.
Give-a-Car have helped the ponies yet again. Mr White scrapped two cars and the proceeds came to the ponies. Well done! This is a Rolls Royce Wraith seriously crashed not Mr White’s I hasten to add and not destined for us sadly.
The Coal Authority. Have announced they are to install solar panels at 75 former mine sites. Apparently, they are looking to solar power to cut running costs of water treatment sites. In a move seen to be a symbol of renewables challenge to King Coal. The authority have plans to roll out across its estate of 75 former colliery sites across the UK.
A little taste of Wales. Vegan Chocolate Bread Pudding with Rum sauce. Ingredients; 5 x table spoons of Cocoa, 1 x Tablespoon of Hot Water+, 470ml of Soya Milk, Vegan Egg replacer or two Genuine Free Range eggs, 65 grams of Sugar, Pinch of Salt, 320 Grams of stale bread torn into small pieces, 230 Grams of Vegan Margarine softened ( Stork, Flora, Bertolli ), 130 grams of Confectioners’ Sugar (Icing sugar), 25 Ml of Dark Rum, 1 x Tea spoon of Vanilla, Two good pinches of Ground Nutmeg. Method; Combine the Cocoa and sufficient hot water to form a soft paste. In a large mixing bowl, add the cocoa mixture, soya milk, eggs, sugar, salt and one teaspoon of the vanilla. Mix in the stale bread. Pour into a prepared loaf tin. Bake at 180 C Gas mark 4 for 1 hour. Beat the margarine until light and fluffy. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into the margarine. Add the Rum, nutmeg and remaining vanilla. Beat for 5 minutes on high speed for 5 minutes. Pour over pudding and serve warm.
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Mwynhewch y pryd! (Enjoy your meal
With so many mouths to feed caring for the land is essential. Here Matthew is helping to load the fertilizer spreader with pelleted lime. Much of the land on the Farm is classified as “less favoured land�. Our altitude means spring comes a bit later and winter comes a bit earlier than the lowland farms. Also years of neglect before we came has left the land a little acidic. That means it favours weeds rather than grass. Regular testing of the soils condition allows us to apply the correct top dressing to improve the land. It is a heavy dirty job. Here the JCB holds the 600kg bag over the spreader and Matthew cuts it down the side to fill the spreader. This bag fills the hopper several times and Roy goes out on the tractor to spread it evenly over the
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land. It is not a quick fix but the effects will be seen for years to come. Happy munching
Thunder looking good and finding tasty nibbles in the last of the summer sun. The bush left of him is a huge Fuchsia. Pity it is not in colour. However, it is at
http://issuu.com/pitponies
Ponies! Apparently, some people plan to protect the Dartmoor Ponies by slaughtering them for meat and hides. You can sign using the full link below to prevent the slaughter.
https://www.change.org/p/dartmoor-national-park-authority-end-the-yAearly-slaughter-ofponies-from-dartmoor
Accountant Wanted !!
We need someone who is familiar with “Sage Accounts” to “independently inspect” our accounts prior to us submitting them to The Charity Commission. It can be done at distance and without coming to the centre. Our recent lady is so
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slow. We want to have our accounts completed within a couple of months of our end of year. A volunteer preferably.
The ponies could earn an extra £1,000 from just 70 of our supporters buying their weekly groceries between now and Christmas! Our new in-store grocery cards allow our supporters to raise for The Pit Pony Sanctuary Fforest Uchaf Horse and Pony Centre every time they upload funds to their pre-paid grocery card. With supermarkets including Tesco, ASDA, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose, our supporters can hit the aisles and raise for the Ponies with every in-store shop! Here is the link to find out more. Type this carefully and exactly into your smartphone, computer or tablet. Any problems or worries ring Roy on 07798584735 https://cardsforcauses.giveasyoulive.com/charity/pit-pony-sanctuary.
Rocket is such a happy little pony now. Left, is a picture of him just before he got is freedom in the winter of 2010. His friends where he was living contacted us to help him.
Whilst he was well nourished, he was living a life of regular fear and torment. Now he has many friends and living as part of a herd, he can relax. Having lost an eye he is totally without sight on his left. It means he is unaware of danger until it is far too close for comfort. When he finally becomes aware of the danger his “flight”, response kicks in. Living alone meant he was constantly on edge. His little field was at the end of a road with a footpath from the gate shown out onto the mountain. The footpath was very well used by dog walkers, hikers etc.
Rocket (In the Middle) with the Littlies herd who have come down for a drink.
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Sadly, also a place of access for people who want to do things they could not do in sight of other people in the town. Recently a special friend of Rockets came from Hastings to meet him. He gets “Free” rail travel as part of his pension as he worked for British Rail.
Bella you may recall from previous Newsletter has been with us since October 2015 She has been a challenge. Once she had her freedom and was out on the grass we could not easily get near her. It has been a very slow process to get her used to us. Every day Matthew goes to give her a mint. It was quite a while before she would come over to him. Eventually our patience has won her over. Whilst no longer difficult to catch she prefers her freedom. She has obviously been rough handled in her past and has no reason to trust humans.
A Big Thank You all who send Jewelery, Stamps, Bric-a-brac etc. We were recently in Cardiff Christmas Market and raised £295 from the sale of Vintage Jewelery.
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If You have any idea’s how you could help the ponies please let us know and we can discuss what, how and when.
Donations have recently beenBellareceived memory in Octoberin 2015 just arrivedof; from the Abattoir.
John D Pow. Ira Mills-Calford, Elizabeth Shimeld, Ronald Roberts Ruth Job, Peter F Jewett, Vera Way, Josephine Makowski Caroline Glynne-Walton
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Ms Bryant’s cat,“Marmalade” The Twinn Family’s dog,“Bella”
Jake.
This year we notice that he is showing his age more and more. Jake November 2017.
Jake on arrival.
We still see him playing with his friends but definitely more slowly. The changes in the seasons is always a change in their lifestyle. Soon they will all be in their stables at night with summer made Hay to nibble all night and a good nourishing feed when they come in.
Please excuse our lack of seasonal offers of late.
It difficult for us to risk money into items to sell and end up having lots left unsold. We are just a bit too small to get saleable items
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at a good price. However, we always have small items for sale on Ebay. Just search for pitponyman. There you will see all we have to offer.
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