Tiny pony Pickle was found critically ill, but now he’s winning hearts at Penny Farm

A tiny pony who was discovered so poorly that he was unable to stand and struggling to breathe is now a huge hit with visitors at our Penny Farm Rescue and Rehoming Centre, near Blackpool.

When our Field Officer Charlotte Melvin found Pickle last year, he was clearly very ill and in urgent need of help. After a multi-agency operation to rescue him, along with a number of other horses, Pickle was taken for immediate treatment at a holding yard, where he was nursed back to health. 

“As soon as I saw Pickle, I could tell he needed veterinary care urgently – he was really struggling to breathe. When he tried to stand as I walked up to him, he just couldn’t get up,” recalls Charlotte. “He tested positive for multiple illnesses, including strangles, equine flu, and salmonella, and was so weak that he kept collapsing.”

As a truly tiny foal, Pickle’s diminutive size worked in his favour, enabling those caring for him to get him back on his feet more easily. “The team worked so hard to nurse him back to health and his vet said she’s never known a pony test positive for salmonella as many times as he did. He very nearly didn’t make it, but eventually turned a corner and started to recover,” explains Charlotte.

“Hearing that he’d been signed over and was finally well enough to travel to Penny Farm was amazing,” says Charlotte. “I went and collected him with one of my colleagues and it was just incredible to see how bright he’d become. The contrast from that tiny foal who was too weak to stand and could barely breathe was extraordinary.”

After completing his quarantine period, Pickle was able to join the other horses and ponies on the main yard at Penny Farm – and immediately started winning hearts left, right and centre. “At a year old, Pickle is still only a teeny seven hands high (28 inches) so it’s no surprise that our visitors fall in love with him as soon as they set eyes on him. He’s both extremely cute and a really lovely character,” says Penny Farm Centre Manager Adam Cummins.

“There’s going to be a long list of people wanting to rehome him when he’s ready – but that’s a long way off yet. For now, he’s enjoying being a happy young pony playing with his friends – he’s got a lot of fun to catch up on after being so ill at such a young age.”

Pickle is so tiny that the Penny Farm team struggled to find a headcollar small enough for him – but our corporate partners LeMieux kindly stepped in, supplying him with a ‘super mini’ headcollar. 

Despite his truly terrible start in life, tiny Pickle now has a bright, secure future ahead of him. Book your visit to Penny Farm to meet the horses and ponies, including Pickle, now.