New neigh-bour is a mystery to residents
11:20am Friday 15th February 2013 in Latest News By Scott D'Arcy
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The horse lies behind houses in Beechcroft Road, inset. Local residents say the animal has been there for the past five days
RESIDENTS in Stratton are puzzled after a horse was left tethered on a patch of nearby grass – where he has remained for almost a week.
The animal has been tied up around the ankle on a strip of land off Cowleaze Walk, next to the allotments on Beechcroft Road, in Stratton, since last Friday.
Wiltshire Police have received five phone calls from concerned neighbours, Swindon Council’s animal welfare officers have checked on his condition, which they found to be healthy, and the RSPCA have also been informed.
The Adver understands the horse’s owners have recently moved out of the area and were last night looking to find an alternative place to keep the small horse.
Several people called the Adver to raise their concerns and word soon spread, turning the area into a temporary petting zoo for youngsters walking home from school.
One resident, who asked not to be named, said: “I saw him yesterday morning tethered to a piece of council land. The rope had caught around his hoof and its shoe and me and a couple of others tried to unhook it but we couldn’t.”
Paul Russell, clerk of Stratton Parish Council, said that they had received around half a dozen calls in the last two days, plus several people coming in to the offices concerned with the welfare of the horse.
He said: “The horse is tied up behind a house on Beechcroft Road.
“It is not on our land so we can’t do anything, but the police know and so does Swindon Council because it is on their land.
“The RSPCA are also aware, everyone seems to be quite concerned, but I think they are happy to leave it there. We have had a few calls about it, I would say about half a dozen, and have had a couple of people coming in.
“The horse seems OK though, I think people passing by have been giving it food like carrots.”
A spokesman for the council said: “We have had a number of calls from the public alerting us to the horse. Our animal warden has been out to ensure there are no animal welfare issues.
“The horse is in reasonable health and has access to water and grazing. We have also not received any complaints asking for the horse to be removed. It is our understanding that the horse is being looked after by a family living close by and it will be moved shortly.”
A police spokesman said: “We were called several times with reports of a horse stuck in mud and tethered by a rope in Cowleaze Walk. We attended but it was not a police matter and so we took no further action.”
The Adver tried to contact the RSPCA for comment but there was no response by the time of going to press.
Comments(18)
blahblahblahblah
says...
12:50pm Fri 15 Feb 13
house on the hill
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1:04pm Fri 15 Feb 13
scottwichall
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1:07pm Fri 15 Feb 13
LordAshOfTheBrake
says...
1:09pm Fri 15 Feb 13
scottwichall
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1:13pm Fri 15 Feb 13
Jumbo sausages, Half price at Tesco.
Inda UK
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1:42pm Fri 15 Feb 13
Fred and Wilma
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1:42pm Fri 15 Feb 13
scottwichall
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1:43pm Fri 15 Feb 13
A.Baron-Cohen
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3:45pm Fri 15 Feb 13
umpcah
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4:17pm Fri 15 Feb 13
Mushymushy
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4:31pm Fri 15 Feb 13
silvergran
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9:20am Sat 16 Feb 13
Hearditallbefore
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10:58am Sat 16 Feb 13
Mushymushy
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11:26am Sat 16 Feb 13
MissO
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11:59am Mon 18 Feb 13
Is this pony still tethered on this land? If so im going to get someone to take it in - its basically abandoned! RSPCA are a big joke .... tethered ponies can get into all sorts of trouble - for a start they cant run from danger, reach food or water and end up depressed and malnaurished.
Whats the latest please?????
scottwichall
says...
1:07pm Mon 18 Feb 13
As to the seriousness of it, what have all the people done who walked by and told the adver about it... I suspect not a lot.
Fred and Wilma
says...
4:03pm Mon 18 Feb 13
MissO wrote:Totally agree with you, disapointed adver has not given any updates on the poor thing, and you are right the rspca should be ashamed of themselves.
Why dont you lot stop turning this into a Joke? Its no joke for the pony that has a life of hell!!
Is this pony still tethered on this land? If so im going to get someone to take it in - its basically abandoned! RSPCA are a big joke .... tethered ponies can get into all sorts of trouble - for a start they cant run from danger, reach food or water and end up depressed and malnaurished.
Whats the latest please?????
Eastcott says...
12:38pm Fri 15 Feb 13