Five years ago, in 2021, our grooms got the best surprise when they arrived at work: rescue pony Sandy had unexpectedly given birth to a healthy colt foal! We named him Solar, and he was the first foal to be born at our Sanctuary that year. Sandy had arrived just two weeks earlier, pregnant and needing urgent help. The moorland pony was pregnant, so an emergency intervention was taken by our Welfare and Outreach team – bringing her to our veterinary and welfare centre where the team specialise in the care of mares in foal, as well as orphaned or abandoned foals.
We had no history of when Sandy was with the stallion so had no due date to work with for Solar’s expected arrival. A veterinary examination showed she might foal in approximately four weeks as there were no visual signs of an imminent birth.
Sandy was given access to an outdoor shelter and paddock to mimic the home she’d just come from in order to minimise stress. Staff were checking on her regularly but they hadn’t yet moved into what they call ‘foal watch’, whereby a member of staff sleeps onsite and monitors the mare every two hours.
In the early hours of Wednesday 16 June 2021, Sandy decided to bring Solar into the world by herself in her paddock. By the time staff arrived for the early shift, little Solar was up and about, and suckling well from his dam. Sally Burton, Head of Sanctuary Care, said: “Sandy is an excellent dam and her colt is healthy and strong. We had been fully geared up for our foal watch, but Sandy had other plans!
Solar was a beautiful foal with sandy-colored markings, four white socks, and a white flash on his head. His safe arrival was a moment of pure joy for everyone.
