complicated enough, Merry just had to be different! We booked him into Cotts Farm Equine hospital and set off – having starved him for 36 hours (I know I have told you that before, but honestly, it’s a bit extreme!). He was pretty scared at hospital, what with having to go there on his own and everything. But they are very understanding at Cotts and he soon felt at home. When it was time to collect him, Richard had a long face and said ‘I’m afraid it’s not straightforward’. Although the scan looked as though there was a small, shadowy thing lurking up towards Merry’s tummy region, it turned out not to be the second testicle. Richard said we would have to do blood tests in a few days to see whether he was a gelding or not, so we took him home again. He recovered really well from his operation and, thank goodness, the blood tests showed he was a gelding. It seems that someone (and that someone was clearly not a vet) had had a go at Merry before – poor little man!

Anyway, all’s well that ends well, as someone once said (perhaps it was me) and Merry is settling into his new life as a gelding. And although he was scared that day, he is a much more confident pony now.

This year, all of the colts here have been the lucky recipients of a grant from the Pettifor Trust. It has provided them with the veterinary care that they need to put them on a safe path to a new life. The Pettifor Trust is based in Swansea and was generous in its help to these ‘Swansea Jacks’. Diolch yn fawr iawn i chi!