Wee Alfie (b.2 February 2010)

I'd like to introduce you to a very special wee pony called Alfie. Alfie is a 3 year old Welsh pony and he currently lives at Hope Pastures, a horse and donkey sanctuary on the outskirts of Leeds.

I was contacted at the end of January by Amy, who is a volunteer at Hope Pastures and works there every Saturday. (Amy has also got a law degree and is looking for a traineeship - get in touch if you can help her out!) Hope Pastures is a wonderful sanctuary which is currently called home by a couple of dozen horses and ponies, with a few donkeys and mules as well.

Alfie is currently a resident at Hope Pastures after his knee was injured in a tussle last year. He's been on box rest for quite some time, and he still has a limp. It's not clear whether he'll ever recover, but I do hope he does. I had the privilege of meeting Alfie on 20 February - the first time I've ever met one of my horsey models! - and he is such a sweet pony. Cheeky, yes; boisterous, yes; likes to nibble you, yes; and he's very, very sweet.

I was so moved by Alfie's story and the good work that Hope Pastures does in looking after neglected horses and ponies that I wanted to do something for them. So when I went to see Alfie, I met with two of the trustees to talk about how I could do this.

Hope Pastures have an adoption scheme where people can adopt a horse, pony or donkey to help with their upkeep. I have offered to make up wee horses based on Hope Pastures' most popular residents which can then be sold to raise extra money for the charity. So, I am donating six wee horses to Hope Pastures, and I will also donate 20% of the sale price for every wee horse ordered through Hope Pastures. This is such a worthwhile charity - I met a few of the other horses and ponies there, and although they all have a sad story of how they arrived at the sanctuary, they all look well and happy, and are being carefully nurtured back to full health.

I'll be writing about the Quernus Hope Pastures herd very soon - I'm making wee models of Muffin, Mr Jingles, Jasper, Trigger, Sparky and Prince, and I'm really looking forward to getting to know them all!

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