Remy (RSPCA Remus)
Remy is a beautiful soul inside and out and a really gentle boy. Remy was rescued by the RSPCA and came to Val in December 2020 from there. Initially he was very nervous around people but with lots and lots of positive handling, Remy is now confident enough to join our sessions. Remy is so chilled, you often find him sat in the field watching the world go by. His best friend is Hamilton. Remy came just before Hamilton and they hit it off straight away and love to play together. Hamilton is like his big brother and sometimes likes to take Remy for a walk! We found out later that Remy and Hamilton had once been at the RSPCA together before one was moved to another centre. Horses have amazing memories and always remember each other – and humans!
Colors
Colors is one of our ‘minis’. His breed is an American miniature (hence the spelling) and he arrived in the UK from Canada with Princess. Colors thinks Princess is his Mum as he has always lived with her but he is small enough to walk underneath her. Colors passport says he arrived in the UK a bag he is so small! Color’s owner is unable to look after him and Princess so asked us if we could. Colors loves jumping fences and also loves rolling in the grass and leaves and getting mucky. The one thing Colors HATES though is having a bath to get clean!
Princess
Princess is one of our biggest – so she is not technically a pony but a horse. Princess is a Canadian Standardbred, which is a rare breed so there are not many of her in the world. Like Colors, she came to us as her owner could no longer look after her. Although very big, Princess is very gentle and kind. Her favourite thing is to be scratched on her neck and withers and would happily stand with people all day to be cuddled and fussed. When Princess was a young horse in Canada, she used to pull a cart and we are hoping that one day she might do that with us. Princess is definitely the matriarch of our horses and likes to keep an eye on all of the others. However, she can sometimes be VERY bossy!
Candi (RSPCA Jasmine)
Often our ponies from the RSPCA arrive without much history with them but we did learn about the situation Candi was rescued from and it was truly horrific – one of the worst cases the RSPCA had ever attended. Despite this, Candi is a really friendly, busy girl, who loves to be at the centre of everything that is happening. Candi is super sweet and super sassy! Her best friend is Nox and between them they like to keep the boys in order!
Woody
Woody, our other ‘mini’ is quite new to Jacob’s Den but his new bestie, Colors, soon made him feel at home. Woody is brilliant with little children or nervous people as he is so gentle and patient. Like all our domestic friends, horses need regular care including dentist visits, farrier visits to look after their hooves, vaccinations and regular worming but when Woody came to us, this had been neglected over the years. Woody loves people and whickers at the fence when he sees anyone coming but sometimes he can be a little bit cheeky when you want to catch him and enjoys making people chase him round the paddock!
Jimmy
If Jacob’s Den was a country, Jim would be our National treasure. Jim has been with Val’s family since 2007 and he has turned his hoof to so many things in his life, looking after so many children along the way and being their best friend. Jimmy can be a chameleon as he is roan and his colour changes depending on what time of year it is. He can look from almost grey through to almost black, often getting dapples on his bottom too! Jim’s pony best friend is Bailey. They are now both in their twenties and have been together many years now and hopefully many more to come.
Nox
It took a long time for Nox to learn to trust us when she first arrived. It took three visits from our very patient farrier, James, before he was able to get close enough to trim her hooves. Now, a few years on and Nox is a much more confident girl and enjoyed her first Jacob’s Den sessions in summer 2023. Nox was born black but is slowly turning grey over the years. Like most grey ponies, she was born a much darker colour but a faulty coat gene in most grey horses means they go grey prematurely (often to white but still called grey). Nox has been bred to look ‘cute’ with a tiny muzzle and ears and big eyes. Unfortunately this has repercussions for her health, such as her teeth which she will always have problems with because her mouth is so small. Nox loves splashing in water and her favourite trick is to empty water buckets as quickly as we can fill them up. We have even bought her a paddling pool in summer before in the hope she would use that instead!
Bailey
Bailey is a loveable cheeky pony who is the favourite of many of our visitors. Now in his twenties, Bailey often acts like a youngster, always curious and mischievous and sticking his muzzle into everything! Bailey loves to go for a walk and likes to be be at the front leading the way. Unfortunately poor Bailey suffers really badly with allergies, particularly in the summer, and has to wear protective clothing and take medication to help relieve this. Bailey loves his food and one of his favourite things to eat is bananas- skin as well!
Hamilton (RSPCA Hamilton)
One thing we can we say about Hamilton is that he is a real character! Hamilton loves people and likes to be everyone’s best friend but sometimes we need to remind him of personal space. Hamilton is always one to make you laugh with his quirks, including following you around carrying his feed bucket to ask for more. Hamilton had a lot of problems with his skin and coat when he first came. Our vet put this down to neglect and anxiety from his early life once we had ruled out other things, but this has got much better over the years. Hamilton isn’t quite ready to join in with all our activities yet but our amazing volunteers are helping him along the way.
Hero
Hero is a gentle and sweet boy. When he was donated to us early in 2023, he was in a sorry state. Our vet and farrier both just shook their heads when they first visited him. His hooves showed he had suffered frequent attacks of a crippling and extremely painful condition called laminitis. Blood tests revealed he has underlying metabolic conditions that had gone untreated over the years which probably had contributed to the laminitis, and x-rays showed he had significant damage to the pedal bones in his hooves. It was touch and go for Hero at one point but now, with daily medications that he will need to take for life, regular blood tests, a carefully planned diet and also specially made shoes to support his hooves, Hero is now a healthy pony and is a regular favourite in the sessions. He is looking so much better now and at Jacob’s Den, we are all holding out for our Hero to stay fit and well.
Lady
Lady, like Princess, is not technically a pony but a horse as she is so big. Lady’s breed is an Irish Draught and she originally came all the way from Ireland. Her breed is renowned for their calm and sensible nature and Lady is true to type. Lady is also true to her name and is gentle, polite and well- mannered with everyone (although can be a little bit bossy with her equine friends!). Lady is always very busy and does many jobs outside of Jacob’s Den at our Arena yard. She sometimes takes part in 1:1 sessions at the Arena yard though and we look forward to her doing more of this in the future with Jacob’s Den.
Gee (Lady Godiva)
Gee was born in 2022 so she is much too young to join in activities yet at Jacob’s Den but she still enjoys watching and learning from her paddock. Gee came to us after her owner thought that she wasn’t going to look the part of the dressage pony she wanted, and she gave Gee the nickname ‘Pugly’. We think Gee is beautiful though, as we do all ponies. Whatever shape, size or colour they are, they are always welcome at Jacob’s Den!