A MINATURE Shetland pony that was found with a broken pelvis will spend Christmas at a horse charity in Speen.

Hamish, who is two-year-old, was found in a field next to the busy A5 between Kensworth and Dunstable on November17 by an off duty RSPCA animal collection officer.

He had a serious injury to his hind leg which left him in excruciating pain and barely able to move. Unable to be transported for a time, the RSPCA cared for him, before he was taken the Royal Veterinary College’s (RVC) Equine Hospital.

Here they discovered he had a broken pelvis, which will take many months to heal.

The Horse Trust in Speen has pledged to fund his vet care and a home for the rest of his life.

No-one knows who Hamish’s owners were or why they so heartlessly threw him out and left him alone and in agonising pain. Hamish is just another sad victim of the national horse crisis, one of thousands of horses, ponies and donkeys who will be left without care this winter.

The Horse Trust Chief Executive, Jeanette Allen said: “This is an all too common tale of a colt being thrown out because he was not perfect. We are a nation of animal lovers but there are sadly some owners who are all too willing to leave a pony like Hamish to suffer alone rather than provide the care they need, or to give them the kindness of a peaceful end if that is in their best interest.

“As Christmas approaches we ask everyone who can to please spare a few pounds to help Hamish and other horses like him who are struggling to survive this winter.”

If you can please help give Hamish the gift of life this Christmas by sponsoring him today. Visit www.horsetrust.org.uk or call 01494 488464.

Anyone with information about where Hamish may have come from should contact the RSPCA inspector appeal line in confidence on 0300 123 8018.