BTS of Liam’s heart breaking story and why we started this fundraiser to bring him home to Italy 🖤

Bringing Liam Home

** this fundraiser is to urgently raise money to bring Liam to Italy, and save him from being euthanized!

We absolutely by no means want to have to go the route of Liam being euthanized, and this is why we are in this position and starting this fundraiser! Please read below to understand more, and thank you so much for your donation and for sharing!!

The Travelling Menagerie is an animal sanctuary based on a farm in Italy which provides life-long refuge for animals that need a second chance at life.

This will possibly be a surprise to many, but our very first rescue pony, Liam, is still located in England where he’s been lovingly cared for by an amazing friend of mine over the last six years… this is his story:

I purchased Liam on 11 Dec 2016. He was sold to me as a six-year-old, riding away, ready for finishing, sales prospect. I bought him intending to teach him to jump and sell him on to a nice kid looking for a cute Pony Club pony.

Liam came off the trailer alert, a little wary, but under control and no more or less edgy then any horse in a new place. He had two halters and two leads on, which I noted without giving it much thought. When his handlers put him in his new stall, they started to tie him up. I instructed them to take his halters and leads off so he could settle in his stall for a while. I was slightly taken aback by his size (he was supposed to be 15.1 hh, and the pony examining the stall in front of me would be lucky to top 14 hh). But otherwise he looked healthy and as described.

I gave Liam a day or two to settle in. He was more nervous then I anticipated based on his seller's description. He was reluctant to approach the front of the stall, and wanted nothing to do with any human interaction. On his third day, I decided it was time to officially meet my new pony. I walked in to the stall, arm outstretched, talking softly. He huddled in a corner, eyes wide, muscles tense, skin twitchy. The minute my hand brushed his side, he kicked out with both hind legs, sending me flying across the stall with a hip injury that would take months to heal.

I scurried out of the stall and contacted the seller. This was not the pony I purchased. He was feral, terrified, and clearly not "ready for finishing." How could I resell a pony that kicked just at the thought of being touched. The seller offered to take him back, without refunding my money, resell him, and then "give me the profit" she received. She also claimed that he was "nothing like that" when she knew him, and that the move must have "blown his mind."

I was torn. I didn't have the time or inclination to work with a troubled pony at that time. The yard owners and other liveries advised me to destroy him; he was clearly damaged and would never be “useful.” In my heart, I knew that returning him to the seller would only result in him in some other sucker's hands, one who may be considerably less experienced than I am with horses, and real danger could result for both Liam and any potential new buyer.

I considered my options for a week, before ultimately deciding that someone owed Liam. Whatever had happened to him in his past, it was at human hands, and he deserved a life where he was safe, loved, and understood. So I kept him.

We’ve learned a bit about his past and know he was used for road racing in his younger days. He is covered in scars from being beaten with barbed whips for years, it was sickening the first time we clipped him and we could see the full extent of the damage. His tail was also broken in a bad driving accident at some point, and not reset to heal properly. Early on, we had a wonderful natural liberty trainer work with him for nearly a year to see if he would ever want to be a riding pony, but Liam firmly said no, and we listened.

When we decided to move all my horses from England to Bulgaria five years ago, it was decided that Liam would not cope well with the long distance travel. He was happy where he was, he’d bonded with my friend, and she generously offered to keep him on her yard as long as I continued to cover his upkeep. So that’s what we’ve done for many years. But now, my friend is moving into other stages of life, and it’s time to bring Liam home. Over the years under her care, he has softened a lot and now loves a scratch and treats and some brushing… he’s fine to lead and tie and he doesn’t mind walking into a trailer.

The cost to bring Liam home is a bit over our means right now, since we haven’t had a lot of time to plan. The quote is €3500. He needs to be moved by mid-November. We’d really appreciate any help we can get to bring this very special pony finally home to us!

You can see some of Liam’s early days on his FB page: https://www.facebook.com/share/r3woqi...