Joey who joined the herd in October 2011 was found to be lame a couple of days ago and so the Bellever Team set about planning his capture!!

This is no easy operation with a herd of 27 semi-feral ponies. 

Our volunteer warden Michele writes…..

This afternoon Joey and his 17 pals were grazing at the bottom of the north side of Bellever Tor which was perfect for catching him.

Maria the DPHT Bellever Pony Warden armed with a head collar and bucket of food calmly caught Joey. 

The others were spectating!

With gentle persuasion from Maria, Joey negotiated a very low gap in the stone wall.

We proceeded slowly to the catch pen – some of the others joined in but most lost interest after a while.

Joey was safely secured in the catch pen but he wasn’t impressed!

Fortunately Smudge came along so he joined Joey to keep him company.

Joey loaded into the trailer quietly, again thanks to Maria’s calm approach.  She knows all the ponies very well and they trust her.

As I walked back to the car Joey and his owners stopped for a chat.

‘He’s named after the horse in “War Horse”. 

I said we’d miss him but his owners were confident he’d back in Bellever in the future once he had received treatment and had fully recovered.