THE owner of a local riding school is pleading for people to stop breeding ponies. Julie Davies-Bennetts says she was horrified to see how cheap ponies were being sold for at a local sale and said she soon realised that the animals were clearly being sold to the meat trade.

“Ponies were being sold for as little as £30 on the day that we took eight of our riders to see what a sale was like,” said Ms Davies-Bennetts, who owns Malvern Riding School.

“We purchased one pony – a pretty little miniature Shetland – so we have given one animal at least the chance of a nice life with lots of care and attention.

“The market is flooded and is at rock bottom and ponies and horses are a luxury which many people cannot afford. I urge people to stop breeding. The important thing is that horses and ponies have a job to do and need to be handled and broken in.”

Ms Davies-Bennetts is echoing the concerns of two major equine charities, the British Horse Society and World Horse Welfare, both of whom have spoken out against indiscriminate breeding and the problems that having too many horses and ponies are causing, such as illegal abandonment, cruelty and neglect.

Ms Davies-Bennetts, meanwhile, has the perfect job for her Shetland whom she has named Buttons. She has bought a second-hand cart which she is teaching him to pull and hopes some of her pupils will want to learn how to drive a cart too.

She is also a registered carer for adults with learning disabilities and Buttons will be used as an equine specific sensory aid in her hands on horses therapy.

Ms Davies-Bennetts used to breed Dartmoor ponies at her Dartmoor pony stud but as the market receded she decided the sensible thing was to stop.

“As an experienced breeder I am all in favour of the Government reintroducing Ministry of Agriculture licensing for stallions,” she said. “Years ago you had to have a licence for your stallion to control the quality and to stop too many people who thought it was a way of making money.” Ms Davies-Bennetts can be contacted on handsonhorses@ btinternet.com.