In a heartwarming turn of events, the 16-year-old Shetland Pony, Maisie, stolen from Upper Castle Combe last year, has been reunited with her delighted owner, Alison Wood, thanks to the collaborative efforts of HorseWorld and the RSPCA.
Last year, Maisie’s disappearance left her owners distraught whilst launching desperate appeals for her safe return. The brazen theft saw unknown suspects loading Maisie onto a trailer and making off from the scene, leaving her owners fearing the worst.
However, after eight long months of uncertainty, the tale took a miraculous turn when RSPCA inspectors, responding to welfare concerns about a group of horses in Avonmouth, discovered Maisie in a dire condition. Severely underweight, malnourished, and covered in lice, Maisie was on the brink of despair.
HorseWorld’s Head of Welfare, Sarah Hollister, recounted the harrowing condition in which they found Maisie. Despite being at full capacity, HorseWorld knew they had to intervene and provide the care Maisie urgently needed.
Transported to HorseWorld’s emergency care unit, Maisie received immediate life-saving treatment from the dedicated Equine Welfare and veterinary team. As she began her journey to recovery, her microchip was discovered revealing her true identity as the stolen pony reported missing by Alison Wood.
The revelation sparked a flurry of emotions as HorseWorld and the RSPCA coordinated efforts to reunite Maisie with her rightful owner. Petra Ingram, HorseWorld’s Chief Executive, reflected on the moment they realised Maisie’s true origins, “Maisey has quite distinctive markings and as I was looking over photographs of the rescue, they triggered a memory of something I had seen on social media.
“With a little more delving it quickly transpired that HorseWorld had shared a Facebook post about Maisey’s theft back in July 2023. We immediately telephoned colleagues at the RSPCA and shared the amazing news that we believed we had identified not only the pony, but where she had originally come from too!”
RSPCA Inspector Dan Hatfield echoed the sentiment, expressing joy at being part of Maisie’s journey back home and highlighted the importance of microchipping pets saying, “This is a fantastic example of how vital it is that we microchip our pets – without this, Maisey may never have found her way back home to her owners, and I am so happy to witness them being reunited today. It was a special moment for us all.”
Alison Wood, overcome with emotion, described the surreal feeling of having Maisie back home. “It feels unreal to have Maisey home. When Dan phoned I just burst out crying”, she said. “I didn’t say anything! I’ve had people in the village crying when I’ve told them. Holly, her field mate, will be over the moon. But without the microchip, and the amazing work of everyone involved, we would have never got her back.”
