Pam Clifford, who volunteers with the Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony group, took a few random photos of a Dartmoor foal for a project that the organization was running, but when she noticed the poo bag in the foal’s mouth, then she got panicked.
“I’d taken one picture of the foal lying down, then went to take one from another angle, turned around and thought ‘oh my god. I went back across and tried to get hold of the bag but he just went zooming off. I tried my best but there was no way I could catch him, so I got hold of the local pony keeper, who lives nearby, and she came out and got the bag out of his mouth.” said Mrs. Clifford.
She was unable to get close enough to the foal to check but believes the bag was stuck as it was still there when the keeper arrived. “It could have been fatal if he’d swallowed it, but it wasn’t just that one; the keeper picked up about 14 other bags of poo while she was there.”
Mrs. Clifford said walkers’ leaving bagged poo behind is a major issue locally. “There are also people who dump huge piles of grass cuttings for the ponies to eat, boxes of apples; they just don’t think, and it can all be fatal. I just want to do anything to help spread the word.” That is why being informed is always the best way how to maintain safety.
