New arrival at Northumberland visitor attraction promises to be a big hit when it reopens
and live on Freeview channel 276
The new Clydesdale colt at the Hay Farm Heavy Horse Centre, on Ford and Etal Estates, arrived at 2am on Sunday, May 10.
Within an hour he was standing, albeit wobbly on his long legs, and drinking milk from his mother, the 10-year-old mare Primrose.
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Hide AdIt’s her first foal, but she is proving to be an excellent mother.
Viv Cockburn and her daughter Anna, who run Hay Farm, are committed to breeding the rare working horses.
They started trying to breed from Primrose when she was three years old, but it was not until last spring, when she was nine, that they were successful.
The father is Hay Farm’s in-demand stallion, Teddy, who grew up with Primrose.
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Hide AdAs well as being a popular attraction for locals and visitors, Hay Farm is a nationally-important breeding centre for the working horses. It is the only heavy horse specialist that has been awarded an Approved Conservation Centre accolade by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST).
Normally 20,000 people a year visit the centre, which relies purely on public donations.
Along with all other attractions on Ford and Etal Estates, it has been officially closed since March 23 and for the first time ever it has been forced to request financial support from heavy horse lovers as it was turned down for both government COVID-19 grants and any charity grants.
Donations can be made to Hay Farm via www.gofundme.com/f/Urgent-help-hay-farm-heavies