Horse abandoned on road 'quickly won our hearts'

Arty was rescued after being abandoned on a roadside

A 12-year-old horse is making a recovery after being rescued from a roadside in a neglected state, a charity has said.

The Mare and Foal Sanctuary said the abandoned piebald cob named Arty had been taken in at their assessment centre in Newton Abbot, Devon, after he was seen running loose on a road in Somerset.

It said Arty had been found on 7 February by the RSPCA heavily overweight with a head collar embedded into his skin and he suffered from mites and infection.

Arty was said to be doing "really well" since receiving specialist care.

Dawn Vincent, the charity's director of fundraising and communications, said Arty was a gentle pony who was "a real character".

"He won our hearts very quickly and we can't wait to see what happens next," she added.

The charity said Arty was found alongside a mare in foal who has since given birth to a colt.

It added the mare and foal, who have been named Flor and Martis, would be rehomed with Bristol-based charity Horse World.