Inseparable shetland ponies Poppet and Bert get married at rescue centre in Devon

  • Presenters Claire Manning and Bob Cryws chat to Tammy from Munchkins Miniature Shetland Rescue

A pair of inseparable ponies at an animal rescue centre in Devon have celebrated their wedding, days after one was in a life-threatening condition.

Poppet and Bert were married at Munchkins Miniature Shetland Rescue in Colyton on Saturday as a celebration of their reunion after Bert's hospital trip.

Poppet arrived at the shelter in March this year in poor condition, but under the shelter's care she recovered and one of the older ponies Bert quickly took her under his wing.

Bert then had a health scare at the end of August, but made a miraculous recovery, returning to the shelter on Thursday.

Tammy Marx from the rescue centre told ITV West Country: "Poppet came to the shelter in an emaciated state, a 0.2 body scale and she wasn't expected to survive.

"We had such great help and advice from our vets and before long she put on weight, she became happier.

"She'd actually been separated from some of her friends when she was rescued and she was very lonely.

"Bert had come to us in November 2022 - they soon found each other and became inseparable."

Shetland pony Poppet on her wedding day Credit: Munchkins Miniature Shetland Rescue

Speaking on the wedding day, Tammy said: "In the lead up to the wedding it was a bit rainy but on the day we had glorious sunshine.

"It was one of those spur of the moment decisions, a couple of days before Bert had been in veterinary hospital for five days with colic really, really poorly.

"When he came home, Poppet was the first waiting at the gate to see him - we picked him up on the Thursday where he'd made a miraculous recovery.

"I thought this would be a brilliant celebration of their lives, something for us all to smile about and be happy about.

"There's enough doom and gloom in the world, we thought that it would be a celebration.

"They follow each other, they eat together, they share their food, they go off out on the paddock together.

"They're just two very happy ponies who are lucky to have found each other."