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Jarvis
Mr Charm Offensive
Born
2005
Rescued
2013
Permanent Resident
Some days I feel like I'm still running wild on a mountain somewhere. Most days though I like to greet everyone who passes my fence.
Jarvis
Jarvis was part of the Cavehill Herd. Cavehill Country Park asked the sanctuary to remove 14 feral horses from the park. This was a major challenge because of their wild nature and the difficult terrain. The horses couldn't remain on the hills because of the danger to the public and the lack of food in winter, so volunteers came up every day during the winter to provide feed and get the animals used to them. Of the 14 horses, seven of the mares were pregnant, although two later miscarried as they were too young to carry a foal to term. If the herd hadn't been removed, there could potentially have been more than 20 horses by the end of the year and double that next summer. He was part of the first group of 5 lifted from the mountain.
Jarvis completely shut down when he arrived, he couldn't bear to look at anyone. Up until that time he had only known Cavehill with his family. He used to just stand at the fence staring across the fields never interacted much with anyone. When work was started on training Jarvis just watched the others for 2 weeks but eventually, he came around to the idea - with the help of treats! The first time he went for a walk he thought about it a lot afterward and wouldn't let anyone catch him for another three days.
Jarvis never found the right home and there were fears among staff who had worked long and hard with him that he may have reverted back to shutting down. He needs a good routine and many weren't willing to take on some of his quirks. Even though he was a feral stallion - he is often the first over for attention and can be paired up with just about any other horse or pony due to his great nature.
