Rare 'dalmatian looking pony' fighting for life after premature birth

A rare polka dot pony, which appears to have the body of a horse and fur of a Dalmatian, is fighting for life after being born prematurely.

By Andrew Hough
Published: 8:00AM BST 15 May 2010

The speckled foal, nicknamed 'Rolly' after it's unique way of rolling over onto its hooves, is only the second British spotted pony to have arrived at Wembury Point, near Plymouth.

Born on Thursday to a chocolate mare and a father just as spotty as he, the foal has found himself at the centre of attention for more than just his unusual fur after being born prematurely.

Tiny Rolly is receiving round the clock care from National Trust head ranger Simon Garner and his team, which have nursed the foal through the night.

"We don't know how prematurely he was born, but his back legs were still in the foetal position," he said.

"We are giving him hourly feeds by hand because he was born so prematurely his mother hasn't produced any milk yet.

"The mother is still hanging around in the background which is a good sign because we want to keep the mother-foal bond. "

He added: "We have nicknamed him Rolly because he keeps trying to roll over from his back onto his feet.

"He is only the second one to be born here so he is really rare."

His mother is a Dartmoor pony but his father is a British Spotted pony and they come in a range of colours, including 'blanket' where the animal has a plain coat with a white spotted blanket over its back.

There is also "snowflake" where the pony has white spots on a dark coat, but Rolly is a 'leopard spot' because he has black spots on a white coat.

There are around 170 spotted ponies born each year and they were once wild in the UK.

The spotty coat was a natural camouflage as they roamed the forests of ancient Britain.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7723632/Rare-dalmatian-looking-pony-fighting-for-life.html