Missing pony Lorelei found safe
From staff reports
Here’s a feel-good story for the day of gratitude.
Lorelei, the two-foot-tall mini pony who went missing from Empire Hills Farm on Wednesday, Nov. 20, after the gate was accidentally left unlatched, was found safe on Sunday morning, Nov. 24, successfully wrangled on the second attempt by Brandon Morse and brought back home. Five other ponies were found and returned the day they escaped.
Dozens of concerned citizens in Leelanau and Benzie Counties joined the effort to find Lorelei. They included drone operators who used thermal imaging, horseback riders, and landowners near a 300-acre patch off Fowler Road—about three miles south of Empire Hills Farm—from whom Gretchen Knoblock secured permission to scout their land after the pony was sighted on Friday evening trying to steal apples from a resident’s front porch. Knoblock helps run the Empire Pony Pals program together with Empire Hills Farm founder Michele Morris. Empire Pony Pals launched in June as part of the Sleeping Bear Equestrian Club.
In the end, however, it was fellow horses, and nature itself, that coaxed Lorelei to safety. According to Knoblock, the pony had just gone into heat and was attracted to the geldings, the male horses, who took part in the search for her.
“We made the decision on Saturday to put people on horses, because she wouldn’t be afraid of horses,” said Knoblock. “We put the call out to any experienced riders to come on Sunday between 11 am and 3 pm.” But Lorelei was located by 10:30.
Knoblock and Morris had been worried that Lorelei might be attacked by a coyotes, accidentally shot by a hunter mistaking her for a deer, mired in water, hit by a car, or injured in old barbed wire. “We weren’t so much worried about food and water, since there’s plenty to forage.”
Lorelei and four other mini ponies came to Empire Hills Farm from the Michigan Humane Society as part of a group that were rescued and rehabilitated downstate. But Lorelei hadn’t been handled much by people. “She will run because she’s afraid,” said Knoblock.
Morris began working with her over the last the six weeks, to get her ready for when children return to the Pony Pals program in the spring. The goal of Empire Pony Pals is to teach kids horsemanship.
“It’s not about riding them, but learning how to care for them, how to work with them, understand them and create bonds with them,” said Knoblock.”
Following the successful search for Lorelei, Sleeping Bear Equestrian Club plans to add a “search and rescue” committee to help with future missing efforts. Empire Hills Farm will host an open house on Saturday, Dec. 14, from 12-3 pm, to thank the community and volunteers for helping bring Lorelei home. Guests can meet the mini ponies and tour the farm.
