Four stallions found ‘discarded’ on a busy road have been taken in by the Lluest Horse and Pony Trust. The group, who were loose on the highway for a almost a fortnight, have been named after Lord of the Rings characters in honour of their eventful past.

They were wandering the A48 between Pyle and Margam for nearly two weeks, risking danger to themselves and the users of the road. The local authority intervened and following ‘exhaustive’ efforts to locate their owner, nobody stepped forward to claim them.

All four were found to be stallions and none were microchipped. The group have been taken in by the Lluest Horse and Pony Trust, where they will eventually be integrated in the charity’s existing herds while suitable Guardian homes are found for them.

Safe at last: Samwise is finding his feet at the charity

Since their rescue they have been named Frodo, Baggins, Gandalf, and Samwise.

Frodo had a head collar on when he was first taken in and is friendly and happy to be caught, led, and groomed, whereas the two cobs, Gandalf and Samwise, are much more nervous and will follow the lead of their more confident friend. Shetland Baggins is a little less nervous and his confidence has improved quickly, making him easier to catch, lead and groom.

Lluest staff say with such differences between the four stallions it is difficult to imagine where they came from, and as none were microchipped it is feared they were dumped at the side of the road.

Gandalf (pictured) and Samwise have been following Frodo’s lead

“Baggins and Frodo have just completed their first dentals, microchips, tetanus vaccines and strangles blood tests in preparation for coming out of quarantine,” said Lluest’s Operations Manager, Dionne Schuurman. “They have already been wormed following their medium worm egg counts. These two boys took it all in their stride and were perfectly behaved. Our vet Lisa loved them. She thinks little Baggins is around five years old. However, Frodo’s teeth were a little puzzling but Lisa’s best guess, for now, is that he is around seven years old. We hope to be able to geld them in the next month.

“We are allowing nervous Gandalf to settle in without asking too much of him, so he skipped this vet visit as was only caught for the first time yesterday. It was great to finally get hands on him and cut out some of his badly matted hair. As expected, his worries very quickly melted away and he thoroughly enjoyed his first groom and scratches. He is a very sweet young man and it’s so easy to fall in love with him.

Shetland Baggins was among the group roaming the busy road

“Samwise is even more suspicious and nervous of us, he will take longer to come around. He will eat from a bucket you are holding but will quickly pin his ears and move away if you try to place even just a finger on him. Who knows if he’s had a previous bad experience of humans leading to him being so defensive. Hopefully it won’t be too long before he realises he isn’t in any danger from us.”

It is estimated the initial bill for the care of the stallions will be around £8,000, so the Trust is asking people to consider donating towards their upkeep. It has set up a Go Fund Me page to support the stallions and their ongoing work, which can be found here.

Frodo is the most confident of the four stallions