Searching for Sugarfoot the missing mini horse

Cilla Reeves wants to know where her former pony Sonny, or Sugarfoot, is and believes he is located in the Tauranga area. Photo / Supplied

An Auckland woman is on the hunt for Sugarfoot - a white miniature horse which was sold to someone in Tauranga.

Cilla Reeves bought Sonny, a white appaloosa miniature horse, from a farm in Northland after seeing him chained to a fence for three years. The farm went up for sale and when she saw, she drove straight in and purchased the little horse on the spot.

"I rescued him, the horse was totally neglected. He was tied to a post, which was good in a way because it meant he didn't founder. If they eat too much they founder," Ms Reeves told the Bay of Plenty Times from Auckland.

The former owner of Sugarfoot the miniature horse wants to track him down.

"I just fell in love with him straight away and we bonded really strongly. He liked to have a beer and he loved food. Food was his passion. He also loved playing with the cats and dogs, he was such a social little fellow. We used to go for walks every day which meant there was two horses, three dogs and two cats and they were all really good mates."

"It would just be so good to know he was safe and sound now."

The 65-year-old had to resell the horse two years ago after she had to start taking full time care of her elderly mother.

Ms Reeves said she had been trying to track down the horse ever since.

"It's like losing a child. It's not so bad when you sell a horse and you know where he goes. When you don't know what's happening with them it's a whole different thing. He's got got a history and I think he could easily be misinterpreted because he is so lively and enthusiastic about everything."

Ms Reeves believes the people she resold the horse to in Northland renamed him Sugarfoot and then sold him to new owners in the Tauranga area.

At the time Sugarfoot was advertised as being 8-years-old and as a pony. He was actually in fact only 4-years-old at the time and was a miniature white appaloosa horse. Mrs Reeves said she just wanted to know her former horse was okay and wanted to keep in contact with the current owners.

He liked to have a beer and he loved food ... He also loved playing with the cats and dogs, he was such a social little fellow.

"He was a real crowd stopper, people always stopped us down the road if they saw him. He was such a happy, sociable, enthusiastic little man. It would be nice to know he was with people who saw him that way.

"This tragedy is happening far too often, previous owners are prevented keeping contact with their horses simply because sellers choose to change the facts about the horse when they sell it again."

-If you have any facts about Sugarfoot please contact Bay of Plenty Times reporter Ruth Keber.