A local farm completed their deliveries this weekend with the help of some four-legged friends.

Mossgiel Farm completed their rounds on Saturday atop four Blackstone Clydesdales, a rare breed of horse native to the region.

Cumnock Chronicle:

Farmer Bryce Cunningham of Mossgiel Farm joined John Duncan, owner of Blackstone Farm for the unusual delivery service around Cumnock.

Mossgiel offered the carbon neutral delivery service to Cumnock customers to support Blackstone Clydesdales with their fundraising efforts.

They led the Clydesdales from their stables at Blackstone Farm to the East Ayrshire Community Hospital where they delivered the first milk of their round and paid their thanks to staff at the hospital for all their hard work before continuing around the rest of the town.

Cumnock Chronicle:

The good folk at Mossgiel Farm have sought to ensure the continued presence of the Blackstone Clydesdales after concerns were raised by the owners of the horses as to their ability to afford the upkeep of their 30-strong herd.

Bryce said: “We wanted to help raise awareness of what’s going on over at Blackstone Farm. They’re good friends of ours and we wanted to do our bit to help.

“They’re going to lose all the money they would usually get from the horses and are going to have to sell them unless they get some support.”

John and his wife Magi set up a fundraiser to help provide for their horses in the absence of income from tourists seeking to ride the impressive animals.

They set up a fundraiser with the aim of raising £5000 to cover the monthly upkeep of the horses and quickly surpassed that and have raised £12,000 so far.

Cumnock Chronicle:

Magi Duncan spoke with the Chronicle last week saying: “It’s a bit overwhelming the support that we’ve gotten. We’ve got a big following on Facebook, but in a crisis like this everyone has their own issues and other things going on. A lot of small businesses need help.

“Our visitors come from all over the world. We’re getting donations from different countries. They want to visit us when we’re back open.

“Here the horses come first. We could starve before they did. We are extremely lucky to have so many kind donations.”

  **************

Scotland is in lockdown, shops are closing and newspaper sales are falling fast. We’re not exaggerating when we say that the future of the Cumnock Chronicle, and the vital local news service we’ve provided since 1901 is under threat.

Please consider supporting the Cumnock Chronicle  in whatever way you can – by paying just 90p for a copy of the paper, when you’re shopping for essential supplies for yourself and others, or by subscribing to our e-edition here.

Thanks - and stay safe.