World's oldest Shetland pony dies in Berlin

Berlin’s famous Shetland pony, Madame Nou, died at her stables in the Düppel area of the city on Tuesday, newspaper the BZ reported.

A vet put the animal to sleep following an illness. Her carer said Madame Nou had not been able to eat properly and had lost a lot of weight.

She survived the butcher’s knife in 1974 when she was rescued by animal lovers and came to the stables in Düppel where she became their pride and joy over the next 50 years. Around 1,500 children learned to ride on her.

In 1992 she began her well-earned retirement and celebrated her 50th birthday in January this year. Although in reality, no-one is sure of her exact age.

Madame Nou exceed the life expectancy of Shetland ponies by 20 years and her body will be donated to a clinic for scientific research.

Her keeper Gloria Riènzner said: “Sometimes I think that the pony is accompanying me rather than the other way round,” the Tagesspiegel newspaper reported.