Hermaphrodite pony finds friendship with donkey

Meet Tootsie – a hermaphrodite pony who lived for 12 years with his owners thinking he was female.

For most of his life the Shetland pony, who has both male and female genitalia, was thought to be a mare and went by the name of Amy.

And to add to his confusion he has been taken into care, undergone a sex change operation and been re-homed – only to be shunned by his peers.

But now Tootsie – named after Dustin Hoffman’s cross-dressing character in the film of the same name – finally appears to be settling in at the Bransby Home of Rest for Horses, near Lincoln.

And he has found an unlikely friend – in stablemate Derek the donkey.

Despite his upbringing as a mare, Tootsie still has an eye for the ladies. […] ‘He still squeals and gets excited by mares. He is full of life in that department. If he could get near them he would be a bit of a nuisance.’