GARDAI are hunting two men who "used a pony as a getaway car" after failing to hotwire a tractor.

Farmer Joe McGlinchey arrived to check on his small holding at Mill Brae, Stranorlar, Co Donegal, on Monday morning and noticed the gate of the field was lying open.

He discovered one of his eight Connemara ponies was missing and that an unsuccessful attempt had been made to hotwire his Ford tractor.

When the culprits failed to take the tractor they stole 'Snowy', a white Connemara Gelding, from the stables.

"They vandalised the whole place and wrecked the tractor when they pulled the ignition out. A local man spotted two men heading up the road on Snowy at about 6am," he said.

"I know we are in the middle of a recession, but things must be really bad when someone uses a pony as a getaway car."

Discovered

The four-year-old pony was discovered in a rural area about two miles away at 2pm that afternoon.

He was down a laneway off a back road that leads to the border with Tyrone.

Mr McGlinchey keeps a brood of hens beside the stables and they produce free-range eggs which he packs and sells under the 'Country Farm Eggs' brand.

He said he initially feared that professional horse thieves had struck, as €10,000 worth of horse riding equipment was stolen from the same stable in November.

"I thought at first that these people knew what they were doing. I didn't realise it was a getaway car they wanted instead of a pony," he said.

"There were eight ponies in the field, including a stallion which belonged to a man from Galway. I had to send the stallion away as I feared we were dealing with horse thieves.

"We went through hell and back but, thankfully, we got Snowy back safe and well," he added.