Adorable miniature pony and elderly tortoise are best friends

Meet the adorable unlikely friends - a miniature pony and an elderly tortoise.

The pair are the best of friends and love to chase each other round the field.

Mudge the pony and Flash the tortoise have been inseparable since the reptile came to live at teacher Emily Lewis' farm.

Despite being very different creates - and mismatched in size - the pair love playing together, following each other around their pens and cuddling up.

Science teacher Emily said: "Mudge and Flash's relationship is relatively new and absolutely hilarious! 

"Flash is just absolutely obsessed with chasing Mudge around and plays with him every evening - they are quite the entertaining crew.

"Poor old Mudge only has one eye and gets teased a lot by cheeky Flash. 

"Flash thinks he is the king of the pasture and takes every opportunity to chase Mudge away from the barn, the water trough or just around in circles for what seems to be no reason! 

"He often stands in the doorway of the barn and will not allow poor Mudge to get in!

"Mudge seems annoyed sometimes but also seems to secretly enjoy the attention! 

"He bucks and flips his head and runs a little ahead of Flash, then just waits for him to catch up before running off again. 

"If Flash catches up before Mudge gets moving, he does try to nip at his heels and hooves! 

"They both certainly have ornery personalities!"

Emily Lewis, 40, runs a small farm behind her home in the small rural town of Bolivar, Ohio that is home to goats, horses and Flash.

Emily welcomed Flash into her life when she was a teenager and he was just a hatchling, more than two decades ago when she was in her final year of high school.

Flash joined her in college and after she graduated, Emily moved Flash to her classroom in Sandy Valley School in Magnolia, Ohio where she has taught seventh grade science for the past 15 years.

Unfortunately, Flash had an accident last year where he pulled a heat light down into his wooden cage, setting fire to his bedding.

He was thankfully saved by another teacher who braved the smoke filled room to rescue Flash moments before he would have been cooked alive.

Following Flash's brush with death, Emily moved Flash to the small farm she operates behind her home where he met miniature pony, Mudge and the rest is history.

Emily said: "Flash was my college pet, he started with me in my first classroom on day one and there have been approximately 1,800 students who have known and loved him over the years!"