Some Rescue Cases
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Ponies'
Pitiful Plight |
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three ponies were slowly starving to death right under the nose of their
owners .... they were living in the owners' garden!
These people even had the audacity to sell them in this pitiful
state. A lady went along and bought the ponies because she
felt so sorry for them. She called her vet in to check them over and
he advised her to ring EHPPS to ask us to take them as he was concerned
she had taken on more than she could deal with.
Two of our staff went along to collect the trio to bring them back to the Sanctuary, where one of our vets came them a thorough check over. Mia, the filly, was so frail and weak that our Head Groom, Kristy Taylor, had to carry her onto the horse trailer and carry her off when they arrived at the Sanctuary. Sugar (Mia's dam) hardly lifted her head up from eating during her first week with us - Chico was the most lethargic stallion we have ever met. Both he and Sugar had paper thin necks and heavy worm burdens. Those of you who have ever owned a Shetland pony will know that they are very hard to keep weight off of - to get them to this condition is really something - total ignorance and more. Sugar had pus all around her vulva, and was scouring badly. She has also retained most of her thick coat from the previous winter - her starving body's way of keeping some warmth in. Mia looked like a woolly mammoth as her coat was so thick. The filly barely had the energy to put one foot in front of the other. She was walking on her heels and is cow-hocked, which is as a result of tendon problems. The day after their arrival - bellies full and having had a good night's sleep - we set about tidying them all up to make them feel better. Mia had to be fully clipped out - our clippers nearly packed up as they had so many knots to get through. Over the weeks all three put on weight and starting getting stronger. Chico was castrated at our vets and recovered well. Foster homes were very quickly found for the three, and their progress continues. Check Mia's progress out at News from Foster Horses/Ponies on this site. |
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| All the photos shown below were taken on the day of arrival or the following day | |
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| SUGAR | SUGAR - So poor that her coat hadn't properly shed from the previous winter |
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SUGAR - Scouring badly and with pus around her vulva |
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CHICO - His neck was scrawny and paper thin |
CHICO - so lethargic |
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It was full of worms - here you can see his hips |
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| MIA - This little filly was so weak that one of our staff carried her off the horse trailer | MIA - Tendon problems - which had been left untreated |
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| MIA - We clipped her matted coat out - here you can see just how frail and thin she is | MIA - Too tired to even lift her head up |
