EHPPS Essex Horse and Pony Protection Society Registered Charity No. 297893

E.H.P.P.S.

Pitsea Hall Lane, Basildon

Essex SS16 4UH

Tel: 01268 584603

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MONTENEGRO (“Monty”)


Our Head Groom, Laura Jardine, noticed a small growth on Monty’s underbelly when she was grooming him over the Easter weekend.  It was around the size of a Maltezer and was hanging on by a thread of thick skin.  One of our vets, Jonathan Lee, attended the following morning and diagnosed a sarcoid.  As Jonathan was examining the lump, it literally came off in his hand.  We were told to keep the area scrupulously clean and if the offending tumour started to grow again, Jonathan told us there was a cream on the market which could be applied to it to prevent further growth.  Monty is none the worse for wear, but we shall be keeping a very close eye on him.  


As always, throughout the whole process, Monty’s two besotted girlfriends, Cherry and Rommy, never left his side.


Monty with EHPPS volunteer SARAH MILLS


NIVSKI


On the very same day as Monty was diagnosed with his sarcoid, Nivski was also examined by vet, Jonathan Lee, as he had a largish sore on the side of his sheath.  The news for Niv was not good either  -  he had a Sqaumous Cell Carcinoma.    During the few days while Nivski was awaiting to be admitted to the veterinary hospital for surgery in the form of laser treatment, we were advised to keep him out of sunlight all day and only turn him out at night.   Nivski responded well to treatment, but again, we have to keep an extra sharp eye on our boy now to ensure no more lesions appear in the form of carcinomas.


Nivski

VULKAN


Vulkan developed an ear infection in April, but he quickly cottoned on that he didn’t like us putting in the prescribed eardrops so refused to let us catch him!  When we did EVENTUALLY get hold of the little (big?!) tyke he was still shaking his head as they were really aggravating him.  Our vet, Jonathan Lee, popped in to give Vulkan a one-off jab to do the job instead.  Vulkan was soon on the mend and the head shaking stopped almost immediately.



THERE IS LIFE AFTER ABUSE …..


These three little loves had been kept in someone’s back garden, slowly starving to death right under the very noses of the owners.  Incredulously, all three ponies were up for sale in this appalling condition.  Thankfully, a lady who went along to view them bought all three and, on her vet’s advice, relinquished them into our care.    Once we’d wormed all three and rehabilitated them, all three were very quickly snapped up for foster.  Mia, the youngest, who is also Sugar’s foal, has a lasting legacy of UV-it is which means she is slowly going blind in one eye … there is no cure.  The cause?  Malnutrition which was inflicted upon her by her previous owners.   Chico, Sugar and Mia are now loved and properly cared for by the respective fosterers and lead happy, fulfilling lives thanks to EHPPS and you  -  our wonderful supporters.


Chico on arrival at EHPPS

Chico after EHPPS care

Mia on arrival at EHPPS

Mia now!!!

Sugar on arrival at EHPPS

Sugar after our care!!!

VETERAN HORSES and PONIES


Caring for an older horse is not easy.  Although many of the older Sanctuary residents fared well over the acute winter we had, and were fed with supplements and plenty of appropriate short feed, some of them still lost a little weight and condition.  Needless to say they are putting it all back on now that the succulent summer grass has appeared!  For example, Kaz, a 25 year old 14.3hh Welsh Section D gelding (photo below) , maintained a good body weight throughout the whole of the winter months, but his arthritis got the better of him a few times and he was unable to get up.  Some IV anti-inflammatories administered by our vet did the trick and Kaz is once again up and about, contentedly grazing and enjoying his life.    


We have quite a few veteran horses out on foster, our fosterers doing a remarkable job in providing the special care and attention they all need.  One such fosterer is Kathryn Clark, who has fostered EHPPS Goldie for seven years now.  Goldie – a Palomino Welsh Section B mare - is heading towards her 30’s now and has some of the usual ailments associated with older ponies.  Kathryn’s excellent equine knowledge and exemplary skills have greatly benefited this elderly pony enormously. She has suffered from some laminitic attacks in the past, but Goldie’s farrier (and EHPPS’ farrier!), Glen Hartigan, is delighted at how well her feet have improved over the six months that he has been attending to her.   


Goldie’s main problem is her right foreleg, which is arthritic and also has a weakness due to her breaking the leg in her youth and having a metal rod inserted in it.   It is wonderful to see this elderly pony happy and content with her field companions.  


On another positive note, not only has Goldie thrived under Kathryn’s care, now all our foster horses and ponies will be able to benefit from her expertise as she has recently taken on the role as one of our valuable Fostering Officers here at EHPPS!    



Goldie and her fosterer Kathryn Clark

FLOSS


Our Floss went down with a severe attack of laminitis which came like a bolt out of the blue.  One minute she was fine and trotting around the paddock, the next she was completely crippled with this awful disease.  Knowing just how prone Flossie is to getting laminitis, we monitor her grazing very carefully and never take any risks with her.  Placed immediately on box rest,  Floss was put on a course of painkillers and anti-inflammatories in the form of Bute, and also Sedalin Horse Sedative which is designed to be used when a degree of sedation is required.  


We had Floss’ front feet x-rayed back in April 2011 so that we discovered the exact extent of her laminitis.  As we feared some degree of pedal bone rotation had occurred.  Floss also had blood tests to check whether she was suffering from Equine Metabolic Syndrome.  Tests results came back on 28 April which confirmed that Floss was indeed suffering from EMS.  The primary cause of this is insulin resistance. This is similar to type II diabetes in humans, where the action of insulin is impaired, despite often elevated concentrations.  Insulin resistance—causes blood vessels to constrict down, reducing blood flow to laminae—resulting in lamintis.  


Floss is now on medication to alleviate the problem.  She may only need the medication during the during spring/summer months when the grass contains more sugars,  but there is always the chance she may need to remain on the meds   At the moment we are having to monitor the situation.  In the meantime, Floss is doing well and there are now more signs of lameness.



Flossie

MORE NEW ARRIVALS
RILEY, ERIN AND GRACE


Riley, Erin and Grace—all trotters aged around 18 months old, had been running loose on farmland in the Upminster area for around ten days on a 30 acre field full of crops.   A lady in the locality heard of the horses’ plight and rang us immediately for help.  She told us that the farmer was at his wits end; his crops were being destroyed by the horses and he was having no luck at all at finding their owner.  He didn’t know that EHPPS existed and would have immediately helped him with the situation.  In the meantime, he had tried to get Police and RSPCA assistance, but none was forthcoming.  (NB:  It is not a Police matter if the horses are not on the highway where they could cause a serious RTA).   Despite this, we were extremely concerned about the horses’ welfare  -  they were absolutely gorging themselves on the abundant hay crops and were lucky that they didn’t induce a colic attack.    We rang around our contacts to see if we could locate an owner, but, unsurprisingly, no one claimed ownership for them.


In the meantime, as all three were semi-wild, nearly impossible to catch and very nervous of humans, we arranged for some local horse lovers attempted to round the three up into a secure area so that we could arrange to collect them and bring them back to the safety of the Sanctuary.    


A couple of our officers set out the following morning to join the team on site, in an attempt to catch the errant youngsters.  However, just a mile up the road from the Sanctuary, the clutch on our Ambulance went and, as a result, we had to wait nearly four hours to get it towed into Essex Ford to get the necessary repairs done.   Talk about it never rains but it pours!


Nearly a week later, on 11 May, two of our grooms, together with a team put together by our informant, managed to herd all three horses onto the awaiting horse box  -  it took them nearly three hours.


Riley, Erin and Grace were soon safely ensconced in our isolation unit, although it was weeks before we could get anywhere near to touching them and getting a headcollar on any of them.  The “leader” of the pack is most definitely Grace, the slightly larger of the two fillies.  Erin and Riley simply follow suit  -  Grace is wary of us, so they will be too.   Riley needs castrating, but this too has had to be put on hold until we begin to win his trust.  


We are confident that all three will go on to become as calm and laid back as the rest of our resident horses and ponies.  Watch out for further reports on them in our October 2011 Newsletter.




RILEY, ERIN AND GRACE