My Previous Rescue Case.

I did have a pony whose life we actually saved a couple of years ago. A local animal 'sanctuary''s stables burnt down and when we asked if there was anything we could do to help the owner sent us two ponies as she was worried about anyone seeing one of them.

When I first saw him, when he arrived in the lorry (David went to pick him up) I was horrified. He looked like a dead horse walking and his eyes were totally dead and hopeless and his back end was filthy with diarrhea absolutely pouring out of him.

He perked up a little when he saw a clean, dry cosy stable with lots of hay. I asked what was wrong with him and was told that he had liver failure and was dying.

It quickly became obvious that he was having great trouble eating so I got my dentist, who is really good, to sort his teeth out (several broken and falling out plus lots more overgrown), got my vet to take blood samples (liver almost normal), treated him for his lice and worm infestations and took advice from an equine nutritionist.

Four months later, after feeding him 6 times a day, I had to return him to the 'sanctuary'. My vet, David and I fought to be allowed to keep him here but to no avail, and my vet wrote the 'sanctuary' a very strongly worded letter about what would happen if he were ever to be neglected again. Watching him go nearly broke my heart.

This was him the day after he arrived:




And this was him 4 months later. He was full of life by then and was a really sweet, loveable little character.



I cheered myself up later because I was given Grace and would never have been able to persuade David to let me have her if we'd been allowed to keep the grey pony but it still hurts to think what may have become of him.