The Horse Trust Appeals for Donations for Rescued Pony at Death’s Door

The Horse Trust has given emergency care to an 18 month old, 12 hh, bay colt who can only be described as the worst case of animal neglect the charity has ever seen.

On Wednesday 21st March colleagues from theRSPCA removed this painfully thin, dehydrated and pitiful pony from a field in Bedfordshire.

Arriving at The Horse Trust late in the evening little Quest, named by Horse Trust supporters after the unusual question mark blaze on his nose, was barely able to stand and crawling with lice. So weak he had to be helped to walk the few paces to his isolation stable and was unlikely to survive the night, his eyes too big for his emaciated body were pleading for care or a swift, humane end to his inexplicable suffering.

Jeanette Allen, Chief Executive of The Horse Trust said, “How anyone can ever do this to an animal beggar’s belief.  He arrived in a worse condition than the Spindles Farm ponies which made such dramatic and widespread headlines in January 2008 when they were rescued from their own horrors of neglect.”  She continued, “We are doing everything we can to save him but it is going to be an incredibly long road for this poor little chap and right now his fate still lies in the balance, no-one here has ever seen a pony so thin yet still alive and standing.”

After a fully veterinary assessment there is no doubt he will need a lot of medical treatment and special care and it is still unknown at this stage if he will survive such is the severity of his condition.  Although chronically underweight he is responsive and able to move slowly but is very weak.

Showing only a passive awareness to what is going on around him, desperately ill Quest has surprised the staff as not only did he survive his first night at The Horse Trust but he has made very small signs of progress over the past few days showing an interest in food and eating hay.

Quest has to have his daily grazing outside in his isolation paddock restricted as being so emaciated he isn’t able to digest much fresh grass.   On a sunny day over the weekend and despite his tiny, frail body, he demonstrated a huge amount of spirit when the grooms tried to catch him to lead him back to his stable – digging his hooves in and standing firm – let’s hope his big personality wins through and is a sign he will fight to make a full recovery.

RSPCA Inspector, Kirsty Withnall said, “Quest is typical of the type of pony we are finding abandoned and neglected – 18 month old colts with no value. It is one of the worst cases I have had to deal with.”

Jeanette Allen of The Horse Trust added, “Poor quality breeding can often mean there is little incentive to provide good standards of care and subsequently these animals are often neglected or abandoned.”  She continued, “Charities such as the Horse Trust and the RSPCA have limited spaces and resources and we need all the help we can get at a time when more horses and ponies than ever are being abandoned.”

The Horse Trust is appealing for financial help to support the vital veterinary care that Quest so desperately needs for his survival.