Polly gets a new neighbour and enjoys her first bath

Rescued mare, Polly, who came to The Horse Trust in an emaciated state back in February, has made another new friend.

Polly is now allowed to graze out in a small paddock all day and her new daytime neighbour is 16.1hh ex-Cavalry Black, Venture. Twenty-three year old Venture has recently been diagnosed with a foot abscess, and after treatment from the vet, he now spends the daytime out in the paddock next door to Polly to recover. Polly rather likes her new neighbour and whinnies to him every morning as she is led out to the paddock. Her cheeky personality is becoming more apparent by the day, and catching her can be a bit of a challenge when it’s time to come in!

Despite losing some of her hair recently, Polly still enjoys her turnout, and her shiny summer coat is starting to grow through in large patches. The Horse Trust’s staff have been waiting for a warm, sunny day to come along so that Polly could have a bath to help her shed the rest of her winter coat. That warm sunny day finally arrived last week, and although she was a bit apprehensive at first, Polly enjoyed her bath and was soon soaking up the sun whilst her coat dried. However, horses do not seem to think a bath is complete until they have rolled afterwards – and Polly was no different! After being turned back out in the paddock, Polly just had to have a good roll. Fortunately, this didn’t make her too dirty and it allowed her to remove more loose hair after her bath. The sun has done wonders for her rainscald, and she is no longer covered in the scabs that this skin disease causes.

Polly has been weighed again this week and has put on another 14kg. Our vet is very pleased with Polly’s progress so far and both he and staff at The Horse Trust are becoming more and more positive about her future, although she still has a long way to go.