A young foal has been rescued by World Horse Welfare and RSPCA Charities after they discovered his skin was infested with maggots and lice.
Infestation
The abandoned foal, who is just a few months old, was found in such a terrible condition that welfare officers were left in a state of shock.
Buggy, the name he has recently been given, was found with untreated and seriously sore wounds on his rump and back. As a result Buggy’s coat was infested with live maggots and he was in a state of suffering.
Horse Welfare Officer, Sarah Tucker was called out to the field in the Hillam area of West Yorkshire, where the foal along with four other horses had been living.
“As I walked over to the pony, the smell was absolutely putrid even from six feet away. I could hear the maggots making a ‘crackling’ sound as they burrowed through his skin,” she said.
“It was like his skin was moving as he was so covered in them and he understandably looked very uncomfortable and dejected,” she said.
Nearly too late
Buggy was taken to the Minister Equine Veterinary Clinic in York where he was put on a drip and treated to remove the maggots.
Vet Kathryn Wright said “The foal was very thin and was suffering with extensive skin damage due to maggot infestation as well as lice and intestinal worms. He was in need of urgent veterinary attention.”
Both the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare are calling for any information to track down Buggy’s and the other four horses owner. The field where the horses were residing was covered in ragwort and no fresh water was supplied.
Sarah Tucker added “If he’d been found just one or two days later it would have been too late.”
All horses are now safe and on the road to recovery at World Horse Welfare’s Penny Farm Rescue Rehoming Centre in Lancashire.