A foal has been rescued from the brink of death – although it was too late to save his companion.
Drowned in a ditch
HorseWorld was called in to help World Horse Welfare check a herd of horses found fly-grazing on industrial wasteground in Avonmouth, Bristol (16 January).
When they arrived they found a colt foal, estimated to be around four months old, emaciated almost to the point of death. His young field mate lay drowned in a drainage ditch.
The two charities called the police and the RSPCA for authorisation to remove the surviving foal and take him to safety.
Dumped to die
“These foals were clearly dumped and left to die,” said HorseWorld’s equine rescue manager, Jerry Watkins. “There was nothing there to eat at all except for a few tufts of poor grass on the ditch’s steep edge.
“The poor deceased foal would most likely have been trying to reach this vegetation, slipped in and would have been too weak to climb out in his emaciated state.”
Weak
Now named Felix, which means ‘Lucky one’, the rescued foal is still in a critical condition but is receiving 24-hour care by HorseWorld’s experienced team.
This involves feeding him little and often and helping him to stand up when he lies down, as he isn’t strong enough to get up again. He was also given a wormer – the results of which are shocking.
Ongoing problem
According to HorseWorld’s husbandry manager Joanne Vaughan, Felix would have died that night if they hadn’t rescued him.
“There was a hard frost that night and he would have laid down or eventually collapsed on the cold frosty ground and nobody would have been there to lift him up again,” she said.
As Felix isn’t microchipped the owner cannot be traced or prosecuted.
“This is an ongoing problem for the rescue charities who are trying to bring about an improvement in equine welfare by, amongst other things, holding owners to account for their actions,” said Joanne.
To donate to Felix’s appeal,go towww.justgiving.com/FelixAppeal