A gentle giant rescued from near death and rehabilitated by HorseWorld has been put to sleep.
Emaciated
Gracie May was found by the RSPCA in 2001 in a “horrific state”, living amid the carcasses of four other horses. The owner had attempted to set fire to the dead horses in an attempt to hide them.
“She was extremely thin and had lost 90 percent of her body hair due to a chronic lice infestation,” said HorseWorld’s equine husbandry manager Joanne Vaughan.
“She was emaciated to the point where the ribs, breast bone and pelvic area were extremely prominent.”
Armed rescue
The charity believes the 17hh mare survived was because she was tall enough to reach leaves from surrounding trees.
When the two charities attempted to rescue Gracie, the owner was so aggressive they had to call in armed police. He has since been prosecuted by the RSPCA.
Gracie made a full recovery and was backed and rehomed on HorseWorld’s loan scheme. She weighed in at just under one tonne andwas the most popularhorseon the charity’s adoption scheme.
She came back to HorseWorld due to lameness in her front legs, and was retired from ridden work in 2008.
Greatly missed
In September of last year Gracie developed further problems in her hind legs. Despite on-going vet treatment they were unable to offer her pain relief, so it was decided to put her to down on 6 January.
“Gracie was a horse in a million,” said Vicky Greenslade who care for Gracie for many years. “HorseWorld won’t be the same without her. She was a fun loving gentle giant.
“She loved people and everyone loved her. She will be greatly missed and will leave a Shire-sized hole in our lives.”