A foal who whinnied to his dead friend as he was rescued from their flooding home is now flourishing after his rescue – and has become a media star.
Soul, who was rescued last December by HorseWorld, is fronting the charity’s latest campaign, to celebrate two- and four-legged loved ones, and raise vital funds.
“HorseWorld received a call to say that a dead, emaciated young pony had been found in a field,” a spokesperson for the charity said.
“On further investigation another pony was also found in the field, still alive but extremely malnourished and weak.”
The person who had found the ponies called the RSPCA, which asked HorseWorld whether it could take in the survivor.
“On arrival, the team were greeted with a sorry sight,” the spokesperson said. “The young pony, now called Soul, was standing in the corner of a field shelter that was filling up with water. The only source of food was some hay that the RSPCA had provided.”
HorseWorld head of equine welfare Sarah Hollister said Soul was eating hungrily, “as if he thought it might be taken away”.
“It was obvious the little pony had not had a belly full of food for a very long time and as we approached Soul, we knew he was not used to being handled by humans,” she said.
“He walked quietly to the trailer and straight up the ramp. As we closed it, he whinnied out to his friend, wondering where he was. But, of course, no whinny came back.”
A post-mortem on the other pony found there was no food in his system, nor fat stores on his body, and he had a heavy worm burden. The ponies’ owner was found and prosecuted.
“Rather than dwelling on the immense suffering these ponies had endured, we had to turn our attention to carefully rehabilitating Soul,” Ms Hollister said, adding that both ponies were about seven months old. “Thankfully, with a lot of loving care from the grooms and expertise from the veterinary team, Soul is now flourishing in the HorseWorld herd. He will stay at HorseWorld until we are sure he’s fully rehabilitated. Eventually we hope to find the right home for him on our loan scheme so he can have a loving family to call his own.”
The charity’s campaign is called Soul’s Stable of Stars; supporters can have stars dedicated to humans or animals.
HorseWorld PR and communications manager Meg Jackson said: “This Christmas we’re inviting you to join us in celebrating the life of a loved one, two-legged or four, who has had a huge impact on your life.
“You can dedicate a HorseWorld star to be displayed in Soul’s stable, or receive your own special HorseWorld star to decorate or personalise as you choose. Your donation will help us save more ponies in desperate need like Soul and prevent the tragic loss of more lives like his friend.”
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