A pony saved in poor condition from a “rescue centre” along with 25 others in a multi-agency operation led by the RSPCA has given birth to a healthy foal.
Lotte was one of a group of in-foal mares taken from North Devon Equine Rescue to their new home at the Mare and Foal Sanctuary last year.
The foal, named Lio, was born on 23 April and his birth and first moments were captured on CCTV.
He is the first foal of 2020 to be born at the sanctuary and both mare and colt are doing well.
The 11hh skewbald mare is described as “very caring and an amazing mum” by yard manager Terri Carroll, while Lio is “most inquisitive” and his confidence is growing rapidly.
“We are a strong team, but the future is uncertain, and we need help from our loyal supporters at this worrying time,” said chief executive Sarah Jane Williamson.
“We are thankful Lotte has given birth to her foal in the safety of our sanctuary. She was in a very poor condition when she arrived and has needed our expert care.
“Last year we rescued more horses than ever, in more complex circumstances. We don’t have extensive reserves and horses are costly animals to care for, especially ours which require specialist handling and retraining or ongoing veterinary medicines and care.”
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More than half the charity’s workforce are either working from home or have been furloughed as a result of the drop in income owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
“This just leaves small teams of grooms going in each day to provide this expert care, working in split shifts so they don’t come into contact with each other,”said a spokesman for the charity, which has launched a special appeal to help support its work through the crisis.
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