A BIT OF A MYSTERY!
Our latest rescue came from Alcazar de San Juan in the province of Castilla-La Mancha south of Madrid. The Policia Nacional had been alerted to the dreadful state of three horses on a finca. When they arrived one was already dead, a second was extremely ill and was taken to a vet hospital in Madrid where he later died. They asked whether ARCH could take the third, a gelding of about 8 or 9 in an advanced state of neglect and malnutrition. All our paddocks were full, and we had to do a quick reshuffle to fit him in.
So far we have been unable to trace any details about him, hence we have named him Misterio. He has two microchips, not from Andalucia so they do not appear on any database here. Our vet is looking into other options.
Misterio is very nervous and has obviously been badly treated as well as shamefully neglected. He is seriously underweight, and his hooves are in a bad state. His tail bone has also been cut which, sadly, leaves him with little protection from flies. This cruel procedure used to be much more common in Spain. He is gradually coming round to realise that we mean him no harm and, hopefully, with time and loving care he will learn to trust humans. He is young so could have a positive future ahead of him.