When you think you have seen it all, another rescue comes along to shock even the most hardened of our volunteers.  ARCH had been contacted by a mother from east of Malaga, whose son had fallen in love with an apparently abandoned pony near their house. They had been attempting to care for it, but she realised he had very serious problems as he could not stand up. With no microchip, it was impossible to discover who the pony belonged to or where he had come from.
Mendez (as he was named by an ARCH volunteer) tottered off the lorry and could hardly stagger across to his paddock. His front hooves were grossly deformed, one in particular had affected his fetlock which bent inwards. His back feet were also horrifically overgrown and caused him to stand in a hunched position. He was very malnourished.
Our lovely farrier Jaime (who gives so generously of his time to the charity) cut back some of the front hooves which made it easier for Mendez to get around, but we were waiting to have X-rays done to see what bone damage might have occurred.
It was obvious that this sweet pony in his late teens had many other problems.  Sadly little Mendez died,  just over a week after he came into the Centre. He suffered a massive internal bleed, possibly from a tumour or a ruptured ulcer, and passed away in the loving company of some of our team. We were all shocked and saddened and would like to thank everyone who donated to his appeal. It was doubtful that much could have been done for his hooves given the horrific state they were in, but we always try to give our rescues every chance. Mendez’s appeal money will go towards treatment for our other deserving cases and he will not be forgotten. His gentle, loving nature endeared him to everyone in the short time he was with us.