Two new rescues arrived at the Centre at the end of May. Both were victims of long- term and shocking neglect.
Isabella is a tall, elegant Palomino mare who, at the age of 13 (it is her birthday this coming Sunday) should be in her prime. Instead, she is little more than a walking skeleton with skin stretched taught over prominent bones. To see her is to beg the question how anyone could allow a horse to get into such a condition, a question we here at ARCH have, sadly, to ask all too often.
We had been alerted to the mare’s plight some months ago by a member of the Guardia Civil. She was being kept in what was described as a “chicken coop”, starving, and was actually even thinner than she is now. Because of problems with her papers, it took us some time to be able to rescue her, but she is finally safe. She will need months of rehabilitation to regain her condition, but should blossom into a beautiful girl here at ARCH.
Lucero was one of the saddest cases we have seen. This ten-year-old pony stallion was discovered by the local Police in Malaga who were conducting an operation to confiscate a number of animals (including fighting cocks). He belonged to different owner and was initially considered not to be in a sufficiently bad condition to be confiscated. It is hard to understand how this could have been the case.
Lucero was suffering from long term and chronic laminitis and was obviously in great pain. His front hooves had been cut with an angle grinder without the benefit of X-rays to avoid damage. He could barely walk and was rocking back to try and relieve the pressure. He was very thin and had obviously never had any care for years.
The local Police persuaded the owner to hand him over to ARCH, but it was sadly too late to help him. We organised immediate veterinary care and x-rays showed that his pedal bones had rotated to such extent that there was no way to repair the damage. The vets were unanimous in advising that the only thing we could do was to alleviate his suffering by putting him to sleep. And so Lucero had a little tender loving care and a good meal before we let him go. Another case of senseless neglect and unnecessary suffering that left us speechless and deeply saddened.