A shocking discovery at a building site in England has led volunteers to rescue an animal whose success was in doubt.
A call from an ordinary person led volunteers from the British Horse Society to a horrifying discovery. The building site in East Durham looked abandoned, with rubble and debris everywhere, and there, in the mud, they found what they initially thought was a dead horse. It was dirty and emaciated, but on closer inspection they discovered the horse, who they named Heidi, was still breathing.
It was one of the worst cases of neglect they had ever seen, and without hesitation they sprang into action. “It took five people to get her back on her feet,” said a spokesperson for the Here 4 Horses Equine Charity . It turned out the owner of the property had called someone to remove the body of a horse he thought was dead.
“Whether he thought she was dead or not doesn’t matter — she suffered horribly,” Wendy Suddes of the nonprofit Here4Horses told Bored Panda . The nonprofit did everything they could to keep the sweet horse alive, but it was a close call since she couldn’t even stand up when she was first rescued. “The first few days were critical because we were dealing with her being so weak and her protein levels so low that she needed a plasma transfusion,” Wendy said.
In fact, it took over five weeks before the emaciated pony was able to stand up on her own. Blood was donated by healthy horses, and Heidi was given soft bandages to prevent further damage to her bedsores. “Too many ulcers, worms, parasites and infections had developed, and it took months and months for Heidi to recover enough to run freely in our pastures,” Wendy added.
But thanks to her feisty personality and determination to survive, she made it. Heidi endured the kind of cruelty and neglect that the nonprofit sees once or twice a year, but now she can put it all behind her and enjoy an award-winning life as the beautiful, spirited pony she was meant to be. Thanks to Wendy and her team, Heidi is now “enjoying life,” her beautiful mane has grown in, and she’s living her best life, winning rosettes.
I sincerely hope that the person responsible for such cruelty is brought to justice and permanently banned from owning animals. Heidi’s body may have been broken, but her spirit never was. Please share this story to pay tribute to all the animal heroes who saved her life and gave her the loving environment she deserves.
