Saleyards horses find new home
AFTER pictures of them shocked readers online, the two foals who sparked a Biosecurity Queensland investigation into the Laidley Horse Saleyards are now enjoying a better life at their new home.
Kellie Shackell was at the last Laidley sales on December 30 and was easily convinced to pick up the two foals.
Despite looking in poor health, Ms Shackell said she and her family saw something more in the horses: a well of untapped potential.
“We have got seven kids and the little ones obviously love foals but we never wanted to breed horses ourselves,” she said.
“When they (the children) saw them they kept saying ‘they are super cute mum’.”
Since joining Ms Shackell and her family, their lives post-sales have been filled with joy.
Coming from a farm in western Queensland, the foals now find themselves with no shortage of frivolity and feed.
“They are super friendly,” Ms Shackell said.
“The kids go out with them every single day and they follow everyone around like dogs.
“They aren’t nervous or skittish any more like they were in the pens; they come to you all the time.”
Ms Shackell reflected on the dire consequences the foals would have faced should they not have been bought that day.
“They would have been left in the paddock where they came from where there was no water or feed so God knows what would have happened to them,” she said.
“They’ve put on so much weight because they constantly have hay in their bins.
“It scares me to think.”