Galloping with joy, the pony left for dead
WHAT a difference a year can make. Buggy the pony was a few months old when he was found collapsed in a field, so weak he could hardly stand.
Now, after 12 months of rehabilitation, he is a picture of health – and has been crowned champion rescue pony at a major national horse show, Equifest.
He was one of a group of ponies found in Hillam, North Yorkshire, in May last year, following a call to the World Horse Welfare line.
Field officer Sarah Tucker said it was one of the most horrific cases of neglect she had seen. Buggy was infested with maggots and only a day or two from death.
After veterinary treatment, he has spent most of the past year recovering at the World Horse Welfare rehabilitation farm in Lancashire.
Fran Williamson, who runs the farm, said: ‘Buggy’s story is a shining example of how a pony who has had such a terrible start in life can go on to achieve amazing things.’