Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Hope after rough ride
A NEWBORN pony was shoved down a deep hole by her cruel owners and left to die.
Little orphan Annie’s brutal start to life meant she was edgy and unable to bond with other animals. But after two years of intense care, she is starting over, with pony pals and a loving family.
Rescue worker Susannah Walters, 52, said: “Sadly, abandoned foals are common. But it’s hard to imagine anyone could be so cruel as to push a newborn foal in a hole like that.”
It was back in May 2015 that hikers chanced upon Annie, just days old, with no mother in sight. They called the RSPCA, who managed to dig her out.
Susannah said: “Thank goodness she was found before it was too late. But foals feed and learn from their mothers for six months, so we had to be mum for Annie.”
And that was just the start of a long journey to recovery, with Annie cared for 24-7 by Susannah and her team.
It was the first time Millbrook Animal Centre in Chobham, Surrey, hand-reared a horse without its mum. Annie was bottle fed every two hours for months, then the team worked on rebuilding her brittle confidence. She would suck on her tongue or back leg when she felt insecure, and for more than a year, related to humans more than horses.
Susannah said: “It was exhausting. It was a real struggle to get her to socialise.”
And it was only last autumn Annie was deemed stable enough to be rehomed and put on the RSPCA’s Find A Pet website.
MATCH
After careful consideration, she was matched with sales manager Danielle Edge, 33, and her family. Annie now lives with their two Shetlands, Tara and Bobby, Exmoor pony Kerria, and Connemara pony, Lily, in Luton, Beds.
Danielle, mum to Abigail, six, and Kyle, four, said: “Annie is a gentle giant. As soft as they come, very well-handled and she loves people – so perfect for us.
Danielle, also a British Horse Society volunteer, added: “The RSPCA does an amazing job with abandoned foals like Annie. The £250 adoption fee is a tiny fraction of the costs they incurred, so we feel very lucky and proud to have been chosen as her family.”
Visit rspca.org.uk/ homesforhorses