AMERSHAM PONY PINOCCHIO NETS A FULL RECOVERY AT REDWINGS
| AMERSHAM PONY PINOCCHIO NETS A FULL RECOVERY AT REDWINGS After last week's sentencing of the Gray family that were previously found guilty in the Amersham equine cruelty case, Redwings Horse Sanctuary is relieved that the future of the equines is nearly finalised pending the outcome of the family's respective appeals. The Norfolk-based charity reports that one of the rescue's youngest ponies has blossomed into a happy-go-lucky pony that loves life enough to show off his footballing skills. | |
Miniature Shetland Pinocchio - as he was named by staff at Redwings - was a year old when he was rescued from Spindles Farm in January 2008. The rescue, which attracted an outpouring of public horror and saw Redwings inundated with messages of support, concerned unnecessary suffering to and failing to meet the welfare needs of a total of 125 horses, ponies and donkeys removed between 4 and 9 January 2008 from Spindle Farm, Amersham, Bucks. 29 - including Pinocchio - now live at Redwings Horse Sanctuary in Norfolk, which has since also offered a home to 16 more from the farm that are currently in the care of the RSPCA.
Pinocchio weighed just 46kg on arrival, equivalent to two bags of feed, but thankfully he doubled his weight in the following ten months through careful feeding.
On arrival at the charity's quarantine facilities, the skewbald colt was classified by the charity's veterinary team as "body condition score 0-1/2" which is as thin as an equine can be before they are considered to be facing death. The scale used goes up to 5 for an obese equine, with 3 being an ideal score for a horse in good all round health.
On arrival Pinocchio also had lice, breathing problems, wasted muscles and was riddled with worms. A full programme of veterinary treatment and routine health management followed for Pinocchio, who was a pleasure to handle and responded well to treatment. Fully recovered, Pinocchio is now full of personality and has discovered a knack for football that would make Sir Alex Ferguson reach for his chequebook! He is still not even 8hh but has a friendly outgoing personality that means he is always first at the fence for some fuss!
Nicolas De Brauwere MRCVS, Head of Welfare at Redwings, who gave veterinary evidence during the trial and was present at the rescue managing Redwings' involvement said: "This has been a landmark case which shows what the new Animal Welfare Act can deliver to protect equines like Pinocchio as well as all animals in need of help. We were delighted with last week's result though we now await the outcome of the appeal. We feel very proud that we were able support the RSPCA in safely loading and transporting the equines involved in this operation at short notice and using skills gained at several large rescues."
Lynn Cutress, Redwings Chief Executive, said: "Seeing Pinocchio play with his football without a care in the world makes it all worthwhile. He is a sparky character who has really come out of his shell thanks to plenty of care and lots of nurturing human company. It would be our privilege to care for Pinocchio for the rest of his days."
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Added on: 19/06/09.
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