Rescue Pony of The Week ~ Hope Pasture's Valentino

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Hope Pastures were called out to a collapsed gypsy cob this weekend here's his story as told by Hope Pastures:

At the weekend we were called to assist with a collapsed, cold and very weak young pony who had been discovered by a horse owner out walking her dogs.
After receiving the call from the kind person who was struggling to help him to his hooves and for him only to collapse again and again, we knew that we needed to attend urgently with our lorry, blankets, feed and water.


Our hearts broke at the sight we were met with, a young male pony who was extremely underweight and weak and with eyes so badly ulcerated and infected that he was virtually blind.


We met with the RSPCA and police at the scene and it was decided that due to our close proximity to the location where he was abandoned, and our quarantine stable already on standby with a deep warm bed and heat lamps it was by far the best option to bring him to Hope Pastures.
He would not have had the strength for any longer a journey and to wait for a vet to attend whilst he was still so cold and weak would have used up precious time.


Sadly access was limited so the Fire and Rescue services attended with equipment to cut open a gate and allowed us access to bring our lorry as close as possible to prevent any further collapse, the Pony was still very wobbly so asking him to walk any distance wasn’t going to be possible.


With some difficulty due to him having no sight, being weak and unused to being handled we loaded him into our lorry using positive reinforcement so as to keep his stress levels to a minimum. 


We also had to lift him one hoof at a time on and off the lorry to help him feel his way. 





Once at Hope Pastures our vet attended and gave him a thorough check over. 


We were very concerned at the severe infection which was showing in his eyes and nasal discharge which smelt horribly. He was also very sensitive around his head and clearly in pain, suffering scrapes and bruises on his right side from struggling to get up from the ground for so long. 
To our relief his temperature, heart and lungs were normal, and our vet managed to clean his eyes as best they could and apply some dye to check for ulcers.
Some small ulcers and chronic infection was diagnosed and he has started a course of antibiotics, painkillers and eye drops which we are hoping will ease his pain over the next few days.🤞🏻



For now, ‘ Valentino’ ( Tino for short) has appreciated every second of warmth and been tucking into his hay with great enthusiasm! He’s managed to find his way around the stable and get his bearings, having initially been frightened and confused.


We’re now awaiting test results to check for any internal damage and contagious disease, so he is in strict quarantine right now but can be seen through our visitors centre window during our weekend opening hours (10-2)
We are all so saddened and bewildered as to how or why such a beautiful and harmless young pony could have been allowed to get into such a horrific state of neglect.
Sadly though this is a common story throughout the U.K. and Ireland as the horse crisis continues without sign of slowing.
We appreciate any help that you, our kind supporters give us so that we can be there to help ponies like Tino in their hour of need.
A few hours later there is no doubt that he would have perished, cold alone and in pain. His lucky stars were watching over him when he was discovered by one of our supporters, just in time for help to be called.
Thanks to the police officers who attended and were quite upset by the state of Tino and to the fire service and RSPCA for attending and helping as a team effort.
We have had several really high vet bills in recent months for Logan, Duchess, Fagen and Harry and it’s hit our bank balance pretty hard.
Any donations towards Tino’s care-vets fees, feed and bedding would be greatly appreciated, every £1 really does help, so please share this post among friends, family, your social media & on local horsey pages if you can.

To find out how to donate please click on this link http://www.hopepastures.org/donate/
Or for a quick and easy way to donate you can Text ‘MULE00‘ (mule zero zero) followed by the amount, to 70070. Eg: to give £10, text MULE0010 to 70070
Hope Pastures will keep everyone updated on Valentino's progress via their social media pages ~ thank you for all your help.



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