A shocking discovery at a building site in England motivated volunteers to create an animal rescue that they weren’t sure would be successful.
Volunteers from the British Horse Society received a call from a member of the public and came to the depressing conclusion.
There was debris and trash everywhere, and the East Durham construction site seemed abandoned. At first, they thought there was a dead horse in the dirt.
On closer inspection, they found that the horse, whom they named Heidi, was still alive despite her emaciation and filth.
They witnessed one of the worst cases of neglect they had ever seen, so they took immediate action.
“It took five people to lift her to her feet,” said the spokesperson for the Here 4 Horses Equine Charity.
As it happens, the owner of the site had called for assistance to remove the horse’s body since he believed it to be dead.
Bored Panda was told that “whether he thought she was already dead is irrelevant—she had been subject to the most awful suffering,” according to Wendy Suddes of the organization Here4Horses.
Despite the nonprofit’s best efforts, this beautiful horse’s survival was in doubt because she was unable to stand when she was first rescued.
She had to have a plasma transfusion in the early days due to her tremendous weakness and low blood protein level, Wendy said.
It took the undernourished pony more than five weeks to become capable of standing by herself.
Heidi received cushioned dressings to help keep her pressure sores from becoming worse after healthy horses donated blood.
Too many wounds, worms, parasites, and illnesses had been allowed to take hold, and it took Heidi months and months to heal sufficiently to be permitted to run freely in our meadows. Wendy went on.
However, she persevered because she wanted to live and had a tough spirit.
The nonprofit only sees this type of cruelty and neglect once or twice a year, but Heidi is now able to move past it all and lead an award-winning life as the beautiful and energetic pony she was always destined to be.
Thanks to Wendy and her team, Heidi is “high on life,” her lovely mane has returned, and she is living her best life—winning rosettes.
I genuinely hope that the individual or people responsible for this crime are held accountable and are never permitted to own an animal again.
Although Heidi’s body was damaged, her spirit remained unbroken.
Please share this to commemorate all the animal heroes who saved her life and gave her the caring environment she deserves.
