Desmond and Dermot
Our Field Officer in Essex received a call from the RSPCA back in 2005 asking for assistance with a serious welfare case. Jo set off in a horsebox and wasn’t sure if she had gone to the right place when she arrived at a huge area of land covered in gravel and ragwort. It certainly wasn’t a suitable environment for any kind of equine. Unfortunately Jo was at the right place and, meeting up with the RSPCA Inspector, they set off to catch the ponies of concern.
A young piebald colt was easy enough to catch. Now named Desmond, this lovely young pony was severely emaciated and was suffering from terrible diarrhoea. His tail was dripping with faeces and he was extremely dehydrated.
Another young colt on the piece of land had been lying down when the RSPCA had first attended the scene and was reluctant to get up. He had open sores on all his legs which were oozing serum and pus and which must have been very painful. When the Inspector and Jo went to catch the pony, since named Dermot, he had got to his feet and decided that he really didn’t want to be caught! In the end, a veterinary surgeon was asked to come out the following day and feisty Dermot had to be sedated with a dart gun to enable our rescue to team to help him.
The sores on Dermot’s legs were caused by ‘photosensitisation’ which is extreme sensitivity to sunlight. This is just one of the effects of exposure to ragwort and it was no surprise that the two ponies had been affected by living where they did. The land was due to be developed into a golf course and no one had given Des and Dermot’s owners permission to use the area.
Des and Dermot had different owners and both people were successfully prosecuted for causing unnecessary suffering to the young ponies. They made a good recovery from their respective ailments and both soon put weight on. Tests showed that they had both suffered from liver damage and sadly, this damage cannot be reversed. But the liver is a resilient organ and with careful management, both ponies should be able to live a normal healthy life for many years to come. Des and Dermot were brought up to Redwings veterinary hospital to be castrated (no wonder Dermot didn’t fancy being caught!) and get used to being handled by people. Both these handsome young chaps have the potential to be re-homed, but will stay with us until they have matured physically and mentally and are ready to be brought into work. They are a real favourite with Redwings staff and we shall certainly enjoy having them around in the meantime!
Desmond, with his distinctive blue eye (called a wall eye) enjoying life at Redwings.
Dermot has plenty of good quality food all year round now to keep him in the best of health.
