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The future's bright for Desmond and Dermot!The future looks much brighter for two delightful young ponies after their very unhappy beginnings.Back in 2005 Redwings' Field Officer in Essex received a call from the RSPCA asking for assistance with a serious welfare case. Upon arrival she wasn’t sure if she had gone to the right place as it was a huge area of land covered in gravel and ragwort and certainly wasn’t a suitable environment for any kind of equine. Unfortunately, it was 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 his legs which were oozing serum and pus and must have been very painful. When they 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. Once they have settled and matured we hope they can be rehomed through our Guardianship Scheme, but for now these lovely young ponies will remain in our care.
To find out more about some recent Redwings rescues, follow the link to our Welfare pages >>>>>>>>
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