06/03/2020

Skinny, old, left to fend herself. No one could take her in: she’s now at the Rescue Centre, despite the emergency

Serious case of abandonment of a horse rescued today by IHP Italian Horse Protection.The seizure took place this morning in the Municipality of Perignano (PI), in collaboration with the Municipal Police of Casciana Terme - Lari and the ASL Nord Ovest of Pontedera: she shared a small and derelict plot of land with two sheep, with no shelter, only a few bales of rotten hay and nothing else. The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Pisa ordered the preventative seizure due to ill treatment and asked IHP to accept her custody. She arrived at the Rescue Centre in Volterra in the early afternoon. The two sheep have also been seized. They will be transferred to another place in the next few days. The owner will be held liable for the crime of animal abuse.

The vet of the ASL of Pontedera, Dr. Vaghetti, visited the horse on the spot. He noted that she was emaciated and that she had never been registered on the horse registry, and therefore had never undergone proper preventive healthcare. She was also in serious danger due to malnourishment.

Taking care of her is very costly: she urgently needs medical care, vaccines, deworming and a recovery programme to bring her back to an acceptable weight. In the past few days a network of contacts has been set up to find her a home, trying to avoid her the stress of a long journey. Several refuges in the area helped spread the word to support IHP, but without success: there was nobody available. The best they could offer was a temporary stall, or they asked for too much money. Given the urgency, we decided to welcome her into our Rescue Centre, despite the difficulties we are facing due to the emergency management that has been going on for months now in Volterra: shortage of staff and volunteers and increased daily workload, intensive checks and grazing restrictions following the sudden deaths of horses in 2019, for which investigations are still ongoing.

“We responsibly accepted her custody to save her from a situation of suffering and took on all the costs of transport, care and maintenance”, said Sonny Richichi, the IHP President. “The purpose of our work is to take action to minimise the suffering of the horse, but every time we are faced with a harsh reality: we struggle to find partners, especially for an elderly and debilitated horse, less attractive for those who, instead, could help improve her last years of life. We ask our followers for their continued support, also for this seizure, as such decisions have serious financial, mental and physical consequences. We cannot look the other way when we see suffering".
This little horse doesn’t need only food, love and medicines, but also a name:"We will ask our supporters to help us choose one.... suggestions welcome".

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