(12 March 2015)

Two severely emaciated horses rescued from Tivoli: only one has survived, fundraising launched to save him

At the tail end of 2014 the Tivoli ASL asked us to help with the removal of two horses in dire condition due to long-term neglect by their owner. Both had been confined to the property they were on by an official veterinary ruling (and therefore in theory under the care of the same ASL) due to one of them having resulted positive to a Coggins test for Equine Infectious Anaemia.

As an emergency measure we had the two horses moved, at our expense, to a private property in Ferentino, just a few kilometres from Tivoli, and the only place nearby authorised to host horses under official veterinary ruling. We immediately started locating a vet to take care of the animals, and to take measures to get the animals transferred to our Rescue Centre.

For Pepe, the EIA-positive gelding, we managed to achieve the latter in the following week, but for Gaia we became mired in the ASL’s bureaucratic red tape, causing drastic delays, which kept the mare stuck in Ferentino in spite of our repeated and desperate attempts to get authorisation to move her urgently to IHP. One morning Gaia collapsed to the ground and was unable to get to her feet again. The vet tried every which way to assist her but in the end was forced to ask our permission to end her suffering and put her to sleep. We cannot know whether bringing her to our Rescue Centre earlier would have had a different outcome for her, but certainly it angers and upsets us to think that red tape can come before animal welfare: this is unacceptable and we aim to change this as soon as possible. We have been in touch with the authorities about it for some time.

Now Pepe, reduced to such a pitiful state by someone who clearly has not a shred of pity or compassion, needs our help. Pepe is blind in his right eye and only partially sighted in his left; he, is almost completely deaf and his teeth were in what can only be described as a totally disastrous condition. He is approximately half of his ideal weight, and when he arrived at our centre he seemed to have just given up on life (see the video). However, after just three weeks we can see a little weight going on and some spark of life and curiosity, plus a growing trust in us.

We need help with the costs of his care: we need a minimum of € 2,000 – this will enable us to give him the medical support he needs and will cover his keep for a year or so.
Please go to our page “Support us” on our website (or CLICK HERE) and mark your donation “For Pepe”, thank you!
For further information contact us on email ihp@horseprotection.it, or by phone 0571 677082 - 327 9041393.
We need your help!