Seb and Rowan – both dumped to die, Rehabilitated by Kent Horse Rescue; now healthy and re-homed
Sebastian, a tiny foal, was dumped to die in an orchard out of the back of a white lorry, and we were called to help. A team effort rescued him quickly as he was traumatised and in danger of slipping away.
Seb is named after the brave young boy who saw what happened, alerted his parents, and in effect saved his life – our thanks go to him, and to the support of his family and friends.
It has been a long road for Seb who is now 2-3 years old. He was full of lice and worms, anaemic, underweight and just dumped as he served no purpose to his owner, like so many colts…
Rehabilitation of Seb has taken much longer than the average time it takes to put a rescue back into one piece. However, Seb’s lovely nature started to shine through, and he paired up with Rowan ( also dumped to die in Kent) – their friendship was beautiful, and they supported each other in every way. The bond and gentleness towards each other was incredible. They lay together for comfort and shared feed bowls and whatever one decided to do the other would be at their side.
Rowan had terrible liver enzyme results, and it was not long before our vet realised this could be a real issue for his future. Seb had better results but his weight was a big problem, he needed a different rehab and equally his future was unsure.
When ponies/foals like these little boys are dumped on the side of a road/lane, they are often suffering with starvation and organ failure. Our belief is that they want to live, and show the determination to fight to live – and so they should. We try to rehabilitate Every rescue we take in, even against the odds – our vet monitors with us closely and we repeat blood tests to gauge how the rehabilitation program is working. Our rehabilitation success rate is 98%.
Rowan has now made a full recovery against all the odds – his medical bills and rehab are far beyond the price of buying a cheap pony. If we look at the cost of rehab it is frightening – around £2000 to £3000 – probably better not to add it all up ! – sadly a true reality check!
Kent Horse Rescue has a No Breed, No Sell, No Kill policy – for us their rehabilitation is worth it … and any way you can help us we would be so grateful (and so would our rescues) – please visit our donate page. Please don’t Look away – please help us to help these ponies.
The beautiful news is that the two boys have been offered the most wonderful homes; Rowan is with a family who adore him and they have a gorgeous son who adores him also. Seb is to be a therapy pony at a lovely residential care home on a private estate. He has an incredible connection with his new found foster mother.
As the winter approaches, equine breeding remains out of control – we know winter is going to be hell again for more dumped foals and ponies like Seb and Rowan. It is frightening how many will come out of the woodwork as soon as feed, hay, warmth and shelter needs to be given. We have increased our intake spaces to help more victims of loveless horse owners…. Please help us to help these abandoned and mis-treated gracious animals – they just need that crucial support now, they need you to help us rescue and support them.
Thank you for reading.