There’s nothing worse than hearing stories of animal abuse and neglect, and we’re so thankful for the rescue groups all over the world who save lives every day and fight to make a difference. One of these rescue teams is called the British Horse Society, and when they received a call about a horse who was moments away from death, they rushed straight to the scene.
It was touch and go with the poor horse, who had been neglected so badly that she first appeared dead when rescuers arrived at the scene. But thankfully she pulled through, and the BHS shared her amazing transformation pics over on their Facebook page. What a glow up!
The BHS story caused quite a reaction on Facebook, with over 5k shares and thousands of likes and comments. They shared pictures of Heidi the horse’s amazing transformation, along with the caption:
“A call from a member of the public to the RSPCA, led to a BHS volunteer making a visit to an East Durham building site in April 2018. The volunteer was horrified at what she first thought was a dead horse amongst the mud and rubbish. Moments later however, the horse was seen to be breathing and the shocked volunteer quickly made a call for assistance.”
“We have rarely seen such a serious case of neglect and despite many setbacks during the recovery process, Heidi always showed a brave, fighting spirit. We believe this spirit was central to her remarkable recovery.”
Heidi was looking so badly worse for wear that she had been assumed dead, and somebody had already been called to remove her body. Wendy Suddes from the charity Here4Horses told Bored Panda:
When rescuers turned up, they met with a knackerman who had been called by the owner to come and collect her body,” she told us and added, “Whether he thought she was already dead is irrelevant—she had been subject to the most awful suffering.”
However, rescuers decided that Heidi had a fighting chance, and the first thing they had to do was lift her to her feet. But the poor horse was so exhausted that it took a combined effort from all of the volunteers to get her standing.
“The decision was made to give her a chance and it took five people to lift her to her feet,” said the spokesperson of Here4Horses Equine Charity.
Heidi was in such a terrible condition that she had to be placed on a drip for plasma transfusion, and she was given blood donated by lots of healthy horses. She constantly had to have her dressings changed from all of her open wounds, and she wouldn’t stand or walk.
“The early days were touch and go, as we dealt with her serious weakness and such a low blood protein level that a plasma transfusion was required,” Wendy said. “It took more than 5 weeks for the pony to be able to stand by herself.”
Heidi’s recovery was long and slow, with Wendy saying:
“Too many sores, worms, parasites, and infections had been given time to take hold and it took months and months to get Heidi well enough to run free in our pastures.”
But Heidi was a little fighter, and within the time she began to improve. First, she learned how to stand up, and then walk. Gradually, her color came back, and her once-matted fur became glossy and smooth once more.
Now all that was left was for Heidi to gain weight. The team fed her lots of tasty treats that would make her strong and healthy – and look what happened!
Heidi blossomed into the beautiful, happy, and healthy horse that she deserves to be. And just look how much happier she is! We’re so grateful to the British Horse Society for saving Heidi’s life and deciding to give her another chance. No animal deserves to go through what Heidi did, and we can’t wait to see how she lives out her second chance at life.
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