It’s not often that you see wild horses anymore. Sadly, not many of them still exist today and face extinction or total loss of habitat due to humans and suburban expansion. And the wild horses around the Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine are, unfortunately, all too familiar with that.
Some people in the area believe that the horse population is actually growing and disturbing the ecosystem – tragically, they are often mistreated or hunted to then be slaughtered.
The local people of Letea are certainly not fond of the horses and the people mostly view them as a meat source or a nuisance. Sometimes, the traps that they use for these horses causes an extremely slow and painful death.
Thank goodness, however, that there are still many good people on the planet and in this region. People who know that the horses are being mistreated and want to do something about it – like the Four Paws Animal Rescue and Care team.
Ovidiu Rosu is a vet for Four Paws and noticed a horse with a horrific chain trap around its front hooves.
Given that the two front legs were chained together, it rendered the horse almost completely immobile. In addition to the terrible pain that the horse was in, they were also terrified and panicked to relieve themselves of the situation. Not to mention, given that the horse was wild, it was not very keen to have a human approaching.
Ovidiu humanely tranquilized the horse to make the removal of the chains safer for both himself and the horse as well. As soon as the horse was tranquilized, Ovidiu covers the horse’s eyes to help it stay calm. Even though they are tranquilized, they are usually still conscious, and covering their eyes helps prevent panic.
This horse wasn’t just being taken care of by the vet – they also had a ‘friend’ watching from a distance.
The horse’s front legs and hooves were chained so tightly that there was no way they could have moved or tried to escape. All they could possibly do is hop, painfully, at best. The people who set these traps chain them like this so that it makes them easier to kill and they can’t run away. Sometimes, though, the horses are left in the chains for days on end.
After examining the horse, Ovidiu grabbed a pair of pliers and began to loosen up the wires around the horse’s feet. You can see in the video just how tightly the hooves were bound together.
After Ovidiu is done removing the chains, you can tell that both the horse and his friends are very grateful.
The two horses seemed to know that the Four Paws crew were good people and there to help them. After a little while, the tranquilizer begins to wear off and the horse is slowly able to start moving around again. A bit dazed, the horse is clearly very relieved to finally be able to move their legs freely.
Before the horse goes back to roaming free, it does its best to ‘thank’ the rescuer for their efforts. In fact, the horse even seems to go in for a little kiss! Then, the horse was back on its feet and free again.
Job well done, Four Paws and Ovidiu Rosu! Watch the entire rescue in the video below.
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