Watching wild horses run through the wild is an unforgettable sight.
The wild horses who freely roam the Delta Danube are some of the last remaining populations to trot through Europe.
While there are concerns over their rising populations and their effect on their surrounding ecosystem, they face excessive slaughtering and being targeted as a meat source.
Sadly, the way the locals of Letea sometimes treat them is not always humane.
One of these horses was spotted, with a rather cruel restraint.
Ovidiu Rosu, a veterinarian for the Four Paws team spotted a wild horse with a cruel, yet sadly common restraint for the area.
The horse’s front legs were chained together, a way that these wild horses are often stopped from being able to run away.
Of course, this creates huge discomfort and restrictions for the horses.
To stay safe, the horse is tranquillized.
Ovidiu shoots the horse with a tranquillizer gun in order to put it to sleep.
This is firstly for the horse’s safety, so that it doesn’t attempt to thrash or run and hurt itself while Ovidiu is at work, and of course it’s also to protect Ovidiu.
When the horse is down, they cover its eyes.
This is to keep the horse calm while Ovidiu is doing what he has to.
Like many other animals, covering a horse’s eyes stop them from panicking and keep them restful.
This horse has a good friend, who watches over it while Ovidiu gets to work.
The horse had chains around both of its front hooves.
This prevents the horses from running away easily, forcing them to do a sort of hop, which slows them down drastically.
Having the horses much slower means that they’re easier to catch and hunt for their meat.
As you can imagine, this it very painful for the horses and the chains can not only prevent them from usual movement, but cut into their skin and hurt their joints.
This dutiful vet sets his mind to the task.
With a pair of pliers, the Four Paws vet begins working on the wires that attach the chains around the horse’s ankles.
As you can see, the horse was severely restricted by these chains, and it’s a good thing that it was subdued, or Ovidiu would have one heck of a time removing these chains.
The horse’s friends tentatively seem to thank Ovidiu.
It’s clear that the horse with the chains has a few good friends out on the delta, as these horses remain close the whole time Four Paws is at work.
They stand by protectively, and watch on, inspecting Ovidiu as he works on their friend.
It even seems as if they’re thanking him.
When the horse comes to, the cloth is removed.
Slowly but surely this horse becomes conscious again, and when the cloth is removed, it stirs and wakes up.
Still drowsy, it will take a bit of time for this horse to shake off the sedative, but now will be able to run free.
They even stick around to make sure the horse can get up.
The job isn’t done until they know that this horse is going to be fine, and that means even helping it up to its hooves.
Now tagged for them to track, this horse has a new lease on life.
Thank goodness for these compassionate people who go out of their way to free this poor horse from its inhumane chains.
At least this horse also has some good friends.
Not only that, but Ovidiu and the Four Paws team get their heartfelt thanks from these grateful horses.
See the incredible rescue and the horse’s touching thank you in the video below.
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