6 months difference...so angry and upset.

[TheHairyOne]

This is a story of how you never really know people, and you try and do everything right, and sometimes it's just not enough.

This is our lovely boy on 19th January 2013, the day we dropped him off at his new home.

This is our lovely boy on 13 June 2013 when someone posted this to facebook.

Heartbroken doesn't even begin to cover it.

Today we purchased him back, picked him up and took him home where he'll get as much TLC and time as he needs.

Will be a while before he looks like this again.

Devasted that we honestly thought we'd found him a great home, who kept us updated often on him...shows just how wrong you can be. Thankfull we were able to buy him back. Lesson learnt. Once you've sold you loose control.

 

[honetpot]

This is just so sad

 

[AmyHack]

This brings tears to my eyes, so glad you got him back. Xxx

 

[Luci07]

Flipping heck..you must have been devastated.. And even worse that you drop a horse off in good condition in winter and he looks that poor in summer. Here's hoping you get him back up..what are your plans once he has returned to his former glory?

 

[GreyCloud]

So awful

 

[Beausmate]

WTF happened there? Could they not be arsed to feed him or something?

People like that need shooting.

Glad you got him back, poor horse.

 

[DabDab]

Oh gosh that would break my heart - so glad you were able to buy him back

 

[FestiveFuzz]

Words fail me. So glad you were able to get your boy back though.

 

[Shadow the Reindeer]

So glad you were able to get him back... I can't even begin to imagine how you felt when you saw that picture, or how you felt when you brought him home and watched him tucking into his first decent meal in a while.
Hugs to you xx

 

[Venevidivici]

Fantastic that you got him back. And from that 2nd pic,looks in the nick of time too...
Hope he recovers quickly

 

[Gypley]

Good god !! That's awful! At least they sold and he's in the best place!

 

[sophiebailey]

What was their excuse??

So glad you've got him back, a happy ending for a beautiful horse xxx

 

[mulledwhine]

the same happened to my old boy

I really have no words

 

[Jnhuk]

So glad you have got him back. What a heartbreak for you and hope your lad recovers from the last six months quickly. Hugs to you and your boy must have been so pleased to see you and come home.

I can remember as a teenager, the lady whose yard I helped out and who taught me to ride, said she never sold a horse on - loaned it yes or pts. I always thought that harsh about the pts and it took me several years to understand why she said what she did but as you said, that way she did not loose control of her horses.

Why is finding a good home sometimes is such a lottery these days? Despite the promises/updates/etc....

 

[Twinkley Lights]

Hell that's bad - so glad he is back with you *astard*s

 

[Ceriann]

That's horrendous! What did they have to say for themselves when you caught up with them and got him back? He is very lucky to have you and that you care enough to follow him up and get him back. Please let us know how he gets on.

 

[pogface]

God that's made me go cold.

So so pleased you bought him back. Please let us know how he gets on xxxx

 

[spottyfilly]

Poor thing same thing happened to my tb. He went on lwtb to a trekking centre and someone posted an awful picture and i drove straight over there It broke my heart. He had only been there 6 weeks and he was a hatrack

 

[Keenjean]

God that must have broken your heart to see. You must feel so pleased you've been able to buy him back and bring him home. It amazes me how people let horses get like that and to think that picture was put on facebook! What are your plans for getting him back to his former gorgeous glory? Might be worth calling a feed company to advise you about what/how much/how often to feed him so that you maximise the efficiency of your feed buying. Keep us updated, I'm sure it'll be amazing what a month of good food, good grooming and oodles of love can do!

 

[Kelly1982]

I'm actually in shock!! That is awful!!! So glad you have him back, hope he is on the mend soon xx

 

[Tickles]

Flipping heck.

You see a lot of these posts and sort of 'take the point but don't think too much of it'.

This is appalling.

So sorry for your horse.

I wish you the very best in getting him back in shape.

Sure you'll get lots of advice on here about how to feed back up sensibly - given the state he is in though probably worth getting him checked over by a vet too though to check for any underlying (or caused by starvation) health issues.

If they have, or are likely to have in future, any other animals would suggest this is a situation that needs reporting too. It is these extreme cases organisations like the RSPCA are for.

 

[JellyBeanSkittle]

My mouth fell open at the second photo. I hope he flourishes now he is back at home with you, I am sure he will xx

 

[TheHairyOne]

I saw the 'after' pic sat at my desk at work, I actually felt physically sick and had to try very hard not to cry right there and then.

No excuses really, least none that are worth repeating. My sister was the one who listened to them whilst I marched off with him down the road straight from the yard. We didn't want to risk driving in with the horse box so loaded him in a layby.

He'll eat for a long while, then he'll be brought back into work.

We'll get a sharer for him from our place if we can I think. We missed him anyway, had him 4 years. He's only 13.

So sorry it's happened to others, I mean you read about it, here and other places, which is why we tried to be so very, very careful. Wasn't enough.

 

[Kenzo]

Oh gosh what a shock that must of been, thank god you git him back, apart from the obvious from what can be seen on the photo (weight and muscle loss, poor condition etc ) what else did you find? is that a skin condition or caked on mud and what looks to be stable stains?

 

[mulledwhine]

I reported my case ...... Nothing

So not always the case sadly

Good advise though

 

[chesnut90]

Really welled up when I saw this....can't imagine how u must be feeling but he's home now.

Just awful

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

At least he is back with you now, poor boy...how old is he??

 

[Sharonr]

Oh my god!!

I am shocked by that photo!! From what was a healthy gorgeous boy to that!

Thank god you got him back and hope to see photo's of him back to his healthy self in due course.

 

[E13]

That is disgusting - thank god you were able to get him back. He must be pleased to see you too! What excuses did they give?!

 

[DJ]

Just a quick word of warning too, the tree he is reaching for here in this photo looks to me like an oak tree, if this is the case the new shoots/buds/new leaves (and acorns, but thankfully the wrong time of the year for those) contain tannins and these are poisonous to horses. In an already emaciated state they *could* have affected his liver so please do bear that in mid if he has the squits/ struggles putting weight back on.

http://www.cherokeeanimalclinic.com/equine_toxicplants.htm

http://www.horseweb-uk.com/features/plantmain.htm#o


Oak (Quercus Spp)
Poisoning by oak is usually seasonal, being most common in spring when the young buds or leaves are eaten and the autumn when the acorns are eaten. Oak leaves and acorns contain tannic acid which is poisonous to horses and though eating a small number of leaves or acorns is almost certainly harmless, they can also be addictive, and once a horse has acquired a taste for them they can actively search them out. Also some animals seem to be more suseptible to oak poisoning than others with individual animals having different levels of tolerance.
Oak poisoning causes gastroenteritis and kidney damage.
Symptoms include:

lack of appetite
staring coat
constipation followed by diarrhoea which may be bloodstained
abdominal pain
depression
blood in urine
There is no antidote. The horse is treated with drugs to reduce the pain and control the diarrhoea, antibiotics may be prescribed.
Prevention
In general it is best to restrict the access of horses to acorns, particularly if other food is scarce,or else pick up the fallen acorns at least once a day - although this method is time-consuming and less effective as most horses will still find some. The best thing to do is fence off oak trees - either permanently or with electric fencing.


So glad you`ve got him home ....... it`s just heartbreaking