I'm fairly hard-boiled but I have to say this really got me. You're left wondering what happened to her before that lorry trip as well, given how unhappy she apparently is with human contact.
Totally agree.And this story is exactly why we need horses to be slaughtered in the uk and the meat shipped, not the live animal shipped first
There's been plenty of threads on here in the past about live transport of horses overseas for slaughter. Every poster on this forum will be strongly against it - whatever the breed.
It's still a legal trade so no for most people not that newsworthy. As AA said, though, pretty much everyone here is opposed to it. One of my closest friends spent a lot of time on the ground monitoring live transport in Europe to gather data to present to the European Parliament and many people are still involved in trying to stop it.
)as she was struggling with the regular sedations.
I thought of that, but in the first pics, where the staples look recent she has been clipped around the wounds and the coat is shorter. Also, she's not just clipped in areas that have been treated, but evenly (ish!) in a standard, horse in work clip. And it looks quite recently done. I wonder, as you say, if she was a problem to handle and that's why she was sent on. Not right. Maybe another Pilgrim type story thereCould the clip of been done to treat wounds under a long coat? Just that she was taken off the lorry 12 months ago and the photos could have been taken at any time since then, post surgery. Maybe the vets clipped her (looks like a vet clip
She could easily have been another sad story of a horse who was unpredictable and miss handled. It could be that the previous owner thought they had sent the horse to an abattior to be destroyed (IE not passing on a problem/dangerous horse).
I thought of that, but in the first pics, where the staples look recent she has been clipped around the wounds and the coat is shorter. Also, she's not just clipped in areas that have been treated, but evenly (ish!) in a standard, horse in work clip. And it looks quite recently done. I wonder, as you say, if she was a problem to handle and that's why she was sent on. Not right. Maybe another Pilgrim type story there
This is true, there's no denying that there are probably better uses of funds than this, but you could say that about a huge number of rescued animals where they are difficult or impossible to rehome because of their needs, or cannot do a 'job' in the case of horses. The market for companions is not enormous but there are any number of rescued horses deemed not rideable by the welfare organisations that are trying to rehome them. I don't think there's much to be gained from asking this question of an individual case. But not many people would donate to a charity that put down a large number of rescued animals on that basis, I think, and this is the remit of these charities - to rescue animals.
Well quite. You can understand how many coloured hairies may have poor documentation but racehorses should have an excellent paper trail and it sounds like she doesn't (any more).
Again, it's their remit. Many other rescued horses require a lot of care and are suspicious/scared of humans. Most people don't like charities putting animals down - they give money so they can be saved, so Redwings are entitled to spend their money like this just as an ordinary owner is entitled to put their horse through possibly ill-advised surgeries, painful treatments that require sedation, box rest etc (often so that they can continue to make use of them), and often, on many modern livery yards, without the upside of a genuinely fulfilling life with plenty of turnout with other horses, etc etc, which this mare now has in her future, with any luck.
I am sure the wee filly doesn't agree with this, nor most of the folks who donate to Redwings, they do not force anyone to donate. Plus she will still a decent life, not like she is left unsound or miserable. You don't know either that she won't be rehomed.
That's true of course. It is an assumption, might be wrong. But it's still quite possible, given how she is clearly used to being handled from the video and the clip at that age, and there are certainly people involved in racing that don't give the absolute best of care to a horse already considered not particularly worthwhile. Some of them even get prosecuted. Either way, though, it doesn't sound like we're going to find out.
Why on earth would Redwings, want to show off, what a ridiculous comment. Perhaps compassion has something to do with their actions.
