A shocking find at a building site in England led volunteers on an animal rescue they weren’t sure would end well.
A member of the public alerted volunteers from the British Horse Society, leading them to a sad discovery.
At the East Durham building site, which looked abandoned with trash and debris everywhere, they found what they thought was a dead horse lying in the mud.
The horse was dirty and very thin, but when they looked closer, they saw she was still breathing. They named her Heidi.
It was one of the worst cases of neglect they had ever seen, and they immediately took action.
“It took five people to lift her to her feet,” said a spokesperson for the charity Here 4 Horses.
The site’s owner had called someone to remove the horse’s body, believing she was already dead.
“Whether he thought she was dead doesn’t matter—she had suffered terribly,” Wendy Suddes from Here4Horses told Bored Panda.
The charity did everything they could to help Heidi survive, but it was difficult at first. She was too weak to stand on her own.
“The early days were tough, as she was very weak and had such low blood protein that she needed a plasma transfusion,” Wendy explained.
It took over five weeks before Heidi could stand up by herself.
Healthy horses donated blood, and soft dressings were put on Heidi to protect her pressure sores.
“Heidi had too many sores, worms, and infections that had taken over her body, and it took many months to get her well enough to run free in our fields,” Wendy added.
But thanks to her strong spirit and determination, Heidi survived.
Heidi had faced a level of cruelty and neglect that the nonprofit only sees once or twice a year. But now, she can leave all that behind and enjoy her life as the happy and healthy pony she was meant to be.
With the care from Wendy and her team, Heidi is now “full of life.” Her beautiful mane has grown back, and she is living her best life, even winning rosettes in competitions.
I truly hope the person responsible for this cruelty is brought to justice and banned from keeping animals forever.
Heidi may have been weak in body, but her spirit was never broken.
Please share this story to honor all the animal heroes who saved her life and gave her the loving home she deserves.