<div>We were harshly reminded of the grim reality of equine welfare work, on the evening of July 1st - when we received a call about an abandoned foal.
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<div>Only days old, dehydrated and desperately weak from starvation, he serves as a sad reminder that our need to be Here4Horses is as relevant and important as ever.
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<div>One of our team of volunteers whisked him off to <a href="https://www.clevedalevetsequine.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Clevedale Vets Equine</a> where Vet Alistair Love so kindly met her at 10pm to administer fluids, test his antibody levels and give him antibiotics.
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<div>It was a long night trying to teach him to suckle from a bottle.
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<div>We were a little concerned that he may be a dummy foal, suffering from <a href="https://ceh.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/health-topics/neonatal-maladjustment-syndrome-foals" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">‘Neonatal Maladjustment Syndrome’</a> and twice performed a ‘Madigan Squeeze’ just in case.
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<div>A repeat visit to Clevedale Equine Vets led to blood tests, more IV fluids and milk via a stomach tube. He is on strong antibiotics to mitigate against infection, indicated by a high white blood cell count.
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<div>It has been and still is a tricky situation with many hurdles to face. He is now much brighter, becoming more curious and sometimes a little boisterous, which makes us cautiously optimistic for his future – a future of hopefully 20 years+.
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<div>Hand rearing a sick foal is extremely challenging &amp; expensive and despite improving daily, he isn’t out of the woods yet.
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<div>In time, we hope to find him a foster mum but this is a huge long-term commitment for our small charity as he will accumulate costs in excess of £2,500 per year and will now be Here4Horses’ responsibility for lifetime.
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<div><a href="https://here4horses.org.uk/our-horses/patrick/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Patrick Pony</a> (on our website now aged 13) faced the same fate and was also lucky enough to be found and rescued by a Here4horses Volunteer. We hope our experience with Patrick helps this little one enjoy a full and healthy life too... with your much needed help.
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<div>Please give what you can to help this wee boy (who we have now named Biggles), our team of volunteers will be eternally grateful for any sum you can afford.
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Anonymous

Paula Charlton

Andrew Jackson

Jean Pegg

Abandoned Foal who needs your help

Still £1,245 to go. Help us build momentum.