WE NEED YOUR HELP!

The story - so far - of 'Marty' and 'BigAl'.

My names Annie of Cumbrian Heavy Horses. As many of you know, myself and the team here are softies, and have worked alongside the RSPCA (& private rescues) to bring many beautiful horses into full physical health and restore their faith in humankind, developing respectful, trusting relationships with humans, with good manners, able to enjoy an active life ahead of them, all of which is time consuming and costly.

This is the story of Marty and BigAl, horses I couldn't leave behind.

Rewind to Saturday 26th April '25

Horse Auction.

In a nutshell, Jonny and I should not be allowed to go near a horse auction without supervision, however we are classed as adults....

We'd gone to look at two Suffolk Punch fillies to potentially join our Breeding programme, however the bidding was high - good news for the vendor and breed - and they went to good homes, leaving Jonny and I time to look around.

Auctions are difficult places for horses. Alien. Noisy. Loud. Busy. Traumatic.

Horses, the most nobel and magnificent of animals, are treated like cattle with a pen to stay in and a numbered sticky label on the bum. Just a number. The catalogue entry offers opportunity to 'sell ' a horse well, yet entries often state 'horse' with no real details in many cases, as if they don't matter. Horse auctions are a place for deals, possible bargains, and throwaway horses, unknowns.

All are given a basic vet health check prior to acceptance in the sale btw.

I didn't take a trailer as that would have been tempting fate (wouldn't it just).

So we wandered, browsing, for draft horses and found a sad looking chunky brown mare with thick black feathers, a kind eye, not eating, standing, head down, shut down, frozen. Slim for a Belgium Draft. Couldn't see her feet for feather. No obvious reason for her to be there really, and visibly checking her we noticed a crust on her nostrils but not bad. Just sad. Oh my heart....

Then, closeby, another big and beautiful horse. A big solid grey, a Clydesdale we thought, easy going, surprisingly unperturbed, munching away happily. His tail had been shaved months ago in showring manner, he had class, style, had obviously been in the showring/show circuit previously as he wasnt bothered by the din. Why, then, was he here?

As he appeared calm we slipped into the pen.

Talking quietly to him he seemed easy going. Running our hands gently over him we found a small - probably healed - splint on a foreleg and still-healing thin long scars literally covering his hind legs. His back feet, his hooves, were shredded, chunks missing. What had he done? He was pretty quiet, but what on earth was he doing here? All we could think was that he was a product of the showing industry, where scars and splints rendered him near worthless, perhaps? We suspect he managed to get himself tangled up in a wire fence, pull his hind shoes off and damage himself badly.

We wandered back into the ring and watched horses come and go, confused, on to new and hopefully better homes...then in came the big lad.

A big unknown.

A Shire, apparently, aged five. A Shire! Jonny and I looked at each other in surprise, I would have said a Clydesdale but hey...

Should I?

I had the money for my barn roof saved, sitting in the bank, we badly need that roof it's not just leaking water, it pours in when it rains, awful, but now that money was burning holes in my pocket.

Could this horse be turned into a ridden horse? What was the risk? How much money and time would it take? I knew his feet would grow out but it would take both time and a fabulous farrier (which we have in Chris!)...would the leg injuries mean he might not work? Risk! But all horses get the base vetting and he'd obviously been OK....

What was my ceiling?

I decided on 4k. The bidding started.

1½, 2, it crept up; tense, I placed bids, the auctioneer doing a good job. The bidding sat at £3,800, I went to £4,000 and miraculously there it stayed. On my limit!

The hammer went down.

He was coming home with me. I wanted to cry.

All I could think was 'this feels the right thing to do, we can get this horse right'. I have less roof now, but he's safe.

A few horses later in came the sad, but pretty, dark bay mare. She was quiet and behaved herself, no doubt frightened yet not too pushy.

My heart knew I should buy her. My head said I didn't need her, but then, I didn't 'need' him either. I 'need' a bl**dy roof!

Ye gods I shouldn't be allowed to go to horse auctions.

The bidding started, slower, she's not a flashy mare, and I couldn't help myself. I mentally set a ceiling at £3,000.

Up the bids went, I got to £3,000 and a lady below me went to £3,200. Only £200 more....

Without thinking I nodded a bid. £3,500.

The auctioneer searched for bidders but no one else wanted her...

Down went the hammer.

She was mine.

She was coming home with us.

Safe.

Sightly stunned we left the sales ring to go sort paperwork for the two of them. A friend who was there stopped me to tell me the mare came via a notorious dealer and to check her carefully ... 'he's hard on them'. Poor girlie.

So that's what happens when two impulsive ADHD people go to a horse auction, you come home with horses you didn't even know you wanted!

We hadn't realised you have to add a buyers premium and bidding is actually in guineas so the final cost was almost £8k.

That's a lot of roof!

It was also a lot of Draught horse!

Jonny and I drove back to the yard and hitched up a trailer, excited to get them home.

We returned to the auction after the two hours drive and loaded up, him first on the basis that he'd obviously been shown so would load, and tbh she followed him in pretty well. I think she was glad to be out of there.

We unloaded them carefully, Katy had kindly waited after work to help unload (I'm no use, really, with my RA) and into isolation, seperate stables but together, they went. A solo horse will stress and they've had enough of that....they are in this together!

We had two stables at the bottom of the yard we'd set aside, and left a lot of space and stables around them .

For those of you who are unaware of the risks, horses in cramped quarters such as auctions or trailers to/from can spread contagious diseases so we have a quarantine period of 14 days minimum. The horses were tired, hungry, and thirsty. We introduced a small feed, hay and water and went into full isolation procedure.

They were skittish, naturally; he, less so, but she was a wreck, obviously terrified yet despite the fear she didn't want to hurt anyone she just didn't want to be hurt. She just ran away. Her big, honest eyes were wary, full of fear.

We could catch him but not her without a battle, which was not our agenda, so we opted for headcollars staying on and developing trust to help, and made health plans.

The vet was booked for early that next week for nasal swabs and a general health check. Big Al seemed fine, some inflammation in his hind legs and noted scarring but no more. She, however, had a seriously runny nose, thick green mucus, so their isolation was important.

The swabs came back later that week with 'false strangles '' or streptococcus equi zooepidemicus. She was prescribed a couse of antibiotics, and a re-swab was booked in.

We handled them daily but her fear and behaviours due to her prior harsh treatment made it difficult. She looked to Big Al for comfort, for support, she clung to him as if she was drowning...we struggled to get near her, never mind get near her feet. A touch was impossible she was incredibly stressed it took her a week to even consider eating her twice daily small feed, she was stuck in flight mode. We knew it would take time.

All handling has been slow, non confrontational, and careful. Her coat was patchy, dull; her entire being was so nervous yet she had kindness in her eyes.

He came round quite quickly, hes ok to catch, he has been quite easy going apart from his hind legs, whatever happened to them is obviously haunting him, we can't get near.

After a week of antibiotics for her she still had a runny nose, we had the vet back in and took a second lot of swabs and took bloods to check for both the strangles antibody and a full health screen.

We want to start inoculations but cannot as yet, they are both deemed too unhealthy.

The swab results showed that the antibiotics have not worked, and we are looking now at gutteral pouch washes and potentially more treatments for her. Her nose is still full of mucus, a deep seated infection.

The blood tests came back showing she has been exposed to Strangles at some time with carrier potential.

He has been, and remains, weirdly clear!

I tried to trace Big Al, I left a message at the Shire Horse Society with his passport number, name, microchip etc but have heard nothing back. I hoped they might help us understand him, his history. Hmmmm, thanks, SHS! Please feel free to help!

They are both booked into Oakhill for 12th June for the start of what will possibly be expensive treatments. We have to treat him as exposed, too.

I do not, btw, regret rescuing/ buying them, they needed us, and that's absolutely 100% fine, we hope they will settle and become good team players - but it will take a lot if time and funds.

As it stands atm we have two big horses eating time and money, my staff are experienced equine handlers, they know their stuff, and we all reckon they will make good riding horses in future, but right now I have a lot of outgoings for these two, not only the hay, straw, staff, hard feed, farrier, and expert care, but vet bills are seriously mounting, added to which the chance of that roof happening at all has vanished.

Horses? Or roof? Ha! Not a difficult decision. It wasn't then and isn't now.

Can you help them? Can you help us?

We are considered a 'business' not a charity btw in the interests of full clarity, although the Breeding Programme already plunders any profits, and these two are proving costlier than rescue/purchase price....

We will do the right thing for them, we'll do everything we possibly can.....

Can you help?

If you donate, where will it go?

A bale of straw is £50 and after initial laying which is 4 bales, we have, since then, had the floods, that's 4 more bales into the stables and hours of time mucking out, paid properly. Hay, daily, at £45 per bale. Two feeds a day £10 per horse per day. Daily handling per hour £15 per person, how many hours..... special quiet times just being with them, all is paid for. No one in the team can afford to not be paid, they accept risk, and do it for the horses. These horses have been here five weeks now.

Chris the farrier has had a look at them, per visit per check/ trim approx £100

Each vet call out, each blood test, each swab....the trip to Oakhill... it's mounting into the hundreds if not thousands already.

I hate to ask but can you guys help us?

Thank you in advance anything would be appreciated.

Marty, Big Al, Annie and the crew at CHH ❤️

Ps Saturday 7th June the horses are doing well.

Thought I would address the 'is it Strangles' question.

No, its not, the bacteria causing the continual nasal discharge in Marty's nose is a streptococcus equi zooepidemicus infection. His is - so far - clear.

Her blood test however showed that she has antibodies in her blood for strangles. This does not mean she has strangles currently but she could 'shed'?? We don't know.

It means the has been exposed to it at some point. She could be harbouring it in the folds of her gutteral pouch so we're getting that - for both horses - flushed out.

Their teeth need a good dentistry check, as it could, potentially, be an abcess causing the recurrent deep seated infection, and feet in future. The infection might also be in her sinuses we'll know more on the 12th.

Transport down, staff wages, all make any vet trip expensive and everyone's kindness has mean we can comfortably do this without financial stress

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts xx

Update 21st August 2025

Big Al is doing g superbly, howerever Marty sustained a field injury which at the time we thought might be terminal.

However

Two Veterinary opinions later the decision was made to immobilise her leg, put her on antibiotics and pain relief and box rest to give her a chance.

This was a freak accident yet the gash, the cut's location, at the front of her nearside hind, and depth, could mean involvement of her joint capsules and ligament damage.

It's a waiting game.

I ha e reopened this together contributions in case anyone can help. As above, only do so if you are comfortable doing this, please see my post earlier today ( 21/08/25) on the Cumbrian Heavy Horses FB page for details.

Thank you sll.

I feel shes not just my horse anymore, she's 'ours'..thank you for any help it truly is appreciated