South Wales’ equine crisis in lockdown- Connie the neglected foal’s story

LOCKDOWN has been and continues to be a difficult time for everyone. Equine rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming charity Lluest Horse and Pony Trust in South Wales have had to cope with the most unique circumstances in its 35-year history.

Despite being closed to the public and unable to fundraise in their usual capacities, equine welfare and rescue work must continue even during lockdown and at a physical distance. When Lluest Horse and Pony Trust received a call from a worried walker in March about a foal, they knew they had to respond with the utmost urgency.

Dionne Schuurman, Equine Manager at Lluest said: “What greeted us were the saddest most heart-wrenching scenes; a tiny foal all alone and hungry, still trying to feed from her thin dead mother on the ground.”

The welfare team from the charity and vets from Dyffryn Tywi Equine Clinic scrambled to catch and guide the frightened foal to safety negotiating her over footbridges and fences. Back safely at the Trust, she was checked over properly by a vet, given a milk feed and the name Connie. She was estimated to be between 2 and 3 weeks old. She was fed every two hours around the clock and very quickly began to trust the team.

Since 1985, Lluest Horse and Pony Trust have rescued over 400 horses, ponies and mules. Operating from a 40-acre farm in the Brecon Beacons, they rescue and rehabilitate equines from across Wales. The charity’s ultimate aim is to rehome as many horses as possible and provide long-term fulfilling homes with their Guardian network. They aim to monitor the surrounding mountains for horses that are suffering or abandoned, to give out welfare and care advice to owners as well as respond to urgent welfare concerns like Connie. Due to the horse welfare crisis across the UK, there are many more horses bred than can be cared for by owners, leading to higher numbers of rescues. Lluest has 28 horses and ponies currently on their site, and this is set to rise further.

Schuurman said: “Rescue is just the beginning for a little foal like Connie. She will have a tough battle ahead to grow stronger and learn to be independent. As an orphan separated from her mother so young and found in such harsh conditions, she may well face health problems as she grows. For us, it’s the best result that she won’t grow up in a life of neglect that she wouldn’t have survived.”

Connie is being fed every few hours but can now run around outside freely. She also had another stroke of luck with one of our resident ponies Abbie taking over as her mother.

“It’s vital for an orphan foal to have equine company, and have a horse take her under their wing. Abbie was found wandering the streets before she came to us and arrived heavily in foal, who sadly died hours after birth. But she’s finally had a chance to mother a baby and since we introduced them, they haven’t looked back.” said Schuurman.

Connie is already growing strong but attending to her care and that of 27 other horses and ponies is expensive. Just the care of Connie will cost approximately £380 a month for the rest of the year, not including if she needs unforeseen veterinary care. At this time, donations are vital to keep the charity going. Lluest has been lucky enough to be supported by emergency funding during this crisis but their outgoings are up to £12,000 a month.

“The support of our community and funders so far has been amazing and we couldn’t have kept going without it” said Schuurman.

Connie’s story will continue to unfold and will hopefully enable her to be rehomed in the near future.

Watch Connie’s Story here: https://youtu.be/wkuvjeVbH5k