‘Dead’ Horse Covered In Matted Fur Makes Incredible Transformation With Love And Care

It breaks our hearts to hear stories of animal abuse, but animal rescue organizations provide a shining light of hope. When rescue team British Horse Society received a call about a horse who was moments away from death, they were eager to do everything in their power to make sure that the horse got a second chance at life.

The horse had been neglected so badly that she first appeared dead when rescuers arrived at the scene, and it was touch and go whether she could make it. As she battled to stay alive, the BHS posted daily update pictures onto their Facebook – and the proof of her transformation is incredible.

The story of Heidi the horse soon became a viral sensation on Facebook, and it wasn’t long before over 5k people all over the world had viewed the post. Heidi’s amazing transformation was shared alongside the caption:

“A call from a member of the public to the RSPCA, led to a BHS volunteer making a visit to an East Durham building site in April 2018. The volunteer was horrified at what she first thought was a dead horse amongst the mud and rubbish. Moments later however, the horse was seen to be breathing and the shocked volunteer quickly made a call for assistance.”

“We have rarely seen such a serious case of neglect and despite many setbacks during the recovery process, Heidi always showed a brave, fighting spirit. We believe this spirit was central to her remarkable recovery.”

The most horrific thing about Heidi’s rescue was that she was so ill, that people had assumed she was dead. In fact, instead of calling for help, somebody had simply requested for her body to be removed.

When rescuers turned up, they met with a knackerman who had been called by the owner to come and collect her body,” Wendy Suddes from the charity Here4Horses told Bored Panda. She added, “Whether he thought she was already dead is irrelevant—she had been subject to the most awful suffering.”

Despite her devastating appearance, rescuers believed that Heidi deserved a fighting chance. But it was going to be an uphill struggle. Even lifting her to her feet required a lot of effort.

“The decision was made to give her a chance and it took five people to lift her to her feet,” said the spokesperson of Here4Horses Equine Charity.

Once in the safety of the rescue center, vets immediately got to work on helping Heidi heal. She was placed on a drip for plasma transfusion, and she was given blood donated by lots of healthy horses. Her dressings were changed on a daily basis, and it was a long time before she was able to stand for herself.

“The early days were touch and go, as we dealt with her serious weakness and such a low blood protein level that a plasma transfusion was required,” Wendy said. “It took more than 5 weeks for the pony to be able to stand by herself.”

It took Heidi many weeks to heal, and Wendy described how she went through hell and back:

“Too many sores, worms, parasites, and infections had been given time to take hold and it took months and months to get Heidi well enough to run free in our pastures.”

But one day, Heidi surprised all of her caretakers when they spotted her standing up for herself. From that day on, she grew stronger every day. Her color came back, and her once-matted fur became glossy and smooth once more.

Heidi was being fed lots of nutritious treats to make her strong and healthy, and before long, she was back to a healthy weight again.

Thanks to the British Horse Society, Heidi blossomed into the beautiful, happy, and healthy horse that she deserves to be. No animal deserves to go through what she did, and we hope that cases like this continue to be a rarity.

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Source: British Horse Society, Bored Panda