The owner of a farm in the Bronkhorstspruit area faces charges of animal cruelty after the animal welfare organisation Wetnose rescued 24 starving horses from his property.
The staff at Wetnose received a tip-off about the poor condition of the animals and immediately investigated.
“What we found made our blood boil,” said Debbie Buys, the MD of the organisation.
The team found an emaciated, weak, and pregnant horse on their initial visit to the farm. No vet had seen the animal either.
The owner used the horses for income through outrides and cowboy events.
“When asked about food, we were shown four mouldy bales that were about two years old and one 40kg bag of concentrate.
“Keep in mind that this was for 24 horses, which should get fed at least three times daily. The body score of all 24 horses was between zero and two out of five. Not one horse had an acceptable body score,” explained Buys.
The first horse rescued was Jessie, a bay mare left in an exposed open field in last week’s freezing wind. The staff found no horse blanket.
“She was too weak to get up, cold, sick with tick bite fever and starving.”
The team had to urgently get her to their large animal clinic, which was no easy feat for a horse that could not stand.
Buys said Jessie got a soft, warm bed, all the medication she needed and many litres of IV fluids.
“With a lot of manpower, willpower and prayer, we got her up, and she is getting a bit stronger every day.”
Buys said they knew the other horses also needed to be helped before the situation worsened.
“We were worried about funding and space, but we knew the horses were about to start dropping, one by one. We put our case to the magistrate, showing photos of all the horses, and were issued a warrant to remove them,” she said.
All hands were on deck last Wednesday.
Some staff transported, some loaded, some opened files, medical staff checked every horse on arrival, others prepared stables, and some fed the horses.
“We could see the horses were grateful for the delicious bales of juicy green grass.”
The team had all the horses safely back at Wetnose by 18:00, and then the job of treating every horse began.
They have all been groomed and assessed by the farrier and vet, who took a blood smear from each horse to check for tick bite fever. The tests revealed that about half of the animals had the illness.
“This week, we began erecting more shelters for the huge intake,” said Buys.
She said the neglect of these horses included starvation, tick infestation, worm infestation, shoddy hoof care, no dentistry, lack of medical care, no vaccinations and much more.
“These horses gave of themselves every day. They took any Tom, Dick or Harry for outrides, even when they were not in good condition. They were sweet with every visitor and gave their owner a constant income, but what did their loyalty and hard work get them? Nothing, not even food.”
Buys said Wetnose will pursue cases of animal cruelty against the owner.
In the meantime, Wetnose is in dire need of help.
“Please come and help us if you can. We need grass bales, concentrate, shavings, fly spray, tick grease and much more.”
All the horses need a good bath. Volunteers are invited to a bath and braai day on September 23 or to donate toward the expenses incurred bringing these horses back to good condition.
For more information, contact Wetnose on 013 932 3941 or 082 677 8086, or visit their website at www.wetnose.co.za
