Malnourished horse gallops back to health

An abandoned horse who was severely malnourished and left trapped in iron railings at a field in Fonthill last year has made a full recovery and is now safe in a new home.
The grey mare, who has since been named Una, suffered serious injury after trapping herself in a section of an iron fence that had fallen onto the ground.
After three days of suffering, the mare was left malnourished and exhausted. When the alarm was finally raised local horse charities My Lovely Horse and The Clondalkin Equine Club travelled to the site and managed to free her.
She was then taken in by My Lovely Horse and sent to Troy Town veterinary hospital where she underwent an emergency operation.
Secretary of the Clondalkin Equine Club Glenn Walsh was one of the first responders on the scene where the horse was trapped and has now given Una a new home.
Speaking to The Gazette, Walsh talked about Una’s miraculous recovery.
“When someone reported the incident to us, myself and another member of the Clondalkin Equine Club made our way to the site and tried to free the horse from the gate, but it was very difficult because she was in a lot of pain and very unstable. Eventually, we managed to free her by using a car jack to bend open the gate.
“My Lovely Horse Rescue, who are based in Kildare, then came down with vets and a horse box and treated her in the field. They then brought her straight to a veterinary hospital, where she had to have an operation on her leg.
“She was then taken into rehab for a couple of months and fostered for a little while on a small farm in Kildare. Once I heard that the horse was better and ready for adoption I put forward my interest straight away.
“I have a yard and stables in Kildare and had plenty of room for her. Now, she’s in full health and is in great form. Her behaviour is also very good, which is remarkable because she was very neglected and just skin and bone when we first found her.”
Walsh went onto say that if the horse wasn’t found and treated by My Lovely Horse Rescue then she would have most likely been put down.
“The fact that they were able to give her long-term care and treatment shows how much they care about animals in need. She’s not a thoroughbred that’s worth a lot of money so there was a large amount of humanity and love put towards her recovery.
“Hopefully, when our equine centre gets built in Ballyowen Park we will be able to educate the young people on how to care for their horses and teach them not to place them in places where they could get hurt,” he said.
My Lovely Horse does not receive funding from the Government or any of the local authorities and rely solely from donations.
To donate and to find out more about the charity, visit www.mylovelyhorserescue.com.