Callout to Bodmin Pony with Large Facial Swelling

Last Friday our Welfare Officer attended Bodmin Moor to assess the condition of a pony reported with a large facial swelling.  Having seen the extent of the swelling, we decided to seek an expert opinion from an equine vet.  The vet considers that it is likely to be a dental problem causing this swelling and that it is unlikely that the condition will resolve itself if left untreated.  The mare is in poorer condition than other ponies out on the same area of moor and she needs treatment otherwise she will be unlikely to maintain enough condition to survive through the winter.

Local residents are very concerned about what will happen to this pony as they have noticed that other ponies removed from the moor by the Bodmin Commoners' Association earlier in the year have not been returned.  SWEP have reported this pony to the Commoner's Association and offered the pony and her foal places at our rescue centre, or alternatively veterinary treatment so that the mare can be treated and then returned to the moor.  The Bodmin pony and foal SWEP seized under the Animal Welfare Act in June are doing well and updates can be seen on their June blog entry

[ 05/09/11 -  The Commoners' responded by saying that if no owner can be found the "animal will be removed by the association for treatment."  I will ask for an update on what happened to the other ponies that were welfare cases removed by the Association in June.  One resident was told by the Commoners' that they "didn't know" what had happened to them ].

Whilst out on the moor our Welfare Officer videoed this foal which is just a couple of days old.  Foals should be born in late spring/early summer but with 9 stallions turned out on this small area of moorland, they are constantly competing for mares.  This means that foals are still being born at the beginning of autumn (and some mares are yet to foal) - which will make surviving the winter much more of a struggle.

Second Pony With Colic on Roborough Down

This afternoon, we received a phone call from a member of the public to report a pony colicking on Roborough Down.  It was a skewbald mare with a piebald foal.  The lady who reported the case said that she had been watching the pony for 45 minutes and it was a serious colic - the pony was described as lying upsidedown with its legs in the air.

Maureen Rolls contacted the local Commoner (Reeve) responsible for the area.  SWEP offered to pay for a vet to attend the pony.  The Reeve attended the pony and was able to establish the owner of the pony.  SWEP still offered to pay for a vet to treat the pony but the offer was rejected by the owner of the pony.  They said that they would monitor the pony out on the moor themselves.  The family who owns this pony were also the owners of other ponies we attended this year such as Hope (see blog entry http://swepwelfare.blogspot.com/2011/05/hopes-story-day-3-rescue.html )

Again, it is likely that this pony had been fed by tourists.  We ask people not to feed moorland ponies.  Some foods and plants cause colic, and some can even be poisonous to horses.  Colic is a very painful condition and can result in the death of a pony - either through the condition itself, or because some owners may decide to shoot the pony rather than pay the vet fees.  Grass clippings are particularly dangerous for horses to eat - the fermenting matter tastes delicious to the horses but causes colic once in the horse's digestive system.

Feeding ponies can also cause other problems, such as aggressiveness towards people, and it can encourage moorland ponies to approach cars, putting them at risk of being hit by cars on the main roads.

Pony with Colic on Dartmoor

Our Welfare Officer was driving across Dartmoor on Sunday and noticed this pony on Roborough Down that was looking most unwell.  After watching the mare for a while, it was clear that the mare was colicking.  She was repeatedly lying down and rolling occasionally.  There were lots of tourists in this area and it is likely that the pony had been fed something that had made it ill.  Colic is a serious condition that can result in the death of a pony.

Our Officer contacted the local Reeve (official Commoner in charge of the area).  He contacted the owner, who came out to the mare within about 15 minutes of the pony being reported to them.  The owner loaded the pony and her foal into a horsebox and she was removed from the moor. 

Report of Lame Dartmoor Hill Pony Foal

Late on Friday afternoon, we received a call from a member of the public to report a lame Dartmoor Hill Pony foal - the caller was able to give a good location for the pony and was even able to email photos of the foal and its mare.

Our Welfare Officer attended the moor and visited the foal today.  It has now recovered from its lameness.

Callout to Lame Dartmoor Hill Pony

We received a phone call from one of the local vet practices to say that they had received a phone call from a member of the public informing them of a lame pony in the White Tor area of Dartmoor.  The caller was well prepared by being able to provide a grid reference for the location of the pony.  Our Welfare Officer attended the moor and found this pony whose front right leg was badly swollen.  Our Officer contacted the owner of this pony who assured our officer that the pony would be removed from the moor later that evening.

Dartmoor Hill Pony Foal Dead After RTC

Our Welfare Officer discovered this dead pony alongside the main Tavistock to Princetown road.  It is a young colt.

This pony appears to be victim of a road traffic accident.  Drivers are required by law to report any accident where they hit a pony to the police, but sadly this rarely happens, and left unreported the pony can died of its internal injuries.  Our Officer reported this case to the Commoners' who should remove the carcass.

Update 17/08/11 - Despite having informed the Commoners about this dead pony on Monday, the carcass is still lying next to the main road as of 7pm this evening.

Update 19/08/11 - After informing the Commoners again about this yesterday, the pony is still lying beside the road as of 8pm this evening.  Our Welfare Officer has left a message for one of the area's Quartermen, again informing them that the pony is still alongside the road and has been there for 6 days.  We rang the National Park to inform them that this pony is lying beside on of the main tourist routes but they said there was nothing they could do about it.

Update 23/08/11 - The dead pony is still lying beside the main road, despite our efforts to get the owner to remove it.

Report of Lame Pony on Dartmoor

Two SWEP officers spotted this moorland pony yesterday which was clearly lame on its front, right leg.  Today, our Welfare Officer visited the pony out on the moor to assess its condition.  There are no obvious wounds.  The pony's right leg is warm and only very slightly swollen, but it is likely to be an injury that will improve without having the pony removed from the moor.  We will monitor this pony over the next few days to see that it's condition improves.

Update 19/08/11- The heat has gone from the leg of this pony, it is able to move around the moor well, but it is still lame. 

Update 23/08/11 - This pony's condition has greatly improved, please see the video below which shows the progress of the pony from the 15th to today

Report of Dartmoor Hill Pony Hit By Car

This morning we received a call to say that a member of the public had seen a pony get hit by a car in the Pork Hill area of Dartmoor, which is on the main road from Tavistock to Princetown.  SWEP phoned the Commoners and tried to raise one of the local farmers to go out to the pony.  Messages were left and we attended the moor to see if any pony in distress was apparent but none could be found.

Update 15/08/11 - This morning we rang the Commoners' to find out if any farmers attended to the report of the pony.  Apparently this was the second report they received about a pony in this area, which had been reported as being black and white in colour.  They were trying to raise someone to go out to the area.

Illegal Ear Mutilations

During our welfare callouts over the last year, SWEP has collected evidence of any foals with ear tags, ear notches or ear cuts.  These ear mutilations are now illegal under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, and moorland owners are no longer permitted to carry out these mutilations.  All the evidence we have collected has recently been passed onto the local authority in Devon, who have been very helpful in pursuing this matter.  We hope that this year, we will see a complete stop to these practices.  Any cases we find will be recorded and reported to the local authority.

Callout to Dartmoor Pony with A Deep Laceration

We received 2 separate calls from members of the public about a mare with a deep laceration on her side, and a wound on the front of her leg.  On the 4th August, the SWEP team (on agreement with her owner) went out and drifted this mare and foal into the SWEP rescue centre.

05/08/11 - With careful handling, this mare has now been headcollared and has been treated by our equine vet.  The wound is not fresh enough to be stitched, but the vet was able to clean the wound which had been full of flies and bot eggs.  The mare is also being treated with antibiotics.  This mare and her foal will now be staying with SWEP, along with her companion mare and foal.  These two mares are part of a much larger herd that needs to be rehomed this autumn, and this is why we have taken these cases in with agreement of their owner.  It would usually be the responsibility of the owner of the pony to treat wounds such as this.

30/08/11 - The mare with the laceration (Maggie) has been progressing well and her wound is healing very nicely - see the photo below.  Maggie's foal has been named Minnie.   



Callout to a Dartmoor Hill Pony Foal with an Injured Nose

SWEP received a call from a member of the public who had noticed a Dartmoor Hill Pony foal with a very red, sore nose and was concerned that it might have been injured.  Our Welfare Officer attended the moor and found the foal.  In this case, it seems that the foal's red nose is caused by sunburn.  Domestic horse owners prevent sunburn on horses with pale colour noses by using suncream, but this foal is very unlikely to receive any such treatment from its owner. 

Update 06/08/11 - Our welfare officer saw this foal out on the moor today, and its sunburn is much improved.