Foal With Deformed Legs Near Samford Spinney

Our welfare officer was called out today by a worried walker who had noticed a foal with what he thought may be rickets. We were soon on the scene and the foal did have deformed legs. The foals owner was contacted and they were aware of the foal along with the other pony owners in the area and the livestock protection officer. Our welfare officer asked for the foal to be removed from the moor and its condition to be assessed. The owner has agreed to do this.
We do not think this foal has rickets but it does have an obvious problem. Many foals are born with weaknesses in their legs, some rectify themselves naturally others with veterinary intervention. Sadly some are not so fortunate.





Collapsed Foal in Drakes Leat

Our welfare officer received a call early on a Saturday morning reporting a young foal that had collapsed in Drakes leat near Clearbrook. On arrival she found the foal, its mother was present and she was nudging the baby in an attempt to get it to stand. She assessed the situation and it was concluded the foal was more than likely sick and the owner was traced and called. He arrived shortly after along with his trailer. Initially he said the foal was just tired because of the amount of crab flies and the heat, however our welfare officer disagreed and asked the owner to remove the mare and foal and treat it accordingly. The farmer finally agreed to do this and between them the pair were loaded onto the trailer and taken away.

The mare has since been seen on the down minus its foal.