Miss Parsnip
2011 | Skewbald | Shetland | Under 10hh
There will always be people who take on too many animals and in so doing, they risk neglecting their needs and cause suffering.
We want to be in a position to respond at times like this one, in order to protect horses and ponies, no matter what the circumstances – your sponsorship means we can continue to do that.
Please sponsor Miss Parsnip if you can – we have started her under saddle and your support helps cover the cost of carefully training her and others, to ensure they are best prepared for a bright future.
The story so far...
In early March 2020 we received a call from one of our supporters, who had been contacted by a family member, working as a power company engineer.
He had been working in a remote location and came across a large shed.
Peering into the darkness he had found several ponies in filthy conditions, barricaded into their stalls.
When we spoke to him, he described how the muck was so deep there had been rails attached across the doorways to prevent the ponies escaping over the doors! The smell of ammonia, even on a cold day had caught his attention.
There was no way to access them to take a proper look but he was very concerned for their welfare.
Alarm bells were ringing for us, so we contacted a member of the local RSPCA team who accessed the site to discover two Gypsy Cob stallions (sharing a stable) and three Shetland ponies.
The ponies were living a thoroughly miserable existence – clearly having been trapped in the shed for at least a year.
The owner had been throwing hay over the doors and she had allowed them access to some water but in every other way, their needs had not been met. They were suffering as a result.
With additional help from the Regional WHW Officer, the stables were dug out and dismantled and the ponies brought out to freedom.
Both Miss Parsnip – and her stable mate Pumpkin, had matted, faeces encrusted coats but despite this, they were in good body condition.
Their feet however, were badly overgrown and gave cause for concern. Just as serious, was the severe thrush infection in all of their hooves.
Standing in their own urine and faeces, in the darkness, had provided the perfect conditions needed for bacteria to thrive. The frog (the important, central part of the horses sole) had completely rotted away in all four feet. They were very painful as a result.
Ninja, one of our other residents, was one of the other ponies in this case, suffering in a similar way.
It took many, many weeks of rigorous treatment and expert farriery, to align the feet, eradicate the infection and see new horn growth appear.
In the early days this was made much trickier (and occasionally quite dangerous), by Miss Parsnip’s lack of handling.
To say she was sassy would be an understatement – at first she did not understand why she needed to pick her feet up for us, let alone allow us to work on repairing the damage.
She gained a great deal of respect for her ability to tap dance on anyone who accidentally caught a sore spot when working on her feet.
All of that behaviour seems like light years ago now, as she was gradually taught to manage her emotions and also learned how to conduct herself in public thanks to a spell with the great team at Robinsons Equiteach.
Parsnip can still be wilful and wily with the other ponies (she is a Shetland after all) but her sassy character means she likes to be pampered and show off too – clearly seen here, at one of her posh outings in the hands of long-time Here4Horses supporter Jen Wilson.
We all love Miss P and look forward to finding a first class, forever home, where she can enjoy a long and happy life.
Likes:
Massages, bathing in warm water and other pamper day activities – with lunch included!
Dislikes:
Parsnips, being crowded by other ponies (or people) and dieting.
