Fairy is a 3 year old skewbald, trotter type filly who was admitted to Blue Cross Centre in Burford in December 2018 horses after being abandoned with 23 other horses.
When she arrived she was under weight and unhandled and over the Christmas period Fairy lost a considerable amount of weight despite having ad-lib hay and being turned out 24/7. She didn’t seem interested in any hard food that was offered to her, but she was eating a hay/haylage mix.
Fairy began training around this time so that she could have a headcollar on and see the vet for a health check. It was discovered that she had impacted tooth roots which had draining tracts, so she was immediately put on pain relief and antibiotics whilst waiting to have the problem teeth removed.
After trying all lots of feed, the team at Blue Cross found that Fairy enjoys a mixture of CushCare Condition and Build Up Conditioning Cubes which have been well soaked and softened in warm water. Fairy’s hard food intake has gradually increased as well as the amount of hay and haylage she is eating and her appetite is now much better.
At the end of January Fairy weighed a mere 266kg and had a body score of 0.5. Three weeks later she weighed 284kg and had a body score 1.5. She is much brighter in herself and regularly hops and skips around her paddock, she looks fantastic!
Fairy’s story continues and we will keep you updated along the way.
For further information about the Blue Cross and the work they do, please head to: www.bluecross.org.uk giving-horse-home.
