LA FLACA - SKINNY-

It all started, as most of the times, with somebody’s phone call advising us of an enclosure in a town nearby Tarragona holding some horses in a very bad shape.

We called up SEPRONA who, after investigating the site, informed us there were two very skinny mares –one of them pretty bad– a pony and a young colt in his bones. Having worked with them quite often thus trusting their description, the next morning we straightforwardly went to have the Mayor sign the seizure papers for the animals… Only we did not know that the owner of the horses was the very city hall employee in charge of picking up stray dogs. The Mayor, therefore, kept beating around the bushes and finally sent us away with the excuse that there was nothing he could do until the following Monday.

It was Friday. As we left the City Hall we went to feed the animals, with such a very bad luck that while we were leaving the car with the food, another car came up racing down the road toward us… We figured out the driver had to be the owner and backed up into the car, as he tried to block our car gesturing and shouting menacingly.

“LA GUAPA”, one of the mares, was close to the fence, struggling hard to keep standing and nibble some weeds as we left with the apples, carrots and the hay bale still in the car.

The following Monday we were stubbornly there. This time “LA GUAPA” was lying on the ground and couldn’t get up. Her muscles could no longer stand the weight of her skeleton.

We fed her little bits of apple and carrot, we gave her serum… she tried to get up ten times and ten times she fell down.

It was the saddest scene I have witnessed since I got into this: seeing a beautiful mare’s will to keep on living and just how gravity kept pulling her down over and over.

The vet told us there was no way out; he had to euthanize her, as serum would be of no use. And on top of that the Guardia Civil officials had another call and were to leave and it became dangerous for us to stay over.

My God! How sad I felt. She had the strongest heart and wouldn’t die… Each time I see the photos grief clutches me and I start crying…

Sometimes I wonder how come things got this far and it strikes me when I realize it is just because a Mayor who, from the Guardia Civil reports had to be aware of the pitiful state of those animals, held up a seizure procedure which resulted in the dying, two days later, of a mare that at that time was standing trying to feed on weeds…

But carry on we must; we rescued a colt, “BIRDY”, a pony, “SAIF”, and “SKINNY”, the second mare, who stood stoically up, made it all the way to the shelter house and kept recovering increasingly until she became the “queen” of the Retreat, always around and pulling her head out to get her share of cuddling.

As you can see on the pictures, the change was spectacular.

And they have been give up in adoption, except "LA FLACA" who stayed at the Retreat.

SC.