Silver Lady.
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Spring 2002 started with an unusual focus more on horses and ponies than donkeys. In order to help out with the Sligo SPCA we took in a beautiful silver dun 13hh mare who had been allegedly roaming the roads for some weeks, being fed by animal sympathetic people along the way. Eventually she was taken in by a woman who noticed she had a penetrating wound in her buttock as if she had been gored with a cow's horn, or impaled on a silage tine. She was also lice infested, underweight and her hooves were in poor condition. The SSPCA, the vet and the Gardai were called and it was decided to take her into care until her owners were found. We called her Silver Lady as lady she was, allowing regular bathing and syringing of the wound without a murmer, despite the fact that it must have been extremely painful. She stood, quiet as a lamb, ears laid flat, teeth gritted and never once offered to bite or kick quietly moving out of the way when it became too much. Happily the wound healed completely leaving a circle of bare skin about one inch in diameter over which the coat may grow again in due course. Gradually Silver Lady's story unfolded. Her owners were found. Her name was Pongo (we stuck with Silver Lady!) and after a month she was returned to her owners but because they had inadequate facilities for looking after her she went into stables where her immediate care could be continued. Soon afterwards we were delighted to help the SSPCA with a thoroughbred mare found on a hillside in mid winter in very poor condition. The owner had had previous dealings with the Gardai over cruelty to pigs and certainly deserved to be prosecuted for his treatment of this mare who was severely undernourished, eaten raw with lice and needed heavy painkillers before she could walk due to splayed, cracked and infected hooves. Eventually the owner agreed reluctantly to sign her over to the SSPCA so regardless of whether or not a prosecution followed, she would NOT be returned to him. Coaxing her to move was a serious affair of pushing, pulling, bribing, cajoling.. until she turned the corner and saw the horsebox waiting then she let out one huge whinnie and almost ran! She knew she was out of there! It took many weeks before she gained proper condition and will take at least a year before her hooves will make marked improvement and our thanks go to Mark Carter for his patient handling of her. As a finely bred mare she has a thin silky coat, even in the depths of winter, yet she was asked to live out on a hillside with no shelter, no rug, no feeding and no companion. I wonder how her owner would have fared had he been left in similar circumstances with nothing except his pyjamas! Thanks are due to the Henry family of Templevanny and Skreen who have kindly offered grazing for her with the company of one of their mares while she continues her recuperation. |
Enquiries to: Sue Paling, Sathya Sai Sanctuary Trust for Nature, Cloghogue Lower, Castlebaldwin, Co Sligo, Ireland. Frontpage | All the donkeys | Spring 1994 | Autumn 1994 | Spring 1995 | Autumn 1995 | Autumn 1996 | Spring 1997 | Autumn 1997 | Spring 1998 | Autumn 1998 | Spring 1999 | Autumn 1999 | Spring 2000 | Autumn 2000 | Spring 2001 | Autumn 2001 | Spring 2002 | Autumn 2002 | Adopt a Donkey | Donkey Links | E mail
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