Sammy the thoroughbred came to the sanctuary when his owner reached out to us as she couldn’t provide the level of care he desperately needed.
Loan Home visitor Carly was the first to see him and she describes it as the worst case she has seen in her thirteen years with the Sanctuary.
Sammy was a shocking 120kg underweight, had a severe skin condition and was already fighting a battle for his life. On his arrival we did everything we could to keep him comfortable.
Unfortunately, further tests showed internal health issues: a failing heart, serious kidney infection, and possible tumours in his gut. For Sammy’s sake, we had to make the hardest of all decisions and a few days later our vet put him to sleep with his grooms at his side.
Our vet Richard says: ‘We gave him the best shot we could but ultimately the odds were stacked against him. Our grooms were able to give him the kindest last few weeks possible and were with him to the end.’ In the future we want to build a supportive welfare outreach team, who will be able to do more in the community to increase awareness of how to properly care for horses and ponies.
By advising the equestrian community we hope to prevent welfare issues, and ultimately horses like Sammy having to be cared for in the sanctuary.
