Ovie

The first six months of life for a foal are crucial to their development. Good nutrition, socialisation with other equines, exercise and their mother’s milk are just some of the requirements that help a foal grow into a healthy and happy youngster. Sadly, life didn’t begin in this way for little Ovie.

Orphaned foal Ovie came into our care in 2019 after he was found abandoned and alone on private land. Sadly, Ovie had been separated from his mother and left to fend for himself at just four months old.

Ovie was in poor condition and in need of immediate veterinary care. Poor Ovie was malnourished, covered in ticks and bites and had a severe locking stifle, causing great discomfort.

Our grooms and veterinary teams provided the specialist care Ovie needed and after a few weeks Ovie’s health improved dramatically.

There was no way of knowing how long he’d been separated from his mother and our grooms noticed that Ovie was unusually disinterested in other horses, paying them no interest whatsoever. In fact, he was far more interested in his grooms and began to behave with them in the playful manner you’d expect when two foals interact.

Despite never showing any aggression, Ovie’s playful behaviour became challenging to manage and it was critical that we taught him to behave respectfully around people to give him his best chance in life. Our Sanctuary behaviourist, Anna Haines, worked closely with Ovie and his grooms by providing essential enrichment and positive reinforcement for good behaviour.

Ovie with staff
Ovie

Anna said: “Ovie arrived at the Sanctuary at such an influential age for a young foal, so it was really important to assess his needs and the most effective way to meet them. He began showing signs of investigative behaviour towards people when they were in his stable, which involved lots of oral behaviours and nibbling at people and clothing and he could sometimes be quite over-zealous in his actions. These types of behaviours are not uncommon in orphan foals and can easily escalate and get out of hand if not dealt with appropriately.

“We provided even more varied items of environmental enrichment to increase mental stimulation and rewarded Ovie with scratches (which he loved!) for any calm behaviour around people. We also made it an important priority to carefully integrate him into a herd with other ponies to help him to develop his social skills and provide an outlet for his playful behaviour. Ovie was quick to learn and has flourished into a calm and respectful pony.”

Ovie has come so far and continues to make significant progress in his training with his groom Lucy, at our Yelverton Sanctuary. After a gentle introduction, Ovie is now living happily within a natural herd environment. The kindness and generosity of our loyal supporters meant that we were there for Ovie when he needed us most. Thanks to you, Ovie now has the chance to live a safe and fulfilling life here at the Sanctuary and we hope that one day he will find a loving home with a knowledgeable carer.

Horse leaning over stable door

Update – recent surgery

Ovie recently had surgery on his legs to relieve locking stifles. Locking stifles are where the ligaments in the leg can catch on the joints. Ovie is a young pony who lives at our Yelverton Moorland Rescue Facility having been abandoned as a foal. We think his health conditions are largely due to his difficult start in life.

The surgery has given Ovie some improvement in his legs. Unfortunately, the recovery involved several weeks on box rest. This was a serious challenge for such a young, playful pony. Luckily, our team worked together to create a plan to keep him happy and relaxed. We offered a number of enrichment activities to make sure he was mentally stimulated when he was stabled. He was given a special snuffle mat made from bicycle inner tubes. Unlike our fabric mats, this one could be fully disinfected and had the added advantage of being more robust. Ovie was also given treat balls and tree branches with fruit and vegetables skewered on the twigs to encourage him to browse. It wasn’t long before Ovie was allowed to go for short walks with our grooms. He is now back to enjoying life at Yelverton, but we’ll need to keep a careful eye on his legs in case he needs further treatment as he grows.