The owners of a 40-year-old mare who was badly injured when, it is thought, someone “repeatedly inserted a sharp object into her” say they cannot comprehend that anyone could do such a thing.
Staff at Willows Animal Sanctuary & Animal Assisted Therapy Unit in Aberdeenshire have been “sick with worry” over Cheyenne, who has been living there for over 20 years.
“On 1 August, one of the Willows staff went to bring our oldest and most vulnerable resident, Cheyenne, in for her breakfast,” a spokesman for the sanctuary said. “Cheyenne only has one eye, and does not have many teeth left. She requires a lot of TLC to keep her in good health. Unusually, she did not want to be caught and kept running away, which is very unusual for her. It took a long time to catch her. Once caught, the staff member noticed that Cheyenne had blood all over her tail.
“The vet was sent for and Cheyenne was sedated and examined. What the vet found was so disturbing that she urged us to contact the police. Upon closer inspection, it had become obvious that Cheyenne had external and internal injuries. No one can be sure exactly what happened, but it seems likely that this was done by a person who had repeatedly inserted some sort of sharp object into her.”
The spokesman said police spent time helping staff scour the field for anything sharp on which the mare could have injured herself, but despite repeated searches “no one can find anything”.
“Our other equine residents are all okay, thank goodness, but we are sick with worry about what’s happened to our girl,” the spokesman said. “Cheyenne is approximately 40 years old and we are just devastated that this has happened to her. She is meant to be safe in our sanctuary and she should not have had to go through this. She is on strong antibiotics now and our vet is keeping a close eye on her.
“We feel rather helpless and it makes us all realise just how fragile everything is. The only thing we can practically do is review all our security measures and warn other horse owners to be extra vigilant.”
A spokesman for the charity told H&H this week that Cheyenne is recovering well physically, and the vet has been back to check her.
“Willows specialises in helping horses that aren’t rideable,” she said. “This can be because they are injured, have behaviour problems or through old age. These types of horses are often rejected by other charities because it’s very difficult to find them a good permanent home.
“Cheyenne came to Willows more than 20 years ago because she was unrideable. She has been a part of the animal assisted therapy unit that we run here and has helped countless people suffering from depression, etc.
“She is a very gentle sweet pony who has given a lot to people in her lifetime and it’s been so unfair that she has been the innocent victim of this terrible assault.”
The sanctuary thanked all those who have donated towards Cheyenne’s vet bill, or sent food.
“When something truly heinous like this happens to such an innocent being, it’s absolutely incredible how people will rally to help and support those who need it. It restores one’s broken faith somewhat and you’ve all been absolutely amazing,” the spokesman said.
“We have a security company coming to visit this week and advise us on what we can do to improve things. Thank you all so much for the absolutely amazing support you’ve all shown. We would be lost without it!”
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