Reward for missing horse

An appeal has been launched to find a rehabilitated horse stolen from a private clinic in Buckinghamshire last week.

Astra, a four-year-old thoroughbred cross piebald mare, was on the verge of being re-homed after four months of intensive treatment from the Hillingdon branch of the RSPCA, when the thieves struck last Tuesday.

“We have a few theories about who took Astra,” she says, “although we’re keeping those close to our chest, at the moment. We won’t ask any questions, as long as she is brought back safe and sound.”

The 14.3hh mare, who has a distinctive white marking on the left side of her neck, was admitted to the clinic four months ago having been found neglected and abandoned in a field in Denham near Uxbridge.

Equine nurse Kerry Wilkins, who helped treat Astra, told HHO that private donors were offering a reward of £1,000 for the safe return of the mare.

“She was in a heck of a state back then – emaciated and looked like she had been hit repeatedly in the mouth,” says Kerry. “We had got her back up and running and had found someone who would give her a good home, when this happened.”

If you have any information about Astra, please call the RSPCA’s clinic in Hillingdon (tel: 01895 231 056).

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