Update: pony found tangled in bike two months on
A pony found abandoned with an old bike digging into her legs is enjoying life with her new owners.
The skewbald mare was found tethered and tangled up with an old bicycle in a field of around 20 square feet on 22 May.
After being freed she was taken in by North Mayo Horse Sanctuary, County Mayo, where she was put on box rest with a leg injury.
Last month (16 June), the mare, who has been named Sprocket, was rehomed by Maria Smith and her family, who live in Glangevlin, Co. Cavan.
“She needs a lot of physiotherapy and rest but is doing great,” Ms Smith told H&H.
“Her mental state is a bit more difficult to heal than her leg, but with love and patience, she will get there.
“She is still very shy and will not approach anyone other than me or our dogs, but she has bonded with our other horse, Judge.”
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Judge was also rescued from North Mayo Horse Sanctuary.
The sanctuary’s founder, Gerry Ginty, spoke to H&H after Sprocket’s rescue.
“She’d been tied to a fence post, beside an old bike that had been abandoned,” he said.
“The rope had got tangled in it and the more the poor horse struggled, the tighter the rope got.
“Eventually all four legs were caught and the sprocket [toothed wheel] had cut her leg – her circulation must nearly have been cut off.
“The sad thing is, this was next to a church so people had walked past her to Mass and no one had done anything about it. The man who called us was a good Samaritan.”
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Mr Ginty and sanctuary volunteer John Redmond managed to free Sprocket.
The pictures of her, posted by the sanctuary on its Facebook page, have been seen by thousands of people.
Mr Redmond said: “You have to tell a story with pictures. For so many rescues, we haven’t thought of taking photos because it’s the last thing on your mind but it’s good to be able to show people what goes on as otherwise they probably wouldn’t believe it.”
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Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.