Sebastian
Rescued: August 5, 2017
Sebastian marked our fourth rescue in just one month, another skeletal little pony with severely infected teeth, a fungal growth on his coat caused by malnutrition and a very strange gait through his hind legs.
This rescue was conducted in conjunction with Andrea's Animal Rescue & The Henrietta Foundation; they were called out by police to collect this little guy from Cartagena, about an hour south of us here at Rojales. He'd apparently been abandoned in a small and rubbish-filled wire enclosure for weeks.
Concerned that she didn’t have any space to house Sebastian, Andrea called us and we immediately agreed to assist, even though we were very full ourselves. Andrea very kindly gave us €150 to cover the cost of Sebastian's castration – because, yes, this was yet another rescue who came to us entire.
An in-depth veterinary examination showed Sebastian was extremely underweight, had a fungal growth on his coat caused by bad hygiene and was riddled with worms. His strange movement was caused by both hips twisting as he walks, likely a genetic condition caused by the indiscriminate over-breeding we see so often here in Spain. Luckily, though, that movement doesn't eem to bother him too much.
But Sebastian's biggest problem was his teeth, which are completely missing their enamel.
Our specialist equine dentist Sergio Soler is certain this was caused by Sebastian being fed on absolute rubbish, which was so acidic it literally rotted all his teeth enamel away.
Luckily, Sebastian's front teeth didn't appear to be causing him too much pain. His biggest problem is the right-hand molar at the back. So Sergio will come back to fill it to protect it from rotting, as all the enamel is worn away and food is getting caught. We are so very lucky to have an extremely highly trained dental surgeon here in our local area.
We also believe Sebastian has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a respiratory problem. It's an allergic reaction to dusty environments, which causes the airways to close up so he fights for breath. It's clear from this disease and his very poor condition that Sebastian was kept in horrendous places his whole life. It's truly amazing he's survived this long.
So another dear little strangeling has joined our family of rescued horses, ponies and donkeys. As Dorothea always laughs and says: "He’ll fit in well here, as they’re all a little different and unique."
As a non-profit foundation staffed almost entirely by volunteers, we rely on your donations to continue our work to save ponies like Sebastian, and to cover their ongoing feeding and care costs. Find out how you can help here.
