We got a call during the latter part of the winter about a horse who had been seen in a field in a very bad way. She was weak and emaciated and a passer by had become concerned for her welfare.

He had contacted the RSPCA several times without a response and so got in touch with us to see if we could help. We arrived at around midnight with our trailer and got out to assess the situation.

Over the years we have seen some pretty awful examples of human cruelty, but we were all shocked and devastated when we laid eyes on this poor little pony. She was so weak that she could no longer stand unaided. She had developed pressure sores all over her head and body where her bones had weighed on her skin as she lay. She smelled of rotten flesh. It was absolutely harrowing.

We literally had to pick her off the floor and lay her in a sling in our trailer. We drove her 2 hours to the equine hospital. On arrival, the vet was horrified at what she saw and when they weighed her she was a mere 200kg (around a third of the vet's estimated 600kg body weight).

The prognosis wasn't good at this stage. She was just so weak that she could have given up at any time. But we all underestimated what a fighter this little pony was.

She stayed in hospital for 4 months. For the first month she had to be picked up every day because she was still too frail to stand alone. After a month she grew strong enough to stand unaided. Slowly but surely she put on weight and grew in strength, her sores began to heal and after 4 months in hospital she came home to us weighing 430kg.