‘The perfect home’: mare rescued dreadlocked and lice-ridden with yearling at foot has bright future

A mare rescued with a “dreadlocked” mane, an “incredibly high” worm burden and her lice-ridden yearling at foot has found her perfect home.

Blue Cross took in Lemon in December 2023, along with her foal Babyccino, who was a year old.

“She had half a mane and what she did have was tangled up and a coat that was so thick, it had made dreadlocks throughout,” a spokesperson for the charity said.

“She was lethargic and depressed with an incredibly high worm burden. Her foal had a better body condition score but was also incredibly knotty with a large worm burden. They had lice and were very nervous of people so needed work on building trust with them.”

Mother and son were treated for lice and put on an appropriate worm control plan, as well as management to increase their body condition safely.

“Lemon was trained using clicker training to encourage her to gain confidence with people,” the spokesperson said. “Once her confidence improved, the team removed all the knots in her mane and gave her a thorough groom. They saw the farrier after some basic leg handling and had their long feet trimmed to a much more acceptable length to allow more time for training before trimming them properly.”

Once Lemon and Babyccino gained weight and their handling improved, the charity started the weaning process as Babyccino was over a year old.

“This was a very smooth and easy process as Babyccino had made lots of new friends of a similar age,” the spokesperson said.

Once he was weaned, the charity looked for a new home for Lemon.

“In August this year, a lovely home applied for her to be a companion to two mares and it was the perfect match for her,” the spokesperson said. “Lemon has been in that home since August and is doing really well. She is loving all the attention she is getting.”

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Mia Lincoln-Shenton, Blue Cross Rolleston horse adoptions coordinator told H&H the charity is delighted Lemon found her “perfect home” this year.

“It is always heartbreaking to see ponies like Lemon arrive at the centre in such poor condition and nervous of people, but with time and effort, it is so rewarding to be able to nurture them back to health and happiness, before sending them off to their new family,” she said. “We know that Lemon will have a wonderful first Christmas at home, and I’m sure will be spoilt with lots of presents and love!”

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