An emaciated male pony who was found abandoned on a road in Hampshire earlier this month is stable in a veterinary hospital having been rescued by the equine charity Saving Abandoned Fly Grazing Equines (SAFE). The charity has named the pony Bambi.

“Bambi was found the day after Valentine’s Day, soaked with the rain and shivering on a road in Hook, Hampshire,” said Alison Stratford, founder and trustee of SAFE.

“Two kind ladies took him to their stables and dried him with towels.  Realising quite how emaciated and poor he was, they tried to contact national horse rescue charities, but found that none were operating on a Sunday. 

“They messaged our Facebook page and because we run entirely with volunteers, we picked up the message soon after it had been sent and within two hours, after contacting our professional horse transporter, Bambi was collected and brought to our rescue.”  

‘A severely neglected state’

On arrival, Bambi was placed in a stable with hay, short chop forage and a tiny mash. He weighed just 35kg and had protruding bones, overgrown feet and teeth and was also treated for lice. 

“We found Bambi to be in a severely neglected state, with a very low body condition score, a heavy lice infestation and extreme exhaustion,” said Alison. 

“At first it was difficult to determine his age. His teeth appeared unusually large, grooved and stained – features that would typically indicate an adult horse. However, every other aspect of his development suggested that he was actually very young.  

SAFE’s vet carried out a full health assessment, including diagnostic blood tests which revealed chronic anaemia and extremely low protein levels. 

Bambi in hospital.

Hospitalisation

“It was clear that Bambi needed hospitalisation to stabilise him and allow for further investigation.  He was referred to Donnington Grove Equine Veterinary Hospital, where he was examined by Natalia from their Internal Medicine team,” continued Alison.

“Natalia found that Bambi was very weak and suffering from significant impaction colic, as well as pneumonia. His blood results were concerning, but they were only part of the picture. Further tests revealed one of the highest Ascarid worm egg counts we have ever encountered – something that would certainly have contributed to the impaction.”

Bambi is now receiving treatment for his severe worm burden, antibiotics to fight the pneumonia and IV nutritional support to stabilise his glucose and electrolyte levels. It is expected that Bambi will be in hospital for some time.

Alison now believes Bambi is less than three months old so he is also being supplemented with milk formula alongside a forage-based diet provided by Simple System. He has kindly been gifted a rug from Dinky Rugs.

The charity is requesting donations to help pay for Bambi’s veterinary care and needs and has set up a fundraising page on GiveWheel. To contribute, click here.

To follow Bambi’s progress and the charity’s work, view their Facebook page.

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