A young stallion who was found running loose on the M32 has found his forever home with the lady who rescued him.
Jade Plummer, who runs Blossom Hill Equestrian, a livery yard in Gloucestershire, was driving back from Wales on Thursday 15 May with her friend Rosie Tibbenham when they saw a horse running down the M32.
The pair followed the horse in their car and tried to catch him as he continued down the M32 and onto the slip road to the M4.
“I was trying to keep him on the hard shoulder using my car so he wouldn’t be hit by another vehicle. It was 9pm by this time so it was getting dark,” said Jade.
Avon and Somerset Police arrived and shut the road. They eventually managed to capture the stallion, fashioning a makeshift headcollar using the rope attached to a buoyancy float the police had in their car.
New owner for Dash
“The owner turned up and said he didn’t want anything to do with the horse so he was signed over to me,” explained Jade who subsequently called her friend Liv Dudman to bring a horse box to take the horse back to Jade’s yard.
Dash, as Jade has named the horse following his sprint along the motorway, was checked over by a vet who said they believed he was four years old.
“He’s very small and underweight so he only looks about 18 months old. He had no microchip or passport, has bad sweet itch as well as several sarcoids,” said Jade.
“He didn’t eat or drink for days and we were having to syringe water into him. He’s now on a special diet as he needs feeding up and to stay as hydrated as possible but we obviously can’t give him too much food too soon.”
Making good progress
Dash has now had his first vaccines, been microchipped and is receiving treatment for his sweet itch. He is booked in for castration and the possible removal of his sarcoids next week.
“Now he’s starting to settle he is coming out of his shell and has a bit of life about him. He’s very sweet and not nasty at all. The kids at the yard love him and the whole of the yard think he’s great. If I ever can’t find anyone they are usually in his stable,” said Jade.
“We are quite taken by him and want to keep him. He has conditions that will need to be managed for the rest of his life and we want that to be done properly, we don’t want him to be passed around. He has a home for life with us.”
Jade and Rosie have launched a crowdfunding page to help pay for Dash’s medical treatment and other needs. Click here to make a donation.
Images © Jade Plummer.
