10 years old PABLO came into our care in March 2020. His history is one of pain and isolation. PABLO was found living in a paddock the size of a bedroom. His rescuer did not know that our Sanctuary was only a few kilometres from where PABLO stood, so she asked a riding school to take him in. The school had him for 7 days and tried to use him for work. They found that his response to humans was to bite, and he did he have the strength to carry riders. His rescuer was told to remove him. Fortunately, she found us and we went together to bring PABLO into our care. We were told he was not an easy horse to trailer load, but he was gentle on our first meeting and walked into our trailer.The collection took a total of 30 minutes from first meeting to driving PABLO away.
The Case of PABLO
We let PABLO settle in our livery paddock. Over days, realising we asked nothing from him except to attend to his needs, PABLO began to believe he was safe. Due to his previous life of isolation PABLO would disconnect from reality and stand unresponsive for hours. Then he showed interest in Amber, our Junior Groom, who worked with our horses at weekends. We allocated PABLO as a “special care” project to Amber, and the two quickly became good friends. Through Amber, we were able to reach PABLO. Gradually Amber introduced PABLO to our resident horses, and within a short time he was meeting the herd across his paddock fence. He was learning to be a horse, learning that he could trust in humans, learning that his life had changed beyond anything he had experienced before!
Of course, while Amber was befriending PABLO, we were assessing his needs on a continuous basis. We focused on his emotional rehabilitation as a priority, but also called in our vet and farrier to examine his physical issues. PABLO was diagnosed as a textbook case of Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Disease meaning that over time his rear fetlock joints had dropped causing chronic lameness. The disease is incurable but manageable, so we set about providing PABLO with everything he needed to help him live comfortably with his condition. PABLO receives regular corrective shoeing, a good supplemented diet, and a light exercise programme to keep him fit and motivated.
We are all very pleased with the quality of life PABLO now has. He is a big favourite with our young visitors and he loves the attention! Can you believe that only 3 months ago this horse knew nothing about making friendships with humans – or forming bonds with his own species! PABLO enjoys walks with Amber and other visitors to the Sanctuary. He enjoys being groomed and pampered and he welcomes his horse, dog and cat friends to his paddock for companionship!
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PABLO may never wear a saddle or carry a rider but we have given him a home for life, taken away his pain and his loneliness, and brought him into fitness.He knows he is a “special” horse to all of us, and he has come to life again!
We are MOONACRE, and we make magic happen!
MoonAcre Sanctuary 