Little Elijah takes strides towards healing
As the SPCA rushed out to help a dying mare, a little hoofed surprise awaited them when they arrived on the scene.
After receiving a call about a mare passing away on the side of a road recently, the RandWest SPCA discovered its foal, which was still drinking on the horse.
A troubling call surfaced regarding a dead mare on the side of a road in Swaneville. Two SPCA trainee inspectors reacted to the call whereafter they found the horse still alive.
As a growing crowd made it difficult for the trainee inspectors to do anything, one of them called inspector manager René van Straten to the scene. According to Van Straten, state veterinarians also rushed to the scene.
When arriving, the veterinarians examined the mare and noticed severe biliary. Van Straten mentioned they also concluded the foal was no more than eight weeks old. However, further veterinarian examination established the foal was only four weeks old.
“The owner was nowhere to be found and the crowd kept insisting that we find another healthy horse to replace the mother with. We had to humanely euthanise the mare as there was no return from the condition she was in,” Van Straten expressed.
She called for backup on the scene to assist with the control of the crowd. Before the SPCA was able to take the foal to safety, Van Straten explained the crowd grabbed the foal and ran away with it. Consequently, the trainee inspectors and Van Straten chased after the crowd and were able to recover the foal.
“With a very traumatised foal in the back of our vehicle, we knew we did not have the facilities nor knowledge to take care of such a fragile creature,” she said.
Thus Van Straten contacted Lighthouse Equestrian Centre to ask if they would be willing to take the foal.
“With open arms, they took him in. He was very traumatised and weak upon arrival and took a few hours to calm down. They took him into their house for the first night. They slept in the stall with him, bottle feeding him through the day and night,” she told.
The foal had to receive tick treatment since the mare died due to tick fever. Van Straten added the bags of milk are thousands of rands.
The foal was named Elijah and he is currently seven weeks old.
“Baby Elijah is doing very well. He gets all of the love and attention he deserves. We are so extremely grateful towards Lighthouse Equestrian Centre. They put so much effort into helping Elijah. They even sleep next to him in the stall,” she concluded.
If anyone is willing to donate, contact the RandWest SPCA on 078 911 0538 or send an email to inspectors@spcarandwest.co.za.
