A charity has shared the story of the rescue of a filly, who was found standing over her dam, who had passed away, desperately calling.

Connie was taken in by Lluest Horse and Pony Trust during the beginning of the first lockdown in March 2020. A walker came across a tiny foal next to her deceased mother. The team worked with the help of vets, the police, and a welfare officer from another welfare charity to get the helpless foal to safety just as darkness fell.

Apart from being incredibly thirsty the foal, now named Connie, was healthy and had not suffered any ill effects from her ordeal, they told Your Horse. An owner never came forward, and although it was too late for her emaciated mother, Connie was given the best possible chance of a bright future.

She was given round the clock care and eventually another Lluest rescue cob, Abbie, took Connie on as her own. The team had to continue to supplement the mares’ milk as Abbie could not produce enough to exclusively feed her.

Over the summer, Connie and Abbie spent their days in a paddock living with 2019 orphan foal Gwen and newly orphaned foal Zeus. Gwen, Zeus, and Connie fast became the best of friends and were often seen mutually grooming and playing. In the autumn of 2021, Connie found a home as companion to Lluest India and is continuing to thrive.

A video of her story can be found here, please note, footage contains very upsetting scenes of Connie standing over her deceased dam https://youtu.be/wkuvjeVbH5k

In another critical rescue, Lluest Horse and Pony Trust took in orphaned Gwen from a Welsh hillside in 2019. She had been found by a walker, alone and off the beaten track. When the walker returned early hours of the following day, the young foal was still there alone.

An owner was never found, so Gwen was taken care of by the small team at Lluest. In her first year of life at the charity, Gwen had repeated bouts of pneumonia, but with ongoing care and veterinary support, she blossomed into a happy and healthy pony. The team were thrilled when Gwen found a companion home through their guardianship scheme.

To find out more about the charity visit lluesthorseandponytrust.co.uk/