The little cob was found tethered in a bog

The tragic case of a pony found exhausted with terrible wounds to her legs is hoped to discourage others from tethering.

Lady Jayne was spotted bound up in rope in a boggy field by a walker who notified My Lovely Horse Rescue (MLHR).

Volunteers came to the cob’s aid and removed the rope that had become tightly wrapped around her legs. She had suffered severe wounds, several of which went down to the bone.

“When we got there she had been down for quite a while, longer than 48 hours I think,” MLHR volunteer Kelly Mellerick told Your Horse.

“She was so cold and she didn’t want to move. We got her up but we had quite a distance to get her out of the bog. It took six or seven of us to get her to the horsebox, which couldn’t get over the bog.”

Lady Jayne was taken to the sanctuary and assessed by a vet, who put her on a warm IV drip. She was made comfortable on a bed of straw with a warm rug.

Unfortunately, the next day her condition deteriorated, and despite the best efforts of the sanctuary and treatment from vet, the little mare had to be put to sleep.

“She was very distressed and wouldn’t eat anything,” said Kelly. “She had not passed any droppings all night — there was a bigger problem than we thought.

“We watched over her and she went into a repetitive mode of lying down, stretching her head out, then getting back up, and then lying down again.

“We knew we had no choice but to call it, and the vet came back and put her to sleep. She was only around seven years old and absolutely beautiful.

MLHR currently has more than 200 rescues

“At least she was warm and she was no longer bound by a rope and in a bog. The day we got her we had the most ferocious hail storms — to think she was laying in that with nowhere to get out of it.”

Kelly hopes Lady Jayne’s story will discourage others from tethering.

“We would love a ban on tethering, it makes no sense,” she added.

My Lovely Horse Rescue operates one of the largest equine rescues in Ireland.

The charity has three farms, its main MLHR farm in Kildare, its My Lovely Pig Farm — one of Ireland’s main pig rescues — in Kildare and MLHR farm in Cork.

MLHR rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes hundreds of equines, pigs, goats and dogs every year and the team is predominantly made up of volunteers.

Irish international showjumper Daniel Coyle has recently pledged his support to the charity and is currently setting up a plan to highlight equine welfare leading up to the Olympics.

“We are absolutely thrilled over this,” said MLHR’s Orla Donohoe. “It’s great to see professional showjumpers showing support for an equine rescue and highlighting the important work we do.

“We not only rescue, but try to work with communities on education and work with the government agencies to ensure implementation of current legislation.

“Our main farm in Kildare currently has over 200 rescues, with a couple hundred more out with loving foster families awaiting their forever homes. Currently we have over 450 rescues in our care.”

MLHR is on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and its website is www.mylovelyhorserescue.com