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Fiesta
Fiesta's journey to DHAPS
Please take time to read about all about Fiesta and two girls determination to make sure this poor horse was given a second chance at life.
Fiesta’s Story
This poor mare is one of our recent arrivals and is typical of the kind of ill treated animal that comes to us. Her heartbreaking story is told by Rosie one of the two young sisters who found her.
One Sunday in October I turned up to work which is based on an Industrial estate in Guildford, I was to find that the night before a group of horses had been left on our industrial estate.
After some investigation and speaking to other companies and seeing their CCTV footage we found out that a large vehicle had been driven onto the estate and had let loose the large group of horses. The RSPCA were phoned along with Horse Watch.
The RSPCA would not come out to collect the horses unless they were on a public highway or causing a danger to the public. By this time they were wondering around grazing outside the different car dealerships (there are about 15 car dealerships plus other businesses and at the end of the estate behind my work are council fields). At the end of the day all the horses had found their way to the fields and were grazing happily. It was obvious looking at them they hadn't been some-ones pet as they were all very skinny and unloved. At a guess there were around 8 horses in total and 1 was a youngster. The next day Monday when we got to work we didn't see them anywhere except one (who is now Fiesta) in the field. We found out that on the Sunday night one horse had found its way on to the main road between Guildford and Woking and was hit by a motorcyclist. The horse was put down due to its injuries and the motorcyclist was taken to hospital.
Throughout the Monday I kept seeing this chestnut horse in the field. Again the RSPCA was phoned but they said there was nothing they could do unless the horse was on a public highway.
I decided to call my sister Tabitha for advice as she is a riding teacher at a local stables where she keeps her own horse. At 7pm that night after work she came down with hay and carrots and fresh water. I had a little bit of a fear of horses so wasn't getting too close. The horse must have trusted her as when she found her in the field the horse came straight to her and let my sister check her over. We could see up close how skinny she was and also visible were a number of cigarette burns and other injuries on her body. At that point my sister said "I can't leave her". She phoned a few people to try and get a horse box but no one could help at such short notice and we didn't want to take the chance of leaving her overnight.
My sister’s stables are only 3 miles or so from my work, so she got a head collar and lead rope out her friend’s car and it was then we decided to walk her back! By this time is was dark so my sisters best friend had to drive very slowly behind us with her headlights on full beam lighting the road ahead and my partner had to drive in front to warn oncoming traffic to slow down. It all seemed like a very sensible idea at the time!
Getting her out of the field was the first task, the only way was through parked cars on the forecourt. She wasn't having any of it plus we had to be careful not to damage the cars. It was like she knew she wouldn't fit so wasn't going to try. Eventually we found a gap big enough we just had to convince her of that.
We passed a police training building where we got a number of strange looks on the way out of the estate I'm just glad my sister had her jodhpurs and muck boots on as I was in a suit which would have looked very bizarre. Once we were on the main road we followed a footpath for 1 mile then it was country lanes to the stables. Thankfully Tabitha’s best friend was illuminating the road as there were no street lights. We kept saying to each other what we were doing as it was so surreal to be doing this, not what you expect to do on a Monday night in October, but I felt like I had to save this horse. As strange as it was I couldn't go home and do nothing.
The horse was so well behaved it was like she knew we were saving her and we were good people. The last half mile was mainly a very narrow bridle path which was not great as I was still pretty scared of horses. We couldn't see except for the lights from our mobile phones every time I stopped the horse stopped as I was at her side and my sister leading upfront, it felt like she was checking I was okay, even though we were rescuing her she was making me feel safe.
When we got to the stables we met up with everyone and had a bit of a giggle about what we had just done but it felt right we then decided we should give her a name, I can't say which garage I work for but we named her after where she was found. So from then she was known as Fiesta. Tabitha then took over care by feeding her and worming her, she then got the vet to come and see her and the chiropractor. It was found that she had a few problems with her walking and her back legs. We have been advised this was probably due to years of abuse and pulling a cart at high speed on the road. It was established that she could never be ridden but my sister was left with physiotherapy techniques to help improve Fiesta’s walking.
After a few months of being loved and looked after the time came where my sister was told she had to find a new home for Fiesta as the stables she was at was a riding school and they couldn’t provide the stable for her any longer. We were devastated most of all Tabitha as she was desperate to keep her but she has her own horse to look after and keep. Tabitha decided to advertise Fiesta on a Pre-Loved website to be a companion for someone. All her time at the stables she had gotten on well with the other horses, people and children, she seemed so laid back and relaxed. She got a few calls and one day someone came down and said they would like to have her. After a sad goodbye she went with lots of new rugs that we had bought her during her stay.
We thought finally a true happy ending. A few days later my sister got a call asking about riding her, to which she said she had clearly stated in the advert she could not be ridden. One week later her boss got a call from a local stables saying a chestnut mare had been dumped off with them and did they know anything about it. My sister went to see and it turns out it was Fiesta. We were then told that we had a week to move her or she would be killed. I don't want to say put down as killed is the word that was used and you don't put a healthy animal down.
I got a call from Tabitha in tears, we just couldn't let this happen to her as we loved her, everyone who met her loved her, we just had to find her a new home. So I started an internet search and came across the DHAPS website and sent in an SOS message and got a call the next day from an amazing lady, (Debbie). I broke down in tears when I was told they could offer her a home and spent most of the day crying.
The Devon Horse and Pony Sanctuary were able to offer this poor horse sanctuary because of the kindness of our supporters. She may be found a loving loan home when she has fully recovered from her dreadful neglect. But she will be in our care for the rest of her life and will always have a home if she needs it. We are amazed that we were the only horse charity to reply to Rosie’s plea, out of many that she contacted. We would like to thank Rosie and Tabitha for their courage and determination, many would have looked the other way. We have since found out that the remaining animals have been sold through the sales and we hate to think what has happened to these poor unfortunate horses. Fiesta was very lucky and we hope to carry on Rosie and Tabitha’s good work.