'Tethering needs to stop': Animal charity hits out as small horse dies from severe injuries

The Cob, named Lady Jane by the charity, was found last Saturday night in a bog with hypothermia and was so caked in mud that volunteers could not see the extent of her injuries. 

Lady Jayne on Saturday at the charity's farm after receving treatment from the vet and volunteers. Picture: MylovelyhorserescueCork

*Warning: This article contains graphic images which some readers may find disturbing

An animal rescue charity has hit out at the rising number of tethered horses it is treating in Co Cork and said volunteers are helping animals nearly every second weekend. 

Volunteers tended to the neglected horse. Picture: Mylovelyhorserescue Cork

It comes as the charity tended to a Cob horse discovered in severe distress over the weekend with wounds on its legs cut deep to the bone. 

"It's the toughest case yet to come through our door," said Kelly Mellerick, a volunteer with My Lovely Horse Rescue in Cork who helped the Cob over the weekend. 

"We get the ones that are the real welfare compromised, its bedsits, its seems to be a trending pattern now that it comes at the weekend and they are late at night," she said. 

The horse was put down yesterday evening at 6pm. Picture: Mylovelyhorserescue, Cork

The Cob, named Lady Jane by the charity, was found last Saturday night in a bog with hypothermia and was so mud-spattered that volunteers could not see the extent of her injuries. 

It took seven people to move the horse from the bog with the help of a vet. Once on the volunteer's farm, it was discovered that the rope the small horse had been tethered with had cut her legs to the bone and the flesh of her belly had been rubbed raw. 

"One of the leg injuries to the front, it was so torn back from the ropes that her cannon bone was exposed, right through to the bone," said Ms Mellerick. 

"It would have been a long road but we could have possibly got her through that," she said. "But then the internal problems were showing she was distressed. 

"She would be lying down, she would lie out flat, she would jolt upright with pain, she would stand up with pain.

Can you imagine being so torn up with your own stomach that you are almost writhing in agony?

On Sunday morning the horse was still in significant distress and had not yet eaten. A second visit from a vet attempted to diagnose the problem but nothing could be done for the horse after two hours of treatment for pain and dehydration.   

David Canty, a local vet, later put the animal down at 6pm yesterday evening, as her injuries could not be treated any further. 

"In a way, it was almost a relief to see her pain stop but it's really tiring because she's only seven, she's only young and she was such a sweet little thing," said Ms Mellerick. 

One of the horse's injured legs. Picture: Mylovelyhorserescue, Ireland

The animal welfare charity is calling for an end to the practice of tethering horses and said legislation as part of the Animal Health and Welfare Act does not go far enough. 

"Tethering needs to stop. It's down to tethering, she would not have done that to herself. Whoever tied her up on the first day should've checked on her two-three times of day, or something, the first wrap of rope, the first sign of sickness would have been seen. 

"But she was definitely not looked at by anyone for a considerable length of time until the damage was unrepairable," she said. 

The horse was not microchipped and the charity is working with the Department of Agriculture and gardaí in Cobh, Co Cork to identify the horse's owner. 

The charity said equine ID laws are not proactively enforced and it is very difficult to prove ownership for neglected animals without enough resources.