A neglected horse riddled with "thousands of ticks", discovered during a pre-purchase property inspection in the Far North, is now in the care of animal rescuers after it was believed to have been left abandoned.
Bay of Islands Animal Rescue founder Summer Johnson said the horse was discovered in the Herekino area by a woman in the process of purchasing the land.
After some inquiries into who was responsible for the horse, the woman buying the property surrendered the horse to Johnson for care.
Johnson told 1News the horse was found in extremely poor condition, suffering from severe arthritis, dragging one front hoof and covered in thousands of ticks, with large infected clusters that she described as “villages" across his body.
"Usually, horses will be covered with tick bites, but this one had tick villages, the size of your palm all over his body," she said.
"His tail and mane were all knotted and his feet were all unkempt. It was horrendous."
Johnson said the horse’s condition suggested a long history of neglect, although much about his past remained unknown.
"Neighbours had lived in in the property six years and had never seen the horse tended to. Feet, teeth, worming, nothing, but the horse was just alone in the paddock all by itself," she said.
She contacted Alice Hayward at Rodney Animal Rescue who would be taking the animal into care this weekend.
A veterinary assessment would be taking place on Saturday when the horse was transferred to Hayward's rescue.
"That will be a vet plan on recovery, a vet plan on what to do, whether his prognosis is poor or can be managed," Hayward said.
Out of sight and abandoned
Hayward said her organisation regularly dealt with situations where horses have been left behind or responsibility has become unclear.
“We deal with abandonment quite a bit,” Hayward told 1News.
She said the demand for equine rescue services had grown to the point where Rodney Animal Rescue was in the process of rebranding as a national equine welfare organisation.
“It became clear there was a significant gap in the New Zealand horse industry for a dedicated rescue and welfare organisation focused solely on equine wellbeing."
Both rescuers said equine welfare remained one of the most overlooked areas of animal neglect in New Zealand.
"If paddocks are hidden and neighbours don’t want to rock the boat, animals can suffer for years," Johnson said.
"Equine welfare is one of the most hidden forms of neglect in this country."
SPCA Inspectorate regional manager Andre Williams said the organisation had not received any complaints about the Far North gelding and understood the horse was in good care with an animal rescue group.
"If members of the public see an animal that appears to be in need of assistance or where its welfare may be compromised, they are strongly encouraged to contact SPCA immediately on 0800 SPCA NZ."
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