Springwood Sanctuary
Lady of the Wildies - The Wild Herd
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Lady is a beautiful 16.1hh piebald Irish Draught mare. She is 18 this year - her birthday is 14th February 2006 – our Valentine girl! When the sanctuary in Sussex that she was living at had to close in July last year, Lady along with all her other herd mates were rescued by us here at Springwood for their safe, secure forever home.
Lady was born in Ireland and sold to someone in England as a young foal. She was then sold on to many different people and had a turbulent life, being used excessively for hunting. As such she is now very reactive to the sounds of a hunting horn if ever there is one in the surrounding countryside. She would have been separated from many horse friends over the years until she was rescued by the Sussex sanctuary and met the friends she is still with now. She has been starved in the past and because of this she has food resource guarding reactivity. Although Lady is very stocky and carries more weight than she needs, we ensure she is never without food and we are helping her to feel peaceful, safe and secure whenever food is around. She is gradually finding her equilibrium and self regulating her food intake which is so good to see.
Lady is often very hesitant to have her hooves trimmed which brings up a lot of anxiety and ptsd for her as she was badly treated by a farrier in the past. We are working gently with her to release past trauma and to feel relaxed and peaceful with this in her own time. Because Lady is so large, stocky and strong, she can be quite overpowering when she wants something to happen in a particular way. No doubt many people were scared of her physical power and so tried to dominate her. Our way at the sanctuary is to listen to and work with the animals, helping them to feel understood and peaceful, without any force or coercion - no matter how large they are. It is really important for everyone's psychological wellbeing that we all have autonomy and free choice over how our bodies are touched - including all the beautiful animals we share our lives with. Very sadly this isn’t the way most horses are treated by others, and it is clear that Lady has been badly treated when she has tried to say no in the past.
Lady is a very gentle, wise and loving soul when she is listened to. She is very hesitant to trust but now that she has I feel so privileged to be allowed to help her when she needs any first aid treatment.
Lady is extremely closely bonded with Jasper, Maisey and Triggy - as you can see by the photos here. It is our huge pleasure to have enabled them to stay together in their bonded group when they were rescued as a whole herd last year. It is really hard to consider what would have happened to Lady and the others - and how that would have negatively impacted and escalated her anxiety if she had been separated from yet more friends. It is an honour to help her enjoy the deep sense of security that only comes from belonging in an established herd as well as not worrying about where the next meal is coming from. They live with freedom to roam the land here together as a herd at Springwood Sanctuary and to have access to shelters, fresh spring water and foraging a variety of food.
If you'd like to support Lady by sponsoring her we'd love to have you as part of the Springwood sponsorship family and are enormously grateful to all our wonderful friends who support the sanctuary horses, ponies and donkeys here. Thank you.
