Ginger, Spirit, Zak and Moses
Rescued: November 9, 2008
Our four beautiful Arabians were part of a herd owned by a British woman living in Spain, who suddenly stopped feeding her animals. This woman had 20 Arabs, as well as a herd of miniature ponies and about 100 dogs.
When we heard about the case, we were told already three horses had died in the field.
Sadly, we were only able to save these four Arabians – we named them Spirit, Zak, Moses and Ginger – as well as a well-bred miniature horse named Taffeta, because in those days it took us weeks to get the police on board. By the time we had legal permission to intervene, the woman had heard about our involvement and someone had come and moved most of the animals elsewhere. We never found out where they ended up.
Trying to catch the few equines that remained was incredibly difficult. Most were young, had never been handled and were practically wild. They’d never even had a head collar on and it took us hours and hours to get them on the trailer and back to the rescue centre. We got dragged around those fields too many times to count.
Back at our centre, we spent months gradually building trust with our Arabians, teaching them that there was nothing to fear here. They now all live together in adjoining fields, along with Linda May, the foal Ginger had a few months after arriving.
You can read more about their individual stories below.
Ginger is an Arab mare with a beautiful, quiet temperament that had unfortunately been abused – she had been kept permanently in foal, without the opportunity to gain weight or condition in between pregnancies. Her diet was very poor and she was incredibly thin.
Ginger was actually pregnant at the time of her rescue. We did our best to give her the proper nutrition she so desperately needed and six months later she gave birth to little Linda May, the first foal ever born at our rescue centre.
The two are now turned out every day together and can often be seen cantering around the field. Their bond is unbreakable.
Zak was an 18-month-old colt when rescued – a hugely important time of growth for horses. But because he was kept with many other horses, he was bottom of the pecking order when it came to feeding and was terribly malnourished.
Zak never knew the love and affection that most young horses take for granted, because his mother was put in foal almost immediately after his birth. We did everything possible to give Zak his youth back, and were so pleased to watch him begin to behave like any other normal youngster within just a few weeks.
At our centre, Zak was castrated, but he remains a very cheeky and fun-loving horse. He is sound physically, but over the years we have come to realise he is psychologically very fragile and highly strung. Still, we give him all the love he deserves.
Spirit is another of Ginger’s foals. She was less than three years old when she arrived at our centre and very undernourished. She didn’t even understand what carrots or apples were, as she had only ever been fed poor-quality forage.
She is now eating us out of house and home and loves a carrot. We have been so happy to watch Spirit gradually gain trust and confidence in the people around her. Spirit lives in the field with her mum Ginger and sister Linda May.
Moses was found in a field along with Spirit. He, too, had no idea what carrots or apples were and was extremely thin.
At first, Spirit and Moses could not bear to be parted, but gradually, as they gained confidence and trust in the people and animals around them, they have both developed into happy and independent horses. Moses now lives in the field next to Spirit and Ginger.
