Pony saved after being 'neglected and left to die'

Four months on and Philo is much healthier

A pony involved in what a rescue charity described as "one of the worst cases of neglect" it had ever seen is now on the road to recovery.

Philo was found exhausted alongside two other ponies in Maidenhead by volunteers from Berkshire-based equine welfare charity Saving Abandoned Fly-Grazing Equines (SAFE) in March.

The charity said the pony had been "left to die in unbearable mud", before SAFE relocated the animal to its rescue facility in Reading.

Four months on, Philo was now doing "much better", the charity said.

Alison, who is a trustee and founder at SAFE, said: “Philo and two other ponies were abandoned on a disused piece of development land that had a river running through it, so it was constantly flooded."

"It had become a life or death situation for them," she said.

“With no viable food and at risk of getting stuck in the mud, we went in and got them off the land - they were in a very poor state and it’s taken... months to get them healthier."

Philo was given urgent vet treatment and "the loving care he needed", the charity said.

"...Philo’s companions are ready to enjoy a forever home, and Philo is doing much better and should be ready in the autumn for us to find his special someone,” Alison said.

SAFE, which was founded in 2014 by a small group of equine lovers, aims to help horses and ponies who have been abandoned or neglected.