Orphaned foal Ember rescued from wildfire

A FOAL, suffering from the effects of the recent wildfires, has been rescued by The Welsh Horse and Pony Rescue group after it had been alerted to the animal’s plight by a group of concerned walkers.

The walking group were strolling along Rhymney Common, when they came across this very young foal with no mother in sight.

The group observed that the foal’s eyes were very sore and had difficulty seeing and raised the alarm with The Welsh Horse and Pony Rescue who removed the foal from the sunshine.

The group cared for the foal in the shade while other members of the team conducted a search its mother but were ultimately unsuccessful.

And to give the foal, now named Ember, the best possible chance of survival they immediately contacted the Lluest Horse and Pony Trust, based in Llandeilo, who have the expertise and facilities to raise an orphan foal and within four hours of receiving the call the little filly foal had arrived at Lluest and had been placed in a cosy stable with a vet examining her.

Bloods were taken during a thorough examination by the veterinarian who determined that the foal was very young – only days old.

It was later discovered the foal had received its colostrum which was so poignant as it meant it had suckled from its mother at some point.

A spokesperson for the trust said that the foal had initially had a good start to life thanks to its mother and with the best of care, with hourly feeds of milk replacer, she continues to make good progress after some very worrying days.

Orphan foals need to know they are not human and therefore a very loving mare called Moon was brought in to be its Nanny to remind little Ember how to behave.

Thankfully this is working out to be a wonderful relationship and now Ember is skipping around with Moon keeping a very maternal eye on her new baby.

The cost of Ember's milk replacer is £60 a week, which in addition to the veterinary costs, is placing a huge financial burden on the trust which, due to the lack of grass this summer, are already feeding their winter hay to the horses in their care.

This Sunday, September 6, a Duck Race is being held at Swan Meadows in Abergavenny at noon, in conjunction with Hope Rescue. To purchase a Duck to help raise vital funds for their Winter Feed Appeal, visit lluesthorseandponytrust.co.uk.