Rescued horses recover in Dorset after several were found stuck in their stalls
By Lindsay Jones
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DORSET, Vt. (WPTZ) — Four rescued horses are recovering after years of neglect. Staff at the Dorset Equine Rescue said they found the animals in some of the most horrific conditions they’ve ever seen.
The Dorset Equine Rescue said they helped save 11 horses from a farm in Melrose, New York last week. A local rescue contacted the group to help move the surrendered horses after they realized the situation was much worse than expected.
They say four of the horses were trapped in their stalls, stuck in large piles of frozen manure.
“One of the horses had to be actually cut out of the stall. You know, the stall itself was so compacted with manure and frozen manure over the years,” said Tiffany Vittum, barn manager and trainer at Dorset Equine Rescue.
The team had to create a ramp for another horse to help it exit the stall because of the amount of manure there.
“He had been trapped in for so long, you know, that was all he knew. So, stepping out of that was a very foreign thing to him. So, it took a lot of encouragement,” Vittum explained.
Vittum predicted the horses could have been left in their stalls for several years, based on the amount of manure that had piled up. The remaining horses were found in a field, dehydrated and hungry. According to Vittum, these animals had been getting the bare minimum care.
“They had no water when we got there. And so, we gave them water, and they all drank it down immediately,” she said.
The rescue was a team effort. Dorset Equine Rescue worked directly with a local volunteer fire department and the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to move the horses.
“You can’t really fathom that somebody could leave these horses in stalls like this year after year after year. So, you know, you kind of just— it can be very emotional, but you kind of just buckle down and you do what you have to do, and you get the horses out. And we got every one of them out, we weren’t going to leave them behind,” said Vittum.
Four horses are being cared for in Dorset, and one is still overcoming injuries at an animal hospital. Rescue centers in Maine and New York have also taken some of them in.
Vittum said it is extremely rewarding seeing them improve every day and turn into normal horses.
“One of the horses we have here is only six years old, and he probably spent his whole life in that stall. So, to be able to introduce him to the outside world, the world that he’s supposed to be living out in, is a really cool thing to be able to do,” she said.
Dorset’s four new horses will continue to be rehabilitated at their rescue. Then, once they are ready, the center will help find these horses forever homes through adoption.
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