The Story of Mavis

Above: Mavis today

Mavis when found in field

Mavis in recovery

Mavis was rescued from a field in Waltham Abbey back in February 2015. The RSPCA arrived at the scene with the local vets and  they found two ponies who had been down for some time. The fire brigade was called but they were unable to get either pony up so they were dragged from the field to trailers  and then taken to the local veterinary surgery. The ponies were given fluids and antibiotic treatment, and  staff monitored them throughout the night. Sadly,one of the ponies died the following morning.

Mavis had a little more fight left in her,  although she was severely dehydrated, hypothermic , emaciated (body scored at 0), and riddled with parasites inside and out. Initially she was unable to stand and had to be hoisted up,  with treatment continuing through that first weekend. By Monday night Mavis was standing for a few hours and she began a very slow recovery with continued care and medication.

Given the gravity of the situation, the RSPA had taken  ownership of Mavis, but the equine nurse at the surgery approached them to see if she could foster Mavis for her period of recovery. Following all the checks Mavis was allowed to go home with the nurse, Abby Martin, and 5 weeks later once she was strong enough to leave the surgery. Her recovery continued and once her weight and general condition had improved,  the RSPA allowed Abby to adopt Mavis as her own in May 2015. Later that summer she started to be ridden, taken very slowly with  light hacking as she was recovering from impact wounds and needed to build up some muscle. In the autumn, Mavis started a little schooling with  Carol O’Brien, who had started to ride Mavis a couple of times a week. Slowly Mavis got stronger and fitter till she could keep going long enough to do a walk and trot dressage test. Carol joined Essendon and Epping Forest Dressage Group this summer, qualifying for the summer championship that took place on 28 August. They were a delightful partnership and performed a cracking test and became the walk and trot club champions for 2016.