‘She was lucky, the next horse may not be’: trampled young mare fractured skull ‘en route to slaughter’

A young thoroughbred mare who had been so badly crushed and trampled in an overloaded lorry that the driver thought she was dead was lucky, welfare experts said – but the next horse in her situation may not be.

No one has been found responsible for Glorious, whose recovery, a year after she was rescued, has been described as a miracle, by those caring for her at Redwings.

The charity is sharing her story now, a year on from her rescue, as she has been signed over into their permanent care.

“I’m not sure I have ever seen a horse suffering so much pain and distress because of her injuries,” said Nic De Brauwere, Redwings head of welfare and behaviour.

A Redwings spokesperson said that last January, a driver heading for the Continent with a lorryload of horses told people at an authorised stopping place that there was a dead horse on board.

Glorious was alive but badly injured, the spokesperson said, adding that a vet called to the scene alerted the RSPCA, which asked Redwings for help.

“Glorious had sustained crushing injuries after being unavoidably trampled by other horses on the grossly overloaded lorry,” the spokesperson said. “She had a large wound on her head, a fractured skull, and injuries all over her body that got worse before they got better as her damaged skin sloughed off revealing deep open wounds. Her recovery involved many months of treatment from the charity’s experienced welfare vets, as well as other veterinary experts brought in to help.

Mr De Brauwere said it was very difficult to treat Glorious as she struggled with being touched.

“Anything to do with humans caused her immense upset, but her wounds needed a lot of care,” he said.

“We used sedation to allow us to do the most painful treatments at the beginning, and because that was done right, we could step back and only intervene when we needed to, so she could spend days at a time not needing to be handled or sedated to treat.

“The fact that Glorious survived what happened to her is a miracle and her recovery is testament to the efforts of Redwings’ vet team who used our years of experience working with frightened, painful horses, treating very complex wounds, to bring her back to health.”

Having recovered physically, Glorious has been integrated into a herd, with whom she is now a “very happy filly”. The Redwings team is now working to undo the damage done to her that affects her behaviour around humans.

“Whilst Glorious loves her herd mates, quite understandably she still doesn’t always enjoy too much interaction with people so we’re working on that,” said Redwings equine behaviour manager Sarah Hallsworth.

“She is now good to catch and we’re seeing improvement in her leg handling. She has friends, freedom and forage, the three Fs, and is enjoying the simple pleasures of just being a horse in a safe environment where, thanks to our supporters, her future is secure, no matter how quickly her behaviour does or doesn’t progress.”

It is assumed that Glorious was en route to slaughter in Europe.

“We are deeply disappointed that despite the efforts of the RSPCA, local vets and Redwings to document her suffering, no one has been found responsible and faced any repercussions for what happened to Glorious,” Mr De Brauwere said.

“Her case shows that there are still big improvements needed in checks and enforcement to protect horses being transported through our borders.

“Glorious might not have been rescued. The next injured horse probably won’t be. Crazy as it sounds given her horrendous ordeal, she is very lucky and will want for nothing here at Redwings for the rest of her life.”

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