A rescued miniature horse with a big personality: Sampson's story

SPCA receives hundreds of welfare reports every week. We rely hugely on these calls from the public to investigate possible cases of animal abuse or neglect.

Sadly, we often respond to cases where the animal is in poor health, but their owners don’t understand or accept the seriousness of their pet’s situation.

It’s not uncommon to see this with farm species such as horses, where owners sometimes take them on without providing proper or specialised care. Many also don’t know what to look out for as indicators of illness or injury, or simply don’t take action before damage has already been done.

This was the case with Sampson.

After a call from a concerned member of the public, our Inspector Aleesha drove to the property to find the miniature horse in a grassy paddock, extremely overweight.

To those who aren’t familiar with horse care, a lush green paddock might look like an idyllic set up. In reality, it can put animals like Sampson at risk of weight gain and laminitis.

Laminitis is a serious and painful disease that affects horse’s hooves – it’s the damage and inflammation of the tissue between the hoof and the underlying bone.

Having unlimited access to lush pasture which is high in sugar is a big factor in the development of laminitis, and horses that are overweight are more likely to develop the disease.

“His hooves were clearly in poor condition, and he was very overweight,” Aleesha said. “But on top of that, he had a very swollen and painful looking right eye.”

Despite his clear health issues, it was heart-warming to see that Sampson was a friendly and curious boy, who seemed very trusting of Aleesha.

It’s very important for our Inspectors to educate animal owners wherever possible; SPCA aims to prevent cruelty. It’s in our name, after all.

Through education, many instances of neglect can be resolved when owners can learn more about providing proper care and improving their animal’s wellbeing. We want to provide the public with the information and the knowledge they need to give animals in their care the best life possible.

In this case, while Sampson’s owners learned more about his condition and health risks, they acknowledged that they were unaware of his painful eye – and agreed that the best course of action would be for him to come under the care of SPCA.

With Sampson now on his way to our Christchurch Centre, our team were able to make an immediate healthcare plan for this loveable boy.

Meanwhile, Sampson was quick to make himself at home in the paddocks and won over the team with ease.

“He loves going for walks around the Centre, and he’s incredibly sweet,” Aleesha said. “He has quite a personality and loves attention!”

Sampson was put into a dry lot with soaked hay, an improvement on the unlimited buffet of green grass he was used to before! With a veterinary advised feed plan, the team worked hard to help Sampson get down to a healthy weight.

By combining his new diet with regular exercise through walks around the Centre, the team knew he was on the right track.

A farrier came to trim his hooves, and he was put onto a regular trim cycle, to ensure they’re kept in the best possible condition.

Unfortunately, the medication they had tried for his painful eye just wasn’t doing the job. After further checks, it was discovered that the source of the swelling and pain was a recurring ulcer on the eye, which sadly wasn’t going to improve.

The vet confirmed that the best course of action would be for Sampson to undergo surgery to remove the troublesome eye completely.

While a surgery like this can be nerve-wracking for everyone caring for Sampson, the team were thrilled to see how well he recovered.

“It took him a little while to learn that he doesn’t have his right eye anymore, but he’s doing so well – and of course it’s a relief to see that he’s not in pain anymore.”

As the weeks passed by, Sampson continued to lose weight – at his most recent weigh-in, he had successfully lost over 100kg from when he was first found a few months ago!

It has been so touching for our team to see him go from strength to strength, and become healthier with every passing day.

Now in foster care, this charming sweetheart is waiting to find his forever family. We know that after his incredible recovery, Sampson has a very bright and loving future ahead of him.

Do you have spare land that could be used to foster farm animals like Sampson? Learn more over on our website.