Lucy is an adorable mini pony, born in 2004. She is incredibly sweet and very vocal at feed times – giving us loud and excited nickers continuously until it arrives. Feed time is the only time that Lucy becomes an extrovert and we all want to be there at feed time to see her so happy!
2020
Lucy’s anhydrosis improved so much in 2020 that she didn’t need any vet visits for the steroid injections that helped her to breathe in 2019. We hope that it continues to improve year after year as she really isn’t a fan of the clippers – and as you can see from her photos, she turns into a complete hair-bear when she gets her Winter coat!
Lucy can be easily caught now and, although she’s still not keen on being groomed, we can safely and calmly take care of all her physical needs – she really has made amazing progress.
A pregnancy scare early in the year turned out to be a phantom pregnancy – thank goodness, as she has enough to do taking care of little Rocket who is still nursing. We don’t forcibly wean any foals at the sanctuary, we leave that decision to their mum. Lucy will decide when Rocket is ready, just as nature intended.
2019
Lucy arrived on March 2nd with a number of health issues including horrible dental problems that must have been very painful. Worryingly, Lucy has anhydrosis – meaning she has lost the ability to sweat, leaving her unable to regulate her body temperature on hot, humid days. Lucy overheats easily and needs constant care and attention to keep her comfortable. There is no cure for anhydrosis but with careful management of her symptoms (including frequent clipping) and excellent nutrition we are hoping to be able to reverse it over time.
It took Lucy a long time to trust us. It was many months before she would let us catch her without becoming stressed. If someone walked past her carrying something, she would cower like a scared puppy, waiting to be hit. It really was heart-breaking to think of what she must have been through.
Because of Lucy’s life-threatening anyhydrosis and other medical needs, we had to force Lucy to let us catch her on numerous occasions in the first few months so that she could receive the medical treatment she needed. Each time, this would set back all the work we’d done in trying to gain her trust. As the weather cooled and her health improved we were able to go back to progressing at Lucy’s preferred speed and slowly but surely she opened up and let us in.
Life Before the Sanctuary
Poor little Lucy has had a hard life. Used as a broodmare, forced to give pony rides and clearly physically abused, Lucy was terrified of all humans. Sold to the doggers, Lucy was saved from that horrible death by unexpectedly having a foal just days before being sent to the factory. She and her tiny foal, Rocket, were sent to the Gympie sales instead and were spotted by one of our volunteers. They were both in a terrible state and we knew we had to make room for them at the sanctuary.
