Our beautiful Barnaby was calculated to be somewhere around 20 years old when he arrived at Far From. He’d been through a lot in his years, resulting in severe burns on his legs from having to stand in his own (and other’s) urine. They’d become badly infected, which in turn made his immune system suffer greatly. Our farrier said it was the worst case they’d come across and Barnaby was given a year to live by the first vet that assessed him. We were told that even if we could get the infections under control, his skin would never completely heal, and he’d need expensive medication for the rest of his life. To make matters worse, Barnaby’s front legs were out of alignment. The vet was unsure if it was due to hoof growth or a genetic deformity. We were warned he may have to be put down – but we luckily discovered that intensive farrier work would save our boy’s life.
Whilst we treated Barnaby, his loving temperament shone through. We had to start treatment before he’d even had a chance to settle in, and the creams, medications and jabs caused him some discomfort. Despite this, he never once tried to kick or bite. He proved to be ‘one-in-a-million’, and his patience was rare for a stallion that had been through so much pain. It was as if once Barnaby got here, he knew he was home. He was safe.
In his first year with us, he struggled greatly with his health. His severely weakened immune system caused bad eye infections, wounds and made small insect bites swell to the size of a football. Barnaby remained trusting as we did everything that we could to give him the healthy, happy life he deserved.
Since then, he’s made huge progress with his health and is a content, carefree addition to our family. He loves his ultra-clean stable in our old stone barn at night (and especially loves rolling around in his bed of shavings). He relaxes in a large paddock in the daytime, enjoying the fresh air and calmness of his new life.
Barnaby is a cheeky, loveable soul and is incredibly spoiled (we reckon he deserves it). He charms everyone that meets him and has very much become accustomed to being the centre of attention.
Although Barnaby is now happy and healthy, he will need medication for the rest of his life. At £65 for a bottle of leg cream, we rely on donations to keep Barnaby pain-free. In the first couple of years, Barnaby went through a bottle every 2 weeks. Luckily, this has reduced now, but he still needs help. We’d be so grateful if you could consider donating a bottle of this amazing cream to our boy – and if you ever fancy meeting our little charmer for yourself, you know where to find us.
Like most of our wonderful rescue animals, Barnaby takes a lot of looking after. From countless bottles of leg cream to trying to keep up with his massive appetite, we need help to keep him happy and healthy.
We opened the Far From Holiday Retreat in order to provide us with funds to enable us to continue our work with these beautiful animals. All new arrivals must be microchipped and passported (and normally they aren’t), vaccinated three times, rasped, wormed and given a general health check by the vet – with the majority requiring many more visits to ensure that they are happy and healthy.
If you are unable to come and visit us, you can still help us to continue our work by supporting us financially. We have included a couple of options below.
Horses are used to eating small meals throughout the day and breaking up the treats will help maintain their eating schedule. Almost any fruits – and many vegetables – are safe treats for healthy horses. Apples and carrots are traditional favourites especially with our horses!
We feed Chaff to our larger horses and ponies to bulk out their concentrate feed and to prevent them eating too quickly. Chaff is dried forage that has been cut into small pieces, in contrast to the long grass stems in hay and haylage. All of our horses and ponies absolutely love it!
We use fly spray for our horses and ponies, especially in the summer months. Flies are a general nuisance, but for some of our horses their bites can lead to reactions and persistent itching and discomfort, so this really is a lifesaver as they are highly effective and long-lasting
Fly masks can help provide a healthy and stress free environment in the stable and the pasture for our horses especially in the warmer months. They cover the most vulnerable parts of the horse, the eyes, jaw, and sometimes ears and muzzle, protecting it from nasty and painful bites!
 Salt is the one nutrient that horses will self-supplement to balance their diet and is a real treat for Barnaby! He gets very excited when he gets a salt lick and becomes great entertainment for him and us!
Every equine needs their hooves trimmed every 6 to 10 weeks (depending on the horse). To have a happy, healthy horse it is essential to have a fully qualified, caring, reliable farrier to complete this task.
All of our larger horses and ponies have natural supplements included in their daily feed – which has numerous benefits to their health. This includes garlic, seaweed, turmeric and much more.
Barnaby’s burns were so serious, unfortunately the skin will never heal and he needs daily application of a special cream. This cream allows Barnaby to be a normal pony free from pain and discomfort.