Thin and weak: Reggie the foal was found on a Bristol housing estate earlier this year http://bit.ly/WY3UcK He had been bought and sold several times in just a few days. Reggie was taken to our Glenda Spooner Farm Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Somerset for urgent treatment.

Claire Phillips, the Centre manager, explains: “Reggie was suffering with infected feet from untreated foot abscesses. The soles of his feet were full of pus and poor Reggie was in a lot of pain. He had a high temperature and was very underweight. His immune system was compromised, and he was anaemic. The team of vets and grooms immediately set to helping Reggie.

"Although our staff deal with this sort of thing routinely, it is still really hard for us to see a pony suffering. At times like this, we feel helpless as we can give medication for the pain but then we just have to wait and see how he reacts. Against the odds though, Reggie began to improve. Without intervention, his condition would have deteriorated and it’s likely he would have died suffering.

“Our hope for Reggie is that one day he will be strong and healthy enough to be rehomed through our rehoming scheme, where he can enjoy the loving home he deserves. Until then, he will be cared for by our skilful team of grooms, vet, farrier and physiotherapist who are completely dedicated to improving the lives of horses like Reggie.

“The sad fact is that there are many more horses like Reggie at large and likely to suffer in our area and they need our help. But to help these horses, we need the public to rehome our healthy rehabilitated horses now because we urgently need to free up space and resources for new rescues especially over this winter. Our four UK centres are currently at very limited capacity, as are all horse charities nationally. On October 16 we presented a report to government on this very issue."

Find out more about Reggie and how to visit him and the other horses and ponies at Glenda Spooner Farm, rehoming, or supporting us by making a donation, here: http://bit.ly/WY3UcK