Twiglet was rescued by HorseWorld in 2015 after he was found collapsed on the side of a busy main road with horrific injuries. He was exhausted, hungry and scared.
As soon as he arrived to the safety of HorseWorld, he was given plenty of fresh, nourishing hay to eat and clean water to drink. From that point on his recovery was carefully managed; too much food could send his system into shock, but not enough and his body wouldn’t have the energy to start healing.
He was so underweight that the team of vets were able to take an x-ray of his spine. This is usually not possible in healthy horses as their spines are covered in plenty of healthy flesh and muscle. What the vets saw was shocking. His back and neck were broken, likely as a result of being beaten with an object like a metal bar.
Twiglet just after he was rescued by HorseWorld
But his battle was far from over. Whilst he was gaining strength every day, one of his legs wasn’t growing properly due to the malnutrition he had faced before he was rescued. His bones had undergone a growth spurt, but his ligaments weren’t developing at the same rate. There was no option but for this brave little horse to have an operation to rectify the problem. The procedure went well, but he took a long time to recover. Then additional complications meant a plaster cast had to be applied to the leg, and Twiglet was on a strict regime of box rest.
Twiglet recovering from his operation
Miraculously, and thanks to the expert care of the HorseWorld team, vet specialists and kind donations from supporters, he slowly began to recover. Despite all the horrendous things which were done to Twiglet before he was rescued, he has always loved people. He had such a wonderful personality that he began working on the Discovery team, where the students were inspired by his story and he loved learning new things.
However, the team quickly noticed that he was physically struggling with the Discovery activities. The injuries he had suffered in his past had long-term effects on his body and he was showing that he just wasn't comfortable, even though he was trying so hard.
In 2022, it was decided that HorseWorld would find a special home for Twiglet as a companion horse. This is where Welfare Groom Becky came in. She had been working with Twiglet at HorseWorld for some time and had grown very fond of him.
Becky says: "It was my first Open Day working at HorseWorld when I just fell in love with Twiglet, I was reading up on his rescue story and could not believe what people had done to him, it was sickening!
"I was watching him in the paddock with all the public coming and giving him fuss and he was just loving it, proving just how forgiving of people he was. He met all my family that day and was so gentle with my children and nephew in his wheelchair, it was then I knew he would come home with me."
Becky riding Jubilee and leading Twiglet on a hack in the forest
"Since arriving in his new home he has enjoyed going on many adventures with his family; picking blackberries in the summer, joining hacks and family walks with the dog.
"He's such a beautiful horse inside and out. He has also been an amazing companion for my horse that I had for 24 years that recently had to be put to sleep and he was great at cheering me up on my sad days since. He truly is one in a million and it's all thanks to HorseWorld and their incredible staff."