| |
Mossburn
Animal Rescue Centre was originally set up in 1987 to provide
help for misused, abused, unwanted and neglected horses and ponies
as well as young people with physical and mental problems.
This original remit was later widened, and they now care for all
domestic animals except cats, dogs and donkeys which have their
own specific charities. In addition staff nurse and rehabilitate
wildlife.
The
aims of the sanctuary are:
To enhance the lives of people and animals.
To provide a safe and secure environment for unwanted and
neglected, misused and abused animals.
To provide practical support.
To provide information and advice.
To provide a safe, calm and clean working environment for
disadvantaged young people to benefit from handling and working
with animals.
To educate people, particularly children about sound animal
care and management. |
To learn more about the sanctuary please visit the website
at www.mossburn.org
or why not call in and visit the animals for youself at Mossburn
Community Farm, Hightate, Lockerbie! |
 |
|
Case Study of Jasper
One of the
many interesting animals, which have found sanctuary at Mossburn,
is Jasper. Jasper is a Highland/Conemmara, grey gelding, who is
aged 12. Jasper is very popular at Mossburn due to his naughty
but nice character. One of his favourite past times is chasing
the resident cattle! However, Jaspers demeanour was not always
so good. When Juanita first encountered the horse he was biting
and kicking and was generally unhappy. On coming into her care,
Juanita was determined to get to the bottom of Jaspers problems
and a number of steps were taken.
 When
he arrived at Mossburn, Jasper was seen by the equine osteopath
who had to work on his body several times to make him more comfortable.
The horse dentist also saw him. The dentist found Jasper to have
no molars in his lower jaw, which would have been causing him
considerable discomfort. His top molars had grown very large,
as they had nothing to grind against. This resulted in him having
an operation at Glasgow Vet School to trim his upper molars.
Jasper also
suffers from a condition called sweet-itch. Sweet-itch is an irritating
skin complaint caused by a reaction to midge and fly bites. This
can make a horses life a misery in the summer months. The symptoms
can include the horse scratching relentlessly on fence posts,
rubbed and sore looking areas and in the worst-case open sores.
However, Jaspers sweet-itch was treated last summer with a Neem
based shampoo, lotion and repellent. These products, used together,
greatly alleviated the symptoms experienced with the condition.
|
