The sad reality is that animals - both large and small - are subject to abuse. And one horse named Heidi was in really bad shape when she was rescued by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Back in 2018, the RSPCA had received a concerned call about a neglected horse. They followed up, and that is when they encountered Heidi.

The scene in which they found her was nothing short of tragic. When RSPCA showed up to the fifty building in East Durham, England, they were absolutely shocked. They did not anticipate the state of neglect - it was one of the worst they'd ever seen. In fact, the RSPCA thought that Heidi was dead when they arrived, so they were surprised to discover that she was actually breathing!

That is when she began her long road to recovery - receiving much-needed help from charities, like the British Horse Society and Here 4 Horses. Heidi's journey has been an arduous one, but it's been documented closely on social media.

The Here 4 Horses Facebook page shared, "A call from a member of the public to the RSPCA, led to a BHS volunteer making a visit to an East Durham building site in April 2018. The volunteer was horrified at what she first thought was a dead horse amongst the mud and rubbish."

Photo: Pexels
Heidi the horse was found in dire condition.

They further described the shock that the volunteer went through a few minutes later when they realized that the poor horse was indeed alive, barely hanging on. The charity mentioned that it was one of the worst cases they'd seen, yet they were so proud of Heidi because no matter how many setbacks she might have faced along her recovery process, the tenacious horse refused to give up.

Wendy Suddes, a volunteer for Here 4 Horses, spoke with BoredPanda about the moment that they first got Heidi. The horse was so weak, she needed a total of five people to lift her off the ground and get her on her feet. But that was just the start. She was too weak to stand on her own and was classified as "critically ill." Heidi ended up requiring a plasma transfusion due to the fact that she had extremely low blood protein levels. Furthermore, the horse needed liters of blood transfusions from healthier horses to survive. It took Heidi more than five weeks to be able to stand on her own without any assistance.

Photo: Pexels
The horse was rescued by the RSPCA in East Durham, England.

Regarding Heidi's extensive injuries, Wendy added that the horse had multiple sores, worms, parasites, and infections - all which took months for the horse to battle through. But Heidi showed her strength of character and over the next two years, managed to make a comeback. She's gained back weight and gotten healthy enough to "run free in our pastures."

Photo: Pexels
Heidi has since made a wonderful recovery.

While Heidi's story had a happy ending, the sad reality is that Here 4 Horses will often see similar cases of neglect at at least once or twice per year. For more information on the work that they do, you can visit their website here.

Watch her recovery video below:

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