Orphaned foal Ava given round the clock care

30 July 2019, 17:26 | Updated: 30 July 2019, 17:34

Round the clock care is being given to an orphaned foal whose mum died on Dartmoor.

Named Ava by staff at the Mare and Foal Sanctuary, she is just a few weeks old and was found alone and terrified near the village of Lee Moor on Dartmoor.

Worried residents managed to bring the foal in off the moor to monitor overnight, then the local charity Hill Pony Resources run entirely by volunteers decided they needed help as they are overrun and called the Mare and Foal sanctuary.

Trying to keep Ava clam they gave her a giant teddy bear for comfort.

But she’s not out of the woods yet. 

Little Ava, is being fed every two hours, she has been having breathing problems believed to be colic and is being kept in quarantine.

CCTV has been installed so the Sanctuary’s grooms - taking it in turns - can stay overnight doing everything they can for her, with 24 hour care. 

She is not being hand reared as it has been found that when they grow up they can associate humans with milk putting them in more danger when in the wild.

Ava is still undergoing tests, but with antibiotics and nutrient rich formula it is hoped she will soon turn a corner.

To find out more about the Mare and Foal Sanctuary go here.