The neglected horse Jack was found in a stable in Aying.
Isabelle Reitsberger from Vaterstetten took the 14-year-old gelding in to nurture him.
Now the story has a happy ending
Vaterstetten / Ottenhofen
- Actually, Alexandra Knuth (41) from Markt Schwaben didn't want to have her own horse anymore.
She does not have a stable of her own and her work at the shelter took a lot of time.
But then, after ten years without an animal, she met the gelding "Jacky", or "Jack", as Knuth calls him, because "he's a man".
In November last year, Jack stood neglected and left alone in a horse box in Aying (Lk. Munich).
Unkempt and starved.
He hadn't been used to contact with people or other horses for around a year and a half.
A country veterinarian found the 14-year-old horse and notified animal welfare.
"I was there when we took it out of the box when we took it away," says Alexandra Knuth.
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Jack in the box in which the horse apparently stood alone for a year and a half.
A veterinarian discovered the severely neglected animal by chance.
© private
In the animal clinic in Parsdorf, doctors and nurses then looked after Jack.
According to the Animal Welfare Association, it was the first time in eight years that the gelding had a vet in front of him.
Muscle wasting, lack of exercise, and unkempt hooves had made life hell for him.
Jack had developed a misalignment on his legs that made it difficult for him to walk.
But then there was a silver lining on the horizon.
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Isabelle Reitsberger briefly took Jack in on her farm.
© private
Isabelle Reitsberger from the farm of the same name in Vaterstetten agreed to take the gelding in temporarily.
Because Alexandra Knuth had experience with difficult animals, she started working with Jack in Vaterstetten.
"And then it happened to me," says Knuth mischievously.
She applied for the gelding, got the bid and put him in a small, quiet stable in Ottenhofen (Lk. Erding).
The animal can “come to rest” there and has “friends standing to the left and right of it,” says the 41-year-old.
It is a very relaxed stable, with "pensioners", ie retired racehorses, and discarded or rescued horses, ideal for Jack.
But Jack and Knuth still have a long way to go, because: Jack is no longer used to dealing with people.
That is why Knuth teaches him again that he “must not just run people over the pile”.
“That can take up to a year,” she suspects.
But the 41-year-old is certain: "He already noticed that this is his home now," she says.
That is certainly also due to the fact that he is now being spoiled by her, with "far too many treats and carrots".
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The Ebersberger Zeitung reported on November 26th about the fate of the gelding that was discovered in a box in Aying.
© EZ
She really enjoys working with the gelding, says Knuth.
“He's a cheeky little badger, that's good for me,” she says.
Like, for example, that she can see exactly in his eyes when he is about to "do some nonsense".
Cheekiness like biting the foot for a treat.
The first thing to do now is to teach the horse basic knowledge.
For example, that they don't have to be afraid of people or other horses - and vice versa, that they don't have to stress when they go away again.
The next goals are also basic movements, such as lifting the rear hoof for the farrier without losing balance, according to Knuth.
It may take some time for Jack to get used to his new owner and his new home, but Knuth approaches the matter very calmly: "We think in small steps and he should get the time," she says.
Jack deserved it after all that he went through.
