Do you still remember ...
Cosimo - a Hollsteiner gelding with "flaws"
A horse lover bought Cosimo, who was advertised as healthy and still very young, from a horse dealer. He was a large Hollsteiner gelding with a height of 1.90 metres.
It turned out that the new owner had been deceived by the dealer, as Cosimo was lame. In addition, he suffered from a chronic illness and, in connection with this, Cosimo had problems with his hind legs. An infection cost him a lot of strength and it was completely impossible to ride Cosimo.
Back to the dealer was not an option
The woman was angry with the dealer for deceiving her. She wanted to help Cosimo, and that meant above all not returning him to the merchant. That would certainly have been Cosimo’s death sentence. She turned to Gut Aiderbichl and asked to take Cosimo in at our sanctuary.
The horse carers are experienced in caring for and treating chronically ill horses and are always in contact with the doctors in this regard. So it was decided to give Cosimo a home.
Cosimo and his new family
Cosimo was grateful, a cuddler, a people person – you just had to like him. We now knew that Cosimo was suffering a lot with his “elephant foot” and made every effort to help him. The infections were sapping a lot of his strength, so we agreed to move him to the newly completed A stable. This is a special stable for older horses and those with severe health problems.
A barrier-free stable for the great Cosimo
Cosimo enjoyed the best care and veterinary treatment in the A stable. He was happy and had lots of friends around him. We knew that the complaints would not go away and often had to lift him up. He was constantly visited and cared for by the vet, but his increasing weakness could not be overlooked.
Horses cannot express their pain
Horses have no sound to express pain. They endure their pain. It is therefore very important to recognise the animals and observe their body language closely. We humans must learn to interpret the behaviour of these graceful horses, of which Cosimo was one.
We knew what to do …
