THE prolonged spell of hot, dry weather has meant an increase in workload for the My Lovely Horse Rescue group which has seen a spike in the number of equine cruelty cases in the capital. In the past two weeks, MLHR has rescued a young pony with horrific leg wounds in Bluebell, south city Dublin, while volunteers with the group have spent each hot evening carrying hundreds of litres by hand to horses in dry fields without access to water.

In another disturbing case, volunteers spent hours with a mare found collapsed at the side of the road in the Stocking Lane area of Rathfarnham, south Dublin, later euthanised on the spot by a veterinary surgeon after being diagnosed with spinal damage. Kilmainham Gardaí were contacted in the rescue of Harvey, a young pony, from the Grand Canal area of Inchicore, Bluebell, found with extensive open leg wounds as well as a head wound.