Eight-year-old Bingo, whose hooves will need specialist treatment for the rest of his life, was rescued from terrible conditions by Bristol-based charity HorseWorld.
The Shetland pony was overweight and living in litter, having been neglected by his owners for six months to a year.
His hooves had grown to six inches long and curled upwards, which would have hurt as much as trapping a hand in a car door, a vet said.
It took a year to get Bingo back down to a normal weight, and his hooves will need specialist treatment for the rest of his life.
On a scale of one to five, where five is morbidly obese, Bingo’s weight was ranked a four by the charity, who helped to rehabilitate him.
Sarah Hollister, equine training manager for HorseWorld, said: 'Bingo was in a sorry state when he was rescued by HorseWorld. It took months of remedial trimming and painkillers to bring his hooves back to a relatively normal and pain-free state.'
Amy Williams from HorseWorld, who owns two Shetland ponies of her own, said: 'The vet said that his hooves would have been causing him as much pain as trapping a hand in a car door. He was still making his way around on them but he would have been in excruciating pain.
'Shetland ponies are easy to look after. They are adapted to live in Shetland where grass is sparse. If they are left in a healthy field here, they will literally eat themselves to death.
'I have an electric fence that I move a little bit each day to stop mine over-eating, but Bingo was just left, which is how he got so fat.'
Bingo’s hooves were so bad when he was found in July 2011 that the tissue had broken down and the bone had moved.
He has his hooves trimmed every four weeks to try and get the bone back to a normal position. A regular horse would need their hooves trimming every six to eight weeks.
Bingo’s owners were successfully prosecuted in January 2012 and were banned from keeping any animal for two years, except dogs, fish and chicken.
HorseWorld volunteer Nadine Bennett, 14, has struck up a friendship with Bingo.
She said: 'When I met Bingo I thought he was quite cute - he’s a cuddly little thing, but he’s got a cheeky side too. I often catch him sticking his nose in my pockets to see if I’ve got any treats.
'His favourite is hay - I sometimes sneak him big handfuls when I know that no-one’s looking.
'I used to work with a horse called Shallou and we got on really well, but she had to be put down a few months ago. It’s nice that I now have Bingo to keep me company instead.'
Bingo is now fully rehabilitated and helping with Discovery Courses at HorseWorld. The courses provide first-hand experiences of working with horses for children and young people.
Nadine was encouraged by her mother to start a six-week Discovery course at the charity, and was then asked to stay on as a volunteer.
'I was a bit shy when I started going to HorseWorld, but after a few weeks I got really into it,' she said. It was like the horses read my mind. They take all the negativity out of you. They understand you.
'Horses like Bingo help kids that are having problems because they have been through hard times as well, so it sort of cheers them up and you can repay them.
'I already liked animals so this helped it along. I would like to carry on as a volunteer at HorseWorld and help support others. I would love to have my own farm one day.'
(DailyMail - Jan 23, 2013)
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