A starving horse left so weak he could hardly stand has found a new home.

Four-year-old Adie was discovered by a dog walker in a field in New House Lane, Headcorn on New Year's Eve last year.

When the RSPCA found him, he was covered in mud and on the brink of death.

He was rushed to a veterinary hospital and then taken in by RSPCA Leybourne.

Workers there had to lift the horse off the ground every few hours, just to stop his organs from failing.

Nearly a year on he has beat the odds and recovered, now loving life with a new owner.

RSPCA inspector Rosie Russon said: "Thinking back to the day I rescued him, when he was sprawled on the floor, caked in mud, freezing cold and completely and utterly exhausted, I can't quite believe he's the same horse."

Adie was adopted by his new owner Francesca Simes in August.

The lifestyle blogger said: "Adie's the most wonderful horse, I feel lucky to have him.

"The moment I met him was very special - he chose me that day. After spending some time with him on the yard, I went to put him back out into the field and he followed me around the paddock, walking up the fence line with me, it was such a lovely moment as we had really bonded.

"The grooms said they hadn’t seen Adie so relaxed around a new face before, and I had to have him - he’d chosen his new mummy."

Adie is now stabled in Essex, where Miss Simes lives.

She added: "I’m going to make sure this New Year starts very differently from last year for him, and hopefully we’ll get to a point where I can ride him and we can enjoy trying out new things and find out what he likes, whether it’s hacking, jumping, dressage - whatever will make him happy."

Miss Russon added: "He was literally at death’s door and now he’s living his best life with a loving, caring adopter like

Francesca, I just wish all rescue horses could be so lucky."

Last year the animal charity took in 970 horses, with 53 arriving in December alone.

Adie had been microchipped, and the RSPCA managed to find a passport for him, but with the registerered details out of date, his former owner could not be found.