Honoring Theresa

A few days ago, our little herd had a meeting along the fence line and decided that they wanted to do something special in honor of Mommy Theresa’s birthday which is on March 23rd. When three wonderful aunties came forth and offered a trio of Match Games, it was decided right then and there that a Birthday Match Game Fundraiser would be a perfect way in which to celebrate their beloved mommy’s birthday!

Match Game

All donations up to $1500 will be matched dollar-for-dollar, so if you would like to join our ‘Velvet Nosers’ in celebrating Mommy Theresa’s birthday while doubling your contribution at the same time, it would truly make our beloved herd so very happy indeed. Donations may be forwarded in a variety of ways by clicking on the ‘Donate’ button below.

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Donation Total: $50 One Time

If donating via PayPal, please designate your donation to ‘Birthday Match Game.’ All donations, as always, will be applied to the care of the horses ~ Peaches medical needs, annual Coggins and vaccines and a special waterer for sweet Mishka.

Thank you all so very much for your love and support.

Warmly,
Jeanne

I am reaching out to you on behalf of Theresa who has been dealing with sick horses for the past few days. On top of her routine daily chores, the necessity of keeping the sick horses isolated from the remainder of the herd has created quite a bit more work for Theresa.

Luiji, Warrior, Sassy, Peggy Sue and then, Dancer, started coughing over the weekend. By Saturday afternoon, some started running a fever and by yesterday, they all were feverish.

Thankfully, none of them have stopped eating. The vet was out yesterday morning to examine and do bloodwork on all of the sick members of our little herd, so, hopefully, we will have the results sometime today.

A few weeks ago, Jo was examined by the vet and bloodwork was done. Based on her behavior and symptoms, the vet advised that Jo was displaying symptoms of Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (dementia). Over the past several months, changes were noticed in both Jo’s personality and behavior. At times, Jo has appeared to be lost – she would just stand in one place and stare off into space, she has spooked a few times (which is new), and oftentimes, she takes a bite or two of a meal and then wanders off which is totally out of character for her. In addition, Jo has been fighting an eye ulceration which thankfully, after a few months of treatment, appears to have finally healed.

Jo’s blood test results were not great – there were some high and low values. She is anemic (a symptom of a larger health issue TBD) and her liver is a bit sluggish, both of which has greatly affected her immune system.

Anemia is caused by blood loss, blood destruction, or by the body not making enough red cells. Because she was walking away from her food at times, and she was due for her annual dental exam, her teeth were addressed last week but nothing of significance was apparent. She started running a fever a few days ago (it is currently normal) but there is now a foul odor emanating from her mouth which could indicate that there is something amiss in either her sinus passages or respiratory system. Theresa is making adjustments to Jo’s diet and supplements, and she will likely need additional diagnostics.

Days such as these are the reason why Theresa doesn’t post on social media as much as she would like to as she, Bob and our wonderful team of volunteers are literally caring for horses around the clock.

By the time the horses are all tucked in at night, there is little time for sleep before the next morning arrives. Volunteers help on most days until mid-afternoon and they make a tremendous difference. We are so truly grateful for them – they are such a blessing and we couldn’t do what we do without them!

Sadly, we must once again ask for assistance due to the additional and unexpected vet expenses, medications and supplements created by this current crisis.

If you would like to assist with this emergency situation, just click on the “Donate” button below to forward your contribution and please know that each and every donation is greatly appreciated and no amount is ever too small.

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Thank you, all, for your love and support. Please keep Jo, Dancer, Peggy Sue and our “Littles” in your prayers.

Warmly,
Jeanne

MacGyver and Valley Girl, here, helping Mommy Theresa with another hay run! The current need includes 4 bales of Alfalfa (our favorite), 21 bags of Coastal, and 24 bales of Orchard for a grand total of $1078.

So, if you would like to help, it would make our tummies happy and give us a chance to test out our “new” teeth! Dr. Templeton (thank you Dr. T!) worked on our teeth yesterday and took care of some sharp points and other things so it’s much easier for us to chew now! Nicky had to have a tooth pulled and Peaches got an adjustment, too. Jo and Dancer also were done but Mommy Theresa will have to tell you about that at another time.

Please CLICK HERE to choose from a variety of ways to donate.

All contributions are very much appreciated and no amount is ever too small.

P.S. If anyone would like to start a Match Game to assist with this need, we would be forever grateful!

Thank you!

Love,
MacGyver & Valley Girl

I’ve been meaning to post these images for quite some time now – I’m behind, as usual, on many things. Remi and Sassy have stalls next to each other. We all know Freckles and Jerry, the Giraffe like to tell night time stories so a board was removed between the two stalls. Now, the girls can look in on one another as well as the story tellers. Freckles is with Sassy and Jerry stays with Remi. I think the girls really appreciate it.

I have some really good (bittersweet) news to share! I don’t know how many of you remember Whiskers, the day-old orphan donkey that came to us four years ago – a very similar situation to Remi’s. Well, his human mom and dad came to the farm on Monday to hang out with Remi.

I’ve been working with Remi on a few things and she was such a good girl – I was so proud of her and I’m sure she made a great impression on her visitors! She tied, picked up her feet, was great about her ears being touched, walked nicely, backed up, and even helped clean feed tubs during the visit. If you haven’t seen Remi’s progress, I have included a short video which can be viewed by clicking on the above image.

So, here’s the news… Remi is going to have a big brother, Whiskers!

She will be living at a very nice farm not far from the rescue. Remi and Whiskers will become the very best of friends, I’m sure. I can’t imagine the days without Remi here but this is what we do. It will be very hard when she goes. I’m not going to dwell on it. For now, I’ll treasure each and every moment and we will keep having fun.

Sincerely,
Theresa

Remi has reached yet another milestone! She’s finally decided that she likes her milk pellets. Soon it will be bye-bye bottle! Remi is a quick learner. She’s very curious and likes to learn and experience new things and she simply, loves to please. She loves to snuggle too! Remi is growing like a weed and it is quite amusing to see her run like the wind when she gets her “zoomies.”

If you click on the image above you will see, firsthand, what a good little girl she is!

When Dr. Julia came out yesterday to examine Jo, Remi got lots of hugs and kisses. The child just plants herself in front of you and gives you that “gotta love me’ look and it’s automatic – you just want to hug her! She wraps everyone around her little hoof.

Remi was a “dummy foal” and didn’t receive colostrum from her mom – she couldn’t nurse. She was in a very bad way when she came to us 24+ hours after birth. Her white blood cell count was only 1 and her blood glucose level was only 2! The odds were stacked against her. She received plasma, around the clock care, and many prayers were said for her.

Remi is our little long-ear miracle girl who didn’t give up and a perfect reminder of why we do what we do.

This is made possible by your kind and most generous support. You all make an incredible difference.

 


An Update on Jo

We brought Jo to the rescue in October, 2019. She was fighting infection – her kidneys and liver were stressed. She had blotches of skin without hair, no fat, and severe muscle atrophy. Jo was at least 300 pounds underweight – her immune system was weakened due to malnutrition and starvation. Her feet needed attention and her teeth were in such poor condition, it wasn’t possible for her to chew. And when she did try to chew, it was very painful for her.

Dr. Bess Darrow, our equine dentist, discovered ulcerations in Jo’s cheeks, gums, tongue, and soft palate, due to sharp points. One sharp point put the palatine artery at significant risk of being cut which could have caused Jo to bleed out. Jo’s front teeth were on a slant due to misalignment. This caused limited mobility of her jaw and physically obstructed the right/left and forward/back motion which a horse needs to properly chew. Jo was starving to death.

About two weeks after Jo arrived, we were able to bring her best friend, Dancer, to Beauty’s Haven. Dancer was also in poor condition but, together, they grew strong and healthy and have been doing well. Both are in their 30s. Jo does require multiple smaller meals a day due to her teeth.

A few days ago, Jo seemed a little off, but she was eating and didn’t have a temperature. It was a day after a pretty bad thunderstorm. Jo got back to normal over the next couple of days and was doing okay. We had another thunderstorm in the wee hours of the morning and a couple of hours later, we found Jo off again.

She reminded me somewhat of what Frodo and Victoria were like after they took indirect lightning strikes several years ago.

Dr. Julia came out to examine Jo on Friday morning although Jo did seem to be her old self at the time. We should have bloodwork results back today and I’ll update again once they are reviewed. Jo does need to have her teeth re-checked which will get taken care of next week.

Jo could use some good thoughts and prayers. Thank you.