Just a quick update – things are really busy here – very busy. The calls to help others horses don’t stop. Just today – all in one day…

· A call from a caretaker to a 40+ yr old TB mare whose owner has gone into hospice. I am told that the mare has severe arthritis – the caretaker does not have the funds to put the mare down nor the money to care for her. We have been asked to help – we’d need funds for a vet to examine the mare to determine her quality of life and what would be in her best interest. If helping her cross is the right answer, we’d need help with funds to do this. If she has more time, with a good quality of life, then we would look for a retirement home for her where she can live out her days. I asked, and was told, that she is too crippled for a trailer ride but again, would defer to what a vet would determine. I will have to work on this tomorrow.

· Another call – a family lost their home and they have 30 days to place their 3 horses.

· Another case – a vacant house with 4 horses found in the back – a couple in bad shape. The issue was reported to authorities last week, and again today, but we have yet to see what will be done for them. One, a stallion, is thin and has what appears to be a fractured cannon bone and is walking on 3 legs. He needs help ASAP. Watching him trying to walk was heartbreaking.

· Another case – we have been working on getting a starved Percheron mare that a dear friend of the rescue and her friend happened upon. The mare has been out to pasture for the last 4+ years with no human intervention – no vetting, no grain, no anything. Just pasture and water. She’s thought to be about 15 yrs old. The owner is dispersing of his herd – she is one of the last. She’s at least 300 lbs underweight and will need quite a bit of rehab – vetting, dentist, etc. She did colic a few days ago so I am concerned and we are trying to make arrangements to get her here – we will update as we know more. If anyone would like to help her, please mark your donation for “Lady Jane.”

· And another – 3 horses we are trying to place – no room here but we are working on getting funds together to at least get them hay – we still need $120 to get them a ½ pasture bale (700 lbs) of compressed O&A which would last them about a week. We hope to have them into new homes by then – they are not far from the rescue. If anyone would like to help please mark your donation for the “3 Amigos” so we’ll know what the funds are for. As of this update, the chestnut Standardbred has a safe place to go. We’ve received an application on the Paint (4 yr old gelding, est. 15 hh) and there is someone interested in the Appendix (5 yr old, est. 15 hh) but it will take a few days to get applications processed – so they still need hay for the next few days.

I’m sorry I don’t have time to get into specifics on many horses here but everyone is doing pretty well. I am happy to report that Gentleman is doing much better. He is now getting Previcox and we’ve added milk thistle to his daily supplements. He spends a lot of time under the sprinklers. We caught him playing gelding games over the fence with Morning Star yesterday – it was really a great thing to see and brought about much needed smiles.

Please don’t forget about our fundraiser – guess the day/time that Lacey is going to foal. Here is a link to the information: https://www.bhfer.org/events.html. You could be the owner of a beautiful oil painting by artist Karla Smith of your dog, cat, or horse! We are actually preparing the birthing stall as I type this. J

Below are some pictures from the last few days and today.

Narissa has some days that are better than others but she is comfortable and still loves her stall and fan. She has put on about 75 lbs. We really don’t want her to gain anymore because of her front feet issues.

Me taking a break from the hustle and bustle a few days ago. It’s rare that I get to ride. I did enjoy it, very much.

Ghost has settled nicely into his new home. As always, its bittersweet when they go.

Montana seems to enjoy working out. He is looking for a forever home. He is a 20 yr old QH gelding that has a very charming personality.

The vet, Dr. Joan Gariboldi, was at the Paso farm this morning and we got a lot done – including teeth. This is Cleopatra getting some attention.

Cleopatra – finally a tangle free mane! Sorry that the angle of the picture odd – I was trying to juggle the camera and some other things in my hands when I snapped it.

And Princessa. She is beautiful and one of my favorites!

Peggy Sue is at the hospital for x-rays and stifle surgery tomorrow. We’ve asked them to assess her abilities again to make sure that cutting the stifle is the right thing to do. When she puts weight on her peg leg which is shorter she has a tough time bringing the right back leg forward – sometimes it appears to have a catch. I’m wondering if perhaps putting a pad or something on the shorter leg will help.

“But Mommy Theresa – I’m not sure I want to go to the hospital. I’ve never been to one before.”

In the trailer.

And at the hospital. A couple of our volunteers are visiting with Peggy Sue this evening – I’m sure she will appreciate it and it will make her feel better.

Baby Girl – as beautiful as ever! She’s looking for her forever home within reasonable driving distance from the rescue.

Please pray for the horse that belongs to these feet and his 3 friends. And please continue to pray for those that have no voice. If you see a horse, or any animal, that needs help please don’t assume that someone else will do something – that someone needs to be you. And sometimes, it takes many “someone’s” to make a difference in a case. If you don’t want to call authorities – please find a reputable rescue that may be able to help. You could make the difference in the life or death of a precious one by making just one phone call.

Thank you all for your continued support. I’m not in the office much these days so please, if you have emailed me and I haven’t responded, I’m sorry – but feel free to give me a call. Please remember that without your help we couldn’t do what we do. Donations are tax deductible – no amount is too small and any amount is greatly appreciated! God bless and have a wonderful rest of the week! I’ll update about Peggy Sue tomorrow afternoon.

No sooner did I post about the kittens needing help one of our supporters called and said she’d take them – she’s on her way. She has a lot of experience with raising orphan kittens.

God does answer prayers. Thank you all. Now, I just need to get myself together. Dr. Ryan is coming to see Patty.

1 am update: The little filly that I named Twilight has crossed Rainbow Bridge – she was just too far gone. In her final hours she knew she was loved. She knew kind and caring hands. I’m so sorry we couldn’t help her – she was just a baby – likely just over a year old.

She had IV fluids and the vet did all he could. She gave it her best and we prayed hard – but God called her home. She was so thin with many sores on her. She broke my heart. She will be buried on Frosty’s Knoll tomorrow.

I’m sorry but I have nothing else to say tonight. I’m just tired, very tired and very sad. Incredibly sad. It just doesn’t seem fair. She was so young and innocent. She didn’t deserve so much suffering.

Run with the angels dear Twilight – you fly with perfect wings now. While I knew you for only a short time – I love you and always will.

Theresa

The little mini mare arrived today while the podiatrists were here. Watching her try to back off the trailer was horrible. She got her left foot stuck between the floor and the ramp in that little drop down space you can see in the below picture just behind her back left foot. When her left foot got stuck, her right one went straight out to the side and two of us caught and supported her and helped her to move forward back into the trailer. It scared the bejimminies out of me! I asked that the divider be removed so she could turn around and walk out. That worked much better.

She seemed to study the ramp for a few seconds and then she moved forward and managed to make it down ok.

We got a much better look at her once at the barn. It was easy to see that she is a sweetheart. It was also easy to see that her backend has issues. We’re not sure what happened to her, or when it happened, but we were told that she sustained an injury when foaling some years ago. Her left back leg has little muscle, if any, and it is fused straight. She walks on it like a peg leg and it does appear shorter than the right leg. Her back toes were curled up and you can see in the picture below what she was having to walk on. It looked pretty uncomfortable.

We knew it was going to take some time and effort to get her back feet in such a way that it would help her to move around and that she’d have difficulty putting weight on either of her back legs for even a short amount of time for her trim. You can’t bend her back left leg at all – its fused in the straight position.

Sometimes, especially when going up an incline, her back end would get locked and it would take her a few seconds to get moving again. I have to give her a lot of credit – she is a very brave girl and she has learned to manage getting around.

We wanted to give her some relief today – even if just a little – so we put the sling to work.

We didn’t want her in the sling any longer than necessary – Laura and Cindy each took a back foot and did some fantastic teamwork to get it done. Everyone did a great job!

Then the front feet were done. All of her feet have infection in them and we’ll be treating them as best as we can.

While her left leg/foot still turns out – her hooficure has helped her to manage to get around better. It will take some time for her body to adjust and getting her as comfortable as possible make time quite a bit of time. But she has a lot of light in her eyes and I know she’s very grateful for what was done today.

After she was out of the sling she was ready to find the grass! It took a little while for her to get used to the changes in her feet from her hooficure but once she realized she could move those back feet without dragging them nearly as much she seemed very pleased – which made all of us happy! Although, the left one still appears shorter and just sort of hangs in the air when she stands for a period of time – depending on how she is standing. She has little muscle in her backend. She may have locking stifles, some other old injury, or both – we just don’t know.

In this picture you can see that her back left leg still hangs in the air. If you look closely you can see it is about 2” off the ground. It doesn’t do this all of the time – just depends on how she is standing. This afternoon I’ve seen her actually stand on her peg leg and rest her right quite a bit.

Thank all of you for caring about this little girl – her name is Patty. She is said to be about 16 years young. Dr. Bess will be here tomorrow so we’ll see how her teeth are and Dr. Ryan will be by in the next couple of days to examine her and likely do x-rays. I’m not sure that whatever is wrong with her back leg can be fixed but we will figure it all out and make her as comfortable as possible.

And to those that are donating to help make us helping her possible – thank you! I’ll try to post two videos of her on the website later tonight. One was taken before the hooficure and one was taken after. Patty is going to need monthly sponsors for awhile. If you’d like to help with her care expenses please contact us – no amount is too small!