Posts Tagged ‘good rescues’
A Sad Day for Horse Rescue
I woke up this morning and read Facebook as always while walking the dog (a practice that has already resulted in walking into a tree once and scraping my face, yet I continue it) and was so sad to see that we lost Tony Curtis early this morning.
While most of the world knew Tony as a famous movie star, those of us with horses knew him from his work with Shiloh Horse Rescue. Tony and his wife Jill have helped hundreds of horses find new homes. They rescued from the feedlot in Fallon, Nevada, but unlike the “feedlot rescues” that won’t even take a horse off the lot until it is fully paid for, and then flip it without paying for so much as a hoof trim, Tony and Jill have always made sure their horses got all of their vet and farrier care, got fattened up to proper weight and got evaluated under saddle, and sometimes trained, before even being offered to the public. If they are old and toothless, they don’t have to find another home. They get to sit at Shiloh, get fat and eat warm mush until it is their time to go.
This is rescue done right, and I’ve always been grateful that someone as successful as Tony chose to spend his money helping horses. His generosity saved so many lives, and that to me is an even more impressive legacy than his film career. My sympathies go out to Jill and the rest of his family today. I know that even though he is gone, Shiloh will continue helping horses. What a wonderful way to go out — leaving behind an organization that will continue to save lives for many years into the future. You cannot ask for a more successful conclusion to your life.
This is my very favorite Shiloh horse, Melvyn. Melvyn was nearly dead when they found him.
Here he is today.
Follow Shiloh on Twitter and Facebook.
Ready, Set…Grace update!!!
 
Here’s another cutie that needs a home – Prince Oliver at Mid-Atlantic Horse Rescue. I think he is adorable and am surprised he hasn’t gone home yet, especially given his affordable adoption fee of only $1200. If you are in the Maryland area, check him out!Â
Something is rotten in the state of Florida!
No felony charges for this?
“They say he was the likely victim of animal cruelty by his owners, DeFuniak Springs residents Nicholas and Jessica Sconiers.
Jessica Sconiers also happens to work at the courthouse.”
NO REALLY???? OMG. Can you say “good old boys protecting their own?” I knew you could! Good grief, what a crock of crap.Â
Also from the article:Â “But in a court of law, the difference between animal cruelty felony charges and misdemeanor charges is based on intent.”
And there you go, folks. That’s why I don’t feel any sympathy toward abusers, neglecters and slaughter-dumpers who cry and claim to feel bad. Sorry for those of you who want to believe the best about people, but 99% of them are crying because they got caught. They are crying not for the horses but for themselves. They are crying on cue like a soap actress when the director yells action. I bet this bitch who starved the mini can bawl a river, especially when she is in court. It’s time everybody stopped falling for it, particularly our legal system. I do not care how bad you feel, even if it is genuine, it is not as bad as that horse pictured above feels. And you’d better believe 100% of my sympathy is for him. You work at the damn courthouse, you are NOT illiterate, you HAVE a Facebook, you KNEW how to find information about how to properly feed a horse! You have NO excuse. You can’t even claim unemployment and poverty! YOU HAVE A JOB!Â
Here is the web site for Alaqua Animal Refuge if you would like to help. My understanding is the little guy is doing well. Of course, tests showed there was no medical reason for his condition. Well, duh.
And now for a happy ending – Gentry is an eight year old Saddlebred gelding that got brain-fried by some show barn and dumped on the feedlot. When Shiloh got him, he was terrified of people and would not go forward under saddle. Look at him now!
This is what is meant by a happy accident!
Horses That Survived Accident Won’t Be Going to Slaughter
When we see a wreck like that one, it’s so easy to focus on the 13 that died and think of what a horrible accident it was and how much the horses suffered. But 30 would have died if that truck hadn’t gone off the road. I’m one of those people who thinks everything happens for a reason, and now I hope those horses are able to go forward, find good homes and be living examples of the kind of sweet, wonderful horses that go to Mexico and Canada every day because people wanted them to just go away and didn’t want to put any more effort into it than taking them to the nearest auction. Well, these did not go away. I hope some of their former owners are looking at the pictures online and feeling the shame they deserve to feel. Maybe next time they will put a little more effort into rehoming horses that do not work out for them.Â
And I hope that old Palomino mare gets a positively fabulous home. There’s nothing I’d like better than to see her fat and happy, living in luxury. Maybe one of you can make it happen for her or one of the others – more information is here.
Starved Horse 101!
Since we’ve had two days of starved horses, one that has a chance and one that did not make it, this is a good time to revisit this topic. If you DO manage to rescue a horse who is a 1 or a 2 on the Henneke Scale, how do you care for him?  I cannot emphasize strongly enough that not all vets know this information or will tell you the right thing. Some are great – but boy, I have surely heard some f’ed up advice given to newbie rescuers by their vets. So here you go - here are some basics!
This article covers it in great detail. (Actually, their whole site is 50 kinds of awesome and I’m glad I found it. I’m going to add it to my links right now!) I have had good results with other kinds of hay than alfalfa, but I certainly don’t disagree with sticking to alfalfa — it may indeed be the safest choice. I generally forget feeding traditional hay and just do hay pellets, soaked with warm water (the temp you’d take a shower with) to the consistency of oatmeal. Hay is hay, and mush is easier to eat than any other form of hay — and most neglected horses have terrible teeth, because, hey, if they aren’t feeding them, they most likely aren’t floating their teeth, either. Not to mention that feeding mush will get much-needed water into the horse — starved horses tend to be dehydrated horses, and don’t always start drinking right away. By getting the water in there, you greatly decrease the odds of a colic. I feed mush, and I give them pretty much all-you-can eat, but in small meals 4-5 times a day. I have never lost a horse to refeeding syndrome and neither has my friend who has done far more of them than I have using this method.
Here’s how I think people kill them accidentally: They feel SO bad for the horse that they desperately want to give them something yummy. Something like Equine Senior. Sorry, it’s just too darn rich and sugary for a severe starvation case. Sure, hay pellet mush is boring – but it doesn’t kill them. Stick to the hay pellet mush until the horse is at least a solid 2.5 and then you can start – slowly – adding in the Senior feed and the beet pulp and whatever else.
Here’s another way people kill them accidentally: they deworm them right off the bat. A starved horse is almost always a heavily parasite-infested horse. So if you slam them with dewormer, you kill all the worms at once and they are likely to have an impaction colic. I like to start off with the daily dewormer, something like Strongid C. I’ve also had vets tell me that a 1/3 dose of normal dewormer is okay, and that sounds sensible to me. Remember, any meds are somewhat disruptive to the horse’s system, even “good meds” like worming drugs and vaccinations. Handle the horse like he’s made of fine china ’til he’s stronger. Resist the urge to vaccinate, tranq for teeth, etc. for a while. Let the poor thing eat, rest and relax and gain pounds for a few weeks first. When you do vaccinate, don’t do everything the same day. Do one vaccination, wait a week, give another, etc. If you’re still relying upon the vet to give shots, and therefore doing it that way is too spendy, this is time to learn to do it yourself. If you are gonna rescue, you need to learn to give an IM shot. It is not complicated and it is a skill every horse owner should possess. Here is a page that explains it very well complete with diagrams. I like to give shots in the neck. I have never had a problem with soreness, and the neck is much less likely to kick you.  (Starved horses are often not-very-handled horses so you are going to have a good old time trying to do this stuff with them as they regain their strength!) Remember, it’s a horse, they’re not geniuses – you’d be shocked at how often they stand perfectly for shots if you cover their eye on the side you’re injecting so they can’t see the shot. Great trick I’ve been using for years!Â
Finally, while nothing but nothing puts weight on a horse like wonderful pasture, you MUST take it slow or, again, you WILL kill the horse or cripple him. I have met people who think that introducing a horse to pasture means only leaving him out there for an hour. Uh, no. It means you hand graze him for five or ten minutes, tops, and you work up from there. That’s ALL he gets at first. You can add a few minutes a day and work him up over the course of a few weeks. Along the same lines, please don’t drag that starved horse home if you don’t have the ability to set up a dry lot for him, and for heaven’s sake don’t put him in with your other horses. Not only will he never be able to get enough to eat if he’s with others, but these horses are Typhoid Mary’s of parasites. You’ll end up with everybody full of worms, not just your rescue. If you JUST HAD to save something with no pre-planning, stop at the feed store on your way home and pick up fencing materials to make a separate pen – no shared fencelines, and a small enough pen that there is little to no grass in it. Make basically a big stall – a 20 x 20. The fastest way to do this is by purchasing eight panels and putting them together – there are cheaper ways, but panels are one of the safer solutions, particularly for a rescue horse you know nothing about, and one of the nicest things about them is that they can easily be moved if the horse goes down and needs help getting back up. Stall walls in your barn – not so portable.
All right, rescuers and other kind souls — please share your own Super Skinny Horse tips. What worked well for you? What didn’t? What have you learned from experience? Those of you with new rescues, or old rescues that still aren’t 100% up to weight, or have chronic conditions you’ve had a hard time resolving, feel free to ask questions and maybe someone here will have the answer for you.
And now for a happy update: The Dinsdale mare that I got, Highfalutin Fox, continues to Hoover food and gain weight.  Her eye has healed up perfectly and is not weeping anymore now that we had the tumor removed.  She has mild DSLD so no more babies for her. Juliane from Cowgirl Spirit did a little evaluation of her this week and she doesn’t know much but is kind and sweet – stands perfectly still for mounting and walks quietly under saddle.  Very easy to handle.  Fine for baths, feet, etc. At this point, she would work well for a pet and to lead little ones around on, and I’d love to find that sort of home for her so that she’d get all the petting and attention she deserves (of course, on contract and I get to visit). If you’re interested in spoiling the heck out of an old ex-broodmare, e-mail me. I actually think it would be adorable to show her in leadline – have you seen those tiny little light oil saddles they make?  CUTE! By the way, I found out this mare was owned much of her life by Rick and Melanie Cox, who are NOT the people who dumped her, so I’d love to talk to them if anyone knows them and can hook it up. I’d also love to talk to anyone who has a son or daughter of hers – there are seven out there!
