Posts Tagged ‘good rescues’
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!
There are no words
OMG it’s a crazy OTTB at his first show, watch out!
He won his class…and the teenager on his back adopted him!
 Â
Â
Â
Â
PNW’ers – A horseshow you shouldn’t miss!
This weekend is the fourth annual Save A Forgotten Equine benefit horseshow, and this year it is taking place at Donida Farm in Auburn, Washington. If you’re within a couple of hours, you should go and here’s why:
- No show clothes required, so if you ever wanted to “try out” showing without making a huge investment in stuff you may never use again, here’s your chance! (Helmets required for youth riders, of course)
- LOTS of people who have never shown before, LOTS of horses who have never shown before. I can pretty much guarantee you will NOT feel silly if you make a mistake or your horse makes a mistake.
- A wide variety of classes, everything from dressage to games. The show bill is here.
- If you’re horse shopping, there will be a lot of rescued horses there for you to check out!
- Oh, and in case I haven’t said it enough times: SAFE is one rescue that I can personally vouch for — they follow up, they take horses back when necessary, they do not have OMG WE’RE OUT OF HAY – SEND US MONEY! crises, they do not have OOPS pregnancies, they do not have a million excuses why horses don’t look good (oh wait, that’s because the horses in their care DO look good), and so on. Most importantly, they put the spreadsheet from Quickbooks showing exactly where all the money is going on their public message board every month. You do not even have to login to read it. Who does that? I can’t think of another rescue that does, and I think it’s really impressive.
- Last but not least, I can’t go this year so you will not have to try to beat me and the forty year old toothless Appaloosa in Bribe Your Horse like last year.
Click here for the show bill in PDF format
As long as we’re talking about it, if any rescues want to ask questions about how to put on a successful benefit show, that would be a great topic for today. If you’ve already done it, how about sharing your experiences about what did and didn’t work?
The mare shown below will be at the SAFE show for you to meet! She is a super nice double registered AQHA/APHA mare BUT she was a neglect seizure and so far no luck getting the papers (does not mean it’s impossible though). If you’re looking for that all around horse who will show and trail ride, Zuni is a mare you should meet! Click on her banner for more information.
Repost: Happy Let’s-Scare-The-Pets-To-Death-Day!
Always worthy of a repost around this time of year. If I can help a couple of injuries/lost pets not happen, that is a very good thing!
Yes, we’re coming up on the fourth of July, otherwise known as that day when thousands of normally calm, rational pets will wind up hiding under a bed, shaking all over, peeing on themselves and thinking that the world is ending. I wish I could figure out why we still have to re-enact the rockets’ red glare over 200 years later, and cannot just content ourselves with having a nice parade and taking bets on where a mini will choose to poop (if you have not seen this phenomenon, you need to get out of the city more!), but I can at least go over some tips for surviving this very loud holiday without ending up dragging your poor veterinarian away from his or her well-deserved third beer.
For horses, this is one night when you might want to keep them in, even if they normally like to be out. By all means, don’t keep a horse like my Buffy in (2010 edit: may she R.I.P., she was awesome) – she hates stalls with a passion and would weave herself into a white sweat all night. (But then again, Buffy would stomp a firework to death if it annoyed her. She’s that kind of mare.) However, for the average horse who isn’t opposed to occasionally being confined, tucking them in to a safe stall with non-slippery bedding and a huge pile of hay to distract them is often the wisest choice.
Stall mats are great cushioning for a hard floor, but they’re not always grippy. I have seen many a horse slip and slide on rubber mats, particularly if they get wet. Likewise, I like bedding pellets but if you don’t wet them down to turn them into sawdust, they can also be a slipping hazard. You know this if you have ever gone ass-over-teakettle sliding on them yourself, as I admit I have! If there is any day your horse is going to slip and fall in the stall, it is this one, so be sure to provide the best footing possible in case your horse ends up putting on a show when he hears the ruckus outside.
If they are going to be out, what’s your fence like? If you have iffy wire fence, the round pen might be a better choice tomorrow evening. If there is a chance the horse will be panicking, you want them on very visible fence that is unlikely to hurt them if they bounce off of it. If you can pair them with a horse that you know doesn’t get upset, that’s even better.
Please plan any riding for early enough in the day that you won’t be mounted come twilight. As we’ve discussed before, there is something that will spook even the “bomb proof” horse and fireworks are often on that list. I know that with the holiday and family visiting, it is so tempting to put the little ones up for a pony ride. Just do it during the daylight hours!
The Fourth is a day when you have to worry about fire. I know I have readers here who’ve had pastures set on fire by illegal fireworks, and of course there is the same risk for your barn. If you tend to have herds of free-range drunks, feral teenagers, etc. in your neighborhood, you might want to park your own 4th of July celebration in full view of the horses as a deterrent.
I know many people still use the old trick of stuffing a cotton ball or piece of sponge in their sensitive horse’s ears for the show ring. Well, that old trick will work for the 4th, too. Just make sure you get whatever you put in completely out afterward. I read a really cool idea online where the person puts the sponges inside old nylons and ties the nylon to the halter so that the sponge can easily be retrieved and there is no risk it will break apart and go down into the ears. I’m also told you can buy horsey ear plugs now. Those look pretty nice for three bucks!
I know some of you are going to say, hey, desensitize those silly horses – and you’re not necessarily wrong. A horse who has been hunted off of or used for mounted shooting is likely to rest easy on the 4th. But that is easier said than done with some horses and my goal is to keep everybody’s day safe and the vets on vacation!
Now, what about those small animals? Your barn cats will disappear into the hay and wait for the noise to be over. Dogs have more trouble with it, in general. Every 4th of July, many dogs run away in fear and many of those are never recovered alive. Please keep your dog inside or in a kennel/run he cannot escape from. Keeping him inside may not be that easy if you have guests over, so you might want to consider putting him somewhere more secure – the basement, a horse stall, etc. Remember that he may chew things when he’s upset, so you might regret the tack room. Like horses, dogs can wear ear plugs, and tranquilizers are available from your vet for the pet who is truly terrified.
HSUS’s page on keeping your dog safe on the 4th
Sometimes the best idea is to just board your dog! There are many completely indoor dog boarding facilities where there is no chance of escape and many are located right within the city where fireworks are confined to “official displays” and it isn’t as loud as it is in rural areas. Especially if you are going out of town or will be out late at a party, this is a truly wise choice. As with everything, check the place out and make sure it is well-reviewed!
All right, now that all of that is said, have a fun Fourth and remember, if you’re drinking, that’s where you need to be sleeping!
Early warning for the PNW’ers – the SAFE horseshow will be August 7 at Donida Farm in Auburn. This is a show that has Rescue Horse Classes, so just bring your adoption contract or your “before” pics and you can compete against other rescues. It is a really great show if you have not shown before and want to be with other beginners. Stalls are available this year. They are looking for class and trophy sponsors – click here for more information. This is a great opportunity to help a worthy, well run rescue that publicly displays where every dime of donor money goes on their message board, follows up on all adoptions and does not have “OMG we have no hay money!” emergencies.
