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Four Horses for Mother’s Day

The thing about rescues is that you never know when you’ll get a call that kicks everyone into high gear. Do we have room for new arrivals? Can we afford the increased food and medical costs? We recently received one of those calls from a local woman who had become overwhelmed and was unable to care for all her horses. Four in particular were in need of care and she was agreeing to let them come live at the Sanctuary. Luckily, we had recently moved the residents around to maximize the pasture space.

So a few days before Mother’s Day we picked up four mares. The first to arrive were Arabelle and Flea who began trotting around the pasture as if they couldn’t believe all that space was now theirs. We immediately noticed that Arabelle is clearly like a mother to Flea as Flea always stays close to her side and looks to Arabelle for guidance.

Coco (actually a pony) and Destiny were next to arrive. They quickly began to explore their new home and when they discovered the hay hut they happily dug in. The first thing we did was immediately overhaul their diets for better nutrition and give their neglected coats some much-needed attention. But we soon discovered these poor girls were covered in lice, infested with worms, and underweight. Flea in particular will need a lot of care. While she is two-years-old, she is severely stunted due to malnutrition and parasites. She also has scours (diarrhea), all of which have caused her to look like she’s nine months old. All four of them are being treated daily for their ailments and remain in a quarantined pasture.

The neighboring horses have been keeping watch over them from the moment they stepped off the trailer. It’s almost as if they’re saying, “It’s OK. We were once like you. But you’re safe now. You’re home.”   Your support will help us care for Arabelle, Flea, Coco, and Destiny. We’d be grateful for donations of any amount.