Urgent Intake
We have been diligently working behind scenes on a rehab. After staying at a facility that was going to use him for equine therapy, Mikey found himself in our need again. (He was originally pulled from the slaughter pipeline, see his page under the "horses" tab). After traveling to his facility to check on him, we immediately planned the 16 hour round trip to get him, and lined up horse professionals for immediate assistance.
Ever wonder why horse rescues continue to ask for pictures, and continue to check on placements? Ever wonder why it's such a big deal that we go over feed and nutrition, hoof care, vet care, dental care and follow up for pictures monthly, then yearly to adopt or foster a horse? Ever wonder why rescues maintain ownership during adoption and fostering?
This case is why ... after several attempts for updates and pictures with his caregivers we checked on him. It had been 10 months into the yearly check-in when there was no communication. When we arrived were told he is skinny, we had a bad winter, he is an old horse and a few other things to justify what they thought was normal for an old horse.
The photo below is what we found on day 1.
We were horrified and heartbroken, guilt filled our thoughts that we trusted his caregivers to put his needs first.
He was malnourished, and extremely dehydrated, lacking in all nutrition. Anything he ate completely went right through him. His digestive system had to learn how to handle food.
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He stood like a champ, for the trimmer, he also benefited from equine dental where we were told he did still have teeth in the back. The hooks were taken care of and he was able to eat hay.
Day 2
Unsure of how Mikey would handle the long trip home, we stopped every few hours. We were thrilled he unloaded and recovered from the trip with no issues.
We must thank Haley, Tori, Mike and Michelle, Hope and Trent, Greg and Cary, and Janet. You were all our support staff and professionals that helped get him safe, take care of the other horses, and helped us come up with a health and rehab program. We will continue to post his progress https://paypal.me/HosannaHorseHavenInc?locale.x=en_US
Day 3
Day 9
Even though still very thin and needing you can see he is responding to our efforts, this will be a long road to recovery but with your help we can keep him safe and thriving. We appreciate all your support, and will post a 30 day photo shoot! If you have any questions please email us and we will respond as soon as we can.
