Horse Rescuer with Good Intention

Navar’s training is coming along so well that I decided it was time to bring on another horse that needs special help.

Several days ago while browsing Kijiji, I found what I thought would be the perfect project. Whiskey was a lovely, 5 y.o. palomino gelding. In the ad it said he had trust and catching issues – perfect. Over the next few days, I learned she had purchased him and another horse from Bear Valley Rescue over 1½ years ago with the intention of training them to drive. However she also admitted, she had too many horses and life kept getting in her way. She also said he was perfectly healthy and sound and although he was nervous, he had never caused her harm and that he was prone to jump away from his handler than on top of them.

He was located at Duchess, AB - a two hour drive from our place. I asked as many questions as I could to ensure it was worth making the trip on such a beautiful day and with fuel prices soaring. I knew I could help Whiskey so Gord, Lena and I made the trip to go meet him. I was so certain I would be bringing him home that I even decided to rename him Memphis.

When we arrived, the owner had Whiskey in the round pen, haltered and ready to go. Upon closer inspection, I saw that his feet were terribly neglected and in fact she admitted he was not “foot” trained. Based on that, I asked her to move him around so I could detect any lameness issues. At the hurried trot and racing gallop, he seemed fine but when he walked, it was apparent there was something wrong.
Nevertheless, I worked at getting near him which was no easy feat. Just reaching out to stroke his neck caused him to suck wind and tense his entire body. She had told me that once caught, he could be handled. Not sure what her idea of “handled” is. Mine is a horse who is comfortable being touched from top to bottom and in every orifice.

Anyway, we agreed that I would take him and if he didn’t come up sound after proper hoof care, she would take him back, and would even come pick him up if need be. In anticipation of him being hard to load, I had the owner change out the halter to my stiffer Clinton Anderson 4 knot to give me better control. While I was back at the truck, filling out the bill of sale, I heard all hell break loose. The owner had tied the lead rope around his neck using a bowline knot and when she went to slip the halter over his nose, he ploughed her into the panels and bolted away, tearing the halter out of her hand. Now he was flying around the pen in shear panic with the halter dragging (chasing) after him and there was nothing we could do to help him. Every now and then the halter would tangle around his legs, causing him even more distress as he ploughed into the panels trying to kick off the foreign object wrapping around his legs. This went on for quite some time until thankfully, the bowline knot released. I stood in the middle of the pen throughout the entire ordeal because I didn’t trust walking into his path to escape the pen – he was running blind with fear.

Since it was already getting late and there was going to be very little chance of getting another halter on him, not to mention trying to load him, I made the very difficult decision to walk away.

There is no question this lady was in over her head with him, and I also learned she had a foal coming any day. It absolutely broke my heart to see a horse so mishandled (or neglected) with such good intention.

When we take on the responsibility of horse ownership, it is incumbent on us to create a good equine citizen even if that means getting help to do so. That is the only way to ensure the horse won’t end up in the slaughter pens. It made me so angry to see beautiful Whiskey in such emotional and physical distress – I didn’t sleep very well thinking about him last night.

I'm sorry I couldn't take you with us Whiskey - my heart goes out to you.
Tovie

Vickie Keam to the Rescue

Last fall Navar picked up a cough that we attributed to mulch we brought in for the shelters. He started coughing 3 days after we spread the mulch and I can tell you, the mulch came out of the shelters faster than it went in.

We thought the cough would pass but it only seemed to get worse and when I started my weekly riding sessions with Marian Stav again, it became apparent that Navar needed help. At Moore Equine he was scoped and a minor amount of mucous was detected. We made the decision to go one step further and conduct a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) to determine the severity of the infection. Dr. Ashley Whitehead advised last year was particularly bad for lung problems and was likely due to the wild fires that raged throughout Western Canada last summer.

Navar was prescribed 40 shots of a steroid called dexamethasone. I was definitely not looking forward to giving him that many needles but Navar took the treatment in stride. Every morning he came in for a treat and a shot which I rotated around his entire body.

The treatment got rid of his cough but despite additional feed, he was underweight and lethargic and also had a tucked up appearance. I was going to run a blood panel on him to see what else could be wrong but instead I scheduled another treatment with Vickie Keam. She discovered his spleen was not functioning well and said it wouldn't have mattered how much extra feed he was getting, the blood flow wasn't allowing his body to process the feed well. She also found a displaced rib near his flank. Within half an hour of Vickie starting his treatment, the change in Navar's appearance was quite astounding. I sure wish I had taken before and after photos.

The following week after Vickie's ministering, I took Navar to my weekly riding session. Marian noticed the change in his physical appearance immediately but what struck us most was his improved energy level. Prior to Vickie's treatment, Navar was lethargic and completely pooped out before our hour session was over. After his treatment he moved forward willingly and energetically (keeping in mind Navar is an energy conservationist) and he had plenty of stamina to last the entire hour.

Now that the snow has finally melted and we can actually practice our "moves", Navar gets better under saddle every week.

Thank you so much Vickie for what you do!
Navar and Tovie