Abandoned Horses
During these tough economic times people are being forced to make hard and often not well thought out decisions... especially when it comes to their animals and family pets. This is especially true when it comes to horses. Horses are big. You can't throw them in the family car and take them to a relative to stay with or pay an extra cleaning deposit and move them into an apartment.
So what do you do with a horse when you are loosing your home or the horse becomes sick and you don't have the money to pay for a vet to either treat the horse or euthanize it? There aren't shelters that will take in horse like there are for dogs and cats and the places that do take in horses are full and having issues of their own. So what do you do, where do you turn.
Many people are abandoning their horses or turning them loose in the hopes that they will fend for themselves. We have all watched programs on TV where we see pictures of horses running wild... wind in their hair, galloping down a hill with other horses. Such a beautiful picture of freedom and grace that who wouldn't want that for the horse that they can no longer take care of or feed.
However the reality isn't what we have seen on television. The reality for the horses that are turned loose is a far picture from the pictures we saw on TV. The reality is more like the story of Melody.
Melody's Story
by jaci Blackwell saunders
Warning the pictures below may be disturbing to some people.
Melody wasn’t her real name. She had once been a well named thoroughbred mare. Her lip tattoo was now faded due to her age but the signs were still there enough to know that she was someone’s dream at one time. She became to be known to us as Melody because even in her weakened state she would always nicker a very nice tune whenever she saw one of us coming and we had to call her something… so Melody it was.
Melody was found on a Sunday night around 10:00 pm in the desert northwest of Phoenix, AZ. It was dark and the ground was very muddy since it had been raining. You don’t get much rain in the desert but for the luck of Melody it had rained and the rain afforded her to be able to drink from the small muddy puddles that were created.
A small group of friends were coming back from a day of 4wheeling and there she was. The silhouette of a horse outlined by the moon standing in the middle of the dirt path they had chosen. It was obvious that she was in trouble but the full extent of her neglect wasn’t apparent until the next day.
Due to the rain the desert ground was to muddy to get a horse trailer back to where she was so rather than leave her there overnight the decision was made to walk her the 3 miles to a road where a trailer could be waiting.
Melody was haltered and with one person following closely behind in a truck, lights turned on to light the path the other walked along side her. It took every ounce of strength that mare had to make the trip to the trailer with lots of stops along the way for her to catch her breath and rest. She was a trooper and as if she understood just how important this was she walked on, head down, stumbling at times but never once bumping into her handler.
Once Melody reached the trailer she was offered clean water and a good rest before being asked to get onto the trailer. Without hesitation Melody got onto the trailer like we all want our own horses to load. I wasn’t sure if it was because she had been loaded so many times during her career or if she knew she was going to a better place. I like to think it was the later.
Melody was taken to a place close by so as not to stress her any more than she already was. She was given lots of clean water to drink and much needed food in the form of Bermuda hay. She readily ate the hay and settled in to what I am sure was the most comfortable accommodations she had had in some time.
The morning showed us the true extent of her condition or lack thereof and I must say none of us had much hope for her survival.
She was the thinnest horse I had ever seen. I couldn’t believe that she was still alive much less standing. She had a very nasty discharge from her vulva and her eyes were crusty and rather sunken in her head… but through all that you could see a kindness in her eyes that just broke your heart.
We decided that this mare deserved a chance so the decision was made to try and save her and hopefully find out what happened to this mare. Why had she been abandoned and left to such a grisly end.
A vet determined that she had a urinary tract infection so she was put on a course of SMZ tablets. There was no way of knowing how much damage her heart had suffered due to weight loss because we had no idea how long she had been like this. When there is no food to sustain a body the body will start breaking down muscle for nutrition… the heart is a muscle.
Melody was given two rounds of SMZ tablets but her infection was chronic and in her condition she couldn’t stand to have a surgery of any sort to see if the condition was due to an injury or ??? In the end it was decided that it was in Melody’s best interest to let her go. This decision was not reached lightly. It was hard due to her kindness and spirit but ultimately it was the best for her. And she got to live the last few weeks of her life with plenty of food and water among people who loved and respected her.
Below are pictures of Melody.
The first is just after we got her and the rest show her after she actually put on a little weight.
Melody was found on a Sunday night around 10:00 pm in the desert northwest of Phoenix, AZ. It was dark and the ground was very muddy since it had been raining. You don’t get much rain in the desert but for the luck of Melody it had rained and the rain afforded her to be able to drink from the small muddy puddles that were created.
A small group of friends were coming back from a day of 4wheeling and there she was. The silhouette of a horse outlined by the moon standing in the middle of the dirt path they had chosen. It was obvious that she was in trouble but the full extent of her neglect wasn’t apparent until the next day.
Due to the rain the desert ground was to muddy to get a horse trailer back to where she was so rather than leave her there overnight the decision was made to walk her the 3 miles to a road where a trailer could be waiting.
Melody was haltered and with one person following closely behind in a truck, lights turned on to light the path the other walked along side her. It took every ounce of strength that mare had to make the trip to the trailer with lots of stops along the way for her to catch her breath and rest. She was a trooper and as if she understood just how important this was she walked on, head down, stumbling at times but never once bumping into her handler.
Once Melody reached the trailer she was offered clean water and a good rest before being asked to get onto the trailer. Without hesitation Melody got onto the trailer like we all want our own horses to load. I wasn’t sure if it was because she had been loaded so many times during her career or if she knew she was going to a better place. I like to think it was the later.
Melody was taken to a place close by so as not to stress her any more than she already was. She was given lots of clean water to drink and much needed food in the form of Bermuda hay. She readily ate the hay and settled in to what I am sure was the most comfortable accommodations she had had in some time.
The morning showed us the true extent of her condition or lack thereof and I must say none of us had much hope for her survival.
She was the thinnest horse I had ever seen. I couldn’t believe that she was still alive much less standing. She had a very nasty discharge from her vulva and her eyes were crusty and rather sunken in her head… but through all that you could see a kindness in her eyes that just broke your heart.
We decided that this mare deserved a chance so the decision was made to try and save her and hopefully find out what happened to this mare. Why had she been abandoned and left to such a grisly end.
A vet determined that she had a urinary tract infection so she was put on a course of SMZ tablets. There was no way of knowing how much damage her heart had suffered due to weight loss because we had no idea how long she had been like this. When there is no food to sustain a body the body will start breaking down muscle for nutrition… the heart is a muscle.
Melody was given two rounds of SMZ tablets but her infection was chronic and in her condition she couldn’t stand to have a surgery of any sort to see if the condition was due to an injury or ??? In the end it was decided that it was in Melody’s best interest to let her go. This decision was not reached lightly. It was hard due to her kindness and spirit but ultimately it was the best for her. And she got to live the last few weeks of her life with plenty of food and water among people who loved and respected her.
Below are pictures of Melody.
The first is just after we got her and the rest show her after she actually put on a little weight.
If you would like to support us with a donation and help us prevent other horses from ending up like Melody please email us at the link below or send a check or money order directly to the address listed.
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We also accept saleable items for resale.
If you would like to become a sponsor of the Equine Trust Foundation go to our Supporters Page
We also accept saleable items for resale.
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