We were contacted about a situation we don’t run into very often: an extremely fat horse and mule that needed to be surrendered. Their owner had dementia and was constantly feeding them, then she would forget she fed them, and feed them more. Her adult son was quite concerned about the weight they were packing on and asked us for help.
It took quite awhile of adjustment time for the owner to be able to say “Goodbye” to her animals. Her son moved them closer to the shelter on the same road and started feeding them an appropriate amount. The process gave his mom a chance to adjust to not having them out her back door.
Finally the day arrived when they were surrendered over to us and we made the short drive to pick them up. As you can see from the photo this mare is quite fat.
Meet Blaze, she is a 15-18 year old Quarterhorse mare. She is so obese her neck almost looks arched, but it is just a fat pad.
The little mini hinny named Jelly Belly is wild and will not let anyone handle her, so we do not know exactly how old she is. If you don’t know what a hinny is, it is a hybrid between a female donkey and a male horse, which is opposite from a mule.
Since they were less than half a mile from the shelter and they are such bonded friends, it was decided to lead Blaze down the quiet dirt road and Jelly Belly would follow along. It worked quite well and was less stressful than a trailer ride for them both.
After a short walk they arrived at the shelter. Jelly Belly trotted ahead to see the other horses at the shelter and soon they were in a pen together.
We had one of our previous adopters come out to see the horses. She has adopted a little mini from us and he is doing great.
Whiskey has been at the trainer learning some new skills. When Whiskey went to the trainer he was only halter trained. He is such a beautiful horse and the trainer, Jonathan, has been doing great with him.
Jonathan soon had him going on trail rides. He was very impressed with how smart and willing Whiskey is.
Whiskey needed some shoes so he was taken to a farrier and got some new shoes on. He did very well for his shoes and wasn’t a bad boy at all.
Whiskey is truly a stunning horse and we are so happy with the progress he has made with the trainer.
Tawnee and a volunteer went down to pick Whiskey up at the trainer’s as it was time for him to come back to the shelter. They were happy to see Whiskey walk up to Jonathan when he saw him walk into the pasture. It’s always nice when a horse wants to be caught.
Thanks to the hard work of Jonathan, Tawnee knew Whiskey wouldn’t have any trouble finding a forever home.
When Whiskey came to us in July of 2015 he was a thin horse who had been recently gelded. If missed that blog, click here.
On the way back to the shelter the volunteer wanted to stop at a Amish buggy shop. The buggies and wagons were definitely beautiful.
When Tawnee was in the shop she couldn’t help but see a business card that said “We buy horses.” When the Amish have a horse that they can no longer keep or use, they pretty much have two options: take them to an auction or call someone that buys horses such as on this business card. We are working on a 3rd option for them, a SAFE Surrender Site right in the heart of TN Amish Country where the Amish could surrender their horse. With proper funding we may be able to compete with the kill buyers by offering enough to keep them from slaughter.
After Whiskey had been back at the shelter a few days we had a potential approved adopter come out to see the horses at the shelter. They were interested in a riding horse and wanted to meet Whiskey and Coa. She really started falling in love with Whiskey.
They enjoyed a nice trail ride down the road together.
In the end her decision was a resounding “Yes!” She was so happy as she was adopting the big beautiful boy. We are so happy for Whiskey.
Tawnee has been anxiously checking the mailbox for a certain letter that she has been expecting.
That letter finally arrived. We submitted a grant to the ASPCA for a grant to fund our National Gelding Assistance Program and the check had finally arrived.
We are very excited to announce that the ASPCA has given us a grant for $10,000 to fund the next 50 applicants and administration of the program. Spread the word!
If you, or someone you know, has a stallion that needs to be gelded, please visit our website for more information and to apply for assistance: horseplus.org/gelding.html
Thank you for you support of our rescue and sheltering efforts!