A lot has been happening at the TN shelter, please enjoy this “catch-up” blog.
Chance, the skinny stallion rescued from the auction, was heading to the vet to be gelded. Lydie and Tawnee loaded him up.
Riley was also going to the vet for his checkup. They both had looks of bewilderment loading up into the trailer. Where were they going this time, they wondered.
At the vet’s office Riley checked out just fine. We are very happy that he is doing A-OK.
Chance was off in la-la land as he was being gelded. His gelding operation was quite successful and before long he was waking up.
After the trailer ride back to the shelter, Chance carefully stepped out. Don’t worry, not every trailer ride will take you to the vet, and never again for that procedure!
Some of our staff and some volunteers attended a protest at a Tennesse Walking show, standing up against the soring that happens to Tennessee Walking Horses to get them ready to compete in the Big Lick shows.
One of the guys at the protest had a very educational, well thought out sign. It showed a Tennessee Walking Horse’s hooves, wrapped with horrible chemicals, with chains tied around it, and the words “Soring Horses is a Felony – You Could be Next!” with handcuffed hands. It definitely got the point across!
We are very happy that our group could join in and stand up with a lot of other people to stand against this cruel, barbaric practice that goes on all the time. One of the protesters (not one of our staff or volunteers) was almost deliberately ran over by one of the big trainers at the event, to read a news article about it, click here.
Venus, one of the horses we rescued at an auction in TN, was still wearing the platform shoes. She had been dumped by the TWH industry because she wasn’t good enough.
The ridiculous shoes were removed and she is really enjoying just being a horse. It’s really neat seeing her personality come out. At first she was extremely withdrawn and fearful of humans.
Thankfully she has had no visible damage to her tendons from the platform shoes. The only thing we have noticed is that her hoof line is growing in differently. It could be from the chemicals applied to her leg during her “training” before she was dumped.
Those horrible days are behind her and she can just enjoy being a horse from now on. Prince, her buddy, has become her best friend. He was also rescued from the auction and is now in adoption pending.
There was a Craigslist ad that we found very concerning. 3 horses needed to be sold together as soon as possible, and one was said to be lame. They had to be sold together, for only $350 for all three. We were very fearful that these horses could be shipped to slaughter, so we contacted the owner and agreed to purchase the horses.
When we arrived we found the three horses looking sad and needing to be rescued.
The horses definitely needed some groceries. This horse is only 2.5-3 years old.
The Palamino, said to be lame from an old injury, was so happy when she was led out of her stall. She immediately started eating.
The third horse had to be picked up at another location, but soon they were all in the trailer and headed to the shelter.
On the way back to the shelter the rescue rig passed numerous Amish horses and buggies. Our shelter is located near Amish communities and we are hoping to make outreach programs for the retiring Amish horses. As it is now, many of them just get in touch with a shipper and he sends them to slaughter. The Amish just don’t have a lot of resources for placing retired horses.
After backing up to the unloading chute, the horses came out one by one.
It was hard looking at Honey, the Palamino. She was so skinny! We knew that would change quickly with good feed and care.
Lydie and a volunteer got to work settling them in.
We have had some pretty amazing transformations at our TN shelter. Chance, the stallion who was gelded earlier in the blog, was extremely skinny when we rescued him back at the end of April.
On June 17 you could really see that he is making huge gains towards being healthy! He still has some weight to go but he is looking so much better!
Riley, also rescued in April, was sad and bedraggled, and needing some food.
One June 22 it was hard to believe he is the same horse.
This is Honey when she was rescued on June 12.
On June 24 she looks a lot different! We are really amazed how well the horses recover with all the green grass of Tennessee.
We had a big farrier day, our farrier’s are a group of great horseman who are old-order Mennonite. They rely on horses for their livelihood, and really know how to take great care of them. They are some of the best farriers we have seen and were really nice and gentle to the horses.
Jasper the donkey was really rough on them. He wasn’t keen on having his hooves trimmed. They patiently worked with him, and soon he was standing still, waiting for them to be done.
They worked quickly and efficiently, and before long all the horses at the TN shelter were trimmed.
Riley and Jasper were adopted! We are so happy for them!
You can now view the available animals at our TN shelter on our website, click here.
Thank you all so much for your support! As we expand across the nation, and help horses across the nation, we need your support now more than ever.