Faith update

[Steph_D]

We've had Faith for 5 weeks now, and she's doing so much better! The saddle sore is almost totally healed up, now it just needs the hair to grow, but the skin looks pink and healthy. She's such a love bug. She's eating 3 cups of equine senior (measured dry, fed soaked) and 2 cups of beet pulp twice a day and getting all the hay she wants. I'm a little confused, though, because in front of her hips seems to be more sunk in than it was a week ago

: I can actually cup my hand around more of her hip bone than I used to be able to. But her backbone is starting to get some fat on it so that's a good thing. Here's the pics, just taken this morning.

Now for the bad news. The people that I got her from have acquired another horse :no: I haven't seen it, but my aunt says it's a beautiful white horse. Yep, it's tied to the same tree that Faith was tied to. I guess they got it sometime between Christmas and New Year's. My aunt said they left for 2 days and that poor horse stood out there nickering for food and water the whole time. They traded this one for a broken down car.

How can I help to stop this? I don't have a clue who's bringing them these horses, but I wish I could find out. The sherriff and humane society won't do anything, so what can I do? I can't stand to hear of another one standing out there starving to death like Faith was. But yet they won't even sell it until it gets in bad shape and they need money, and I can't afford to buy another one in that condition anyway.

 

[Ashley]

When a horse is really under weight like she is they will go through alot of changes before they are back to normal.

That said, I personally would feed her Equine Junior then Senior. I had a mini gelding I tried fore ever to put weight on. I was told to feed senior as it would would work better. It didnt, I actually had better look getting weight gain and steady eatting out of Equine Jr.

I do hope tho you are also still increasing her grain. Also maybe add a touch of oil on her grain, it will help her coat as well as a added bit of fat.

 

[Steph_D]

I do hope tho you are also still increasing her grain. Also maybe add a touch of oil on her grain, it will help her coat as well as a added bit of fat.

Thanks for the advice, Ashley. I'm open to trying just about anything to help her. She's got a week or so left of her senior food, so I might grab a bag of the junior and see if that helps any. We're still increasing her grain, slowly. She started out with just a cup full, twice a day and now she's up to 3 cups. I soak it to get more water into her, plus to make her feel like she's getting more than she actually is. I'm glad to hear that the changes that I'm seeing, while they don't look good to me, are fairly normal.

I also had a question about worming her with ivermectin. I've given her SafeGuard twice now, and have enough for 1 more dose. But when do y'all think I should try giving her ivermectin? It kinda concerns me to give her the ivermectin because I've heard horror stories about using it with starved horses. Or should I try something different before ivermectin? Like I said, I'm open to any suggestions

:

 

[Ashley]

I have never delt with staved horses but I did have a foal/comeing yearling get really really thin on me one year and I didnt relize it. It took me about 5-6 months before she was fully looking normal again. Good weight belly gone, and all that. I used that dewormer on her all the time and it never bothered her. But if your worried call a vet and ask them. They should be able to tell you.

 

[Jill]

Hi, Steph --

I think Ashley is right and the Junior would be better for her than the Senior. I'd also probably be giving her quite a bit more of the grain than she's getting -- just bump her up gradually if you can and if you can feed her 3x a day, that is even more ideal. But, I know that's not always possible and I myself can't feed 3x a day. I think I'd be aiming to have her at two to three times the amount of grain she's now getting (thinking she's a young, full size horse or large pony?).

As to the deworming, what I have always done when we've had a potentially wormy horse is to use the safeguard / panacure but to double dose it and I think for 5 days in a row (??? it's been awhile since I had to). What you do is give them 2x the dose for their weight at one time a day for a number (5?) days in a row to gradually kill off the worms. Once they have finished the Safeguard / Panacure course, then 4-6 weeks later, they (if they are mine) go on the normal routine of Ivermectin.

That's a lucky horse to have found you! I am really sorry to hear that those people have another horse :no:

Jill

 

[kaykay]

equine jr has a lot more fat and calories then sr does. i also agree she can have more then 3 cups per serving. just be sure and increase slowly.

i really dont know what you can do about the previous owners. its terrible that your humane society wont do anything.

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Every time I see her she looks better and better! Great job with her feeding program, nice slow increase, I have an idea...how bout you PM me and we'll see if we can make it work. As for the other horse, it breaks my heart...I would pester the police and humane folks til they get sick of you and go check out the new horse. Great job Stephie!

 

[cameominis]

Every time I see her she looks better and better! Great job with her feeding program, nice slow increase, I have an idea...how bout you PM me and we'll see if we can make it work. As for the other horse, it breaks my heart...I would pester the police and humane folks til they get sick of you and go check out the new horse. Great job Step

She really needs more grain.Their grain should be fead by weight,not volume.She is a full size horse?Increase her grain slowly until she is getting at least 1% of her body weight.

 

[FoRebel]

She's looking much better Steph! :aktion033:

As for the old owners having a new horse, I agree with cameominis, I'd get on the sherrif and Humane Society until they go check it out... Maybe drive by the place and take pictures of what the conditions are and that the horse has no food or water (if you are able to do it from the road). Or maybe talk to the neighbors of the old owners and see if they are willing to take pictures for you. :no: I'd hate to see that new horse they have end up looking like Faith!

 

[Miniv]

I agree with everyone on both counts --

increasing Faith's grain AND be the squeekie wheel with the Humane Society and law enforcement.

Maybe if you drive by their place regularly and snap a photo each time (with a date for each time), and show it to them?

MA

 

[Jill]

I worry if Steph becomes the squeaky wheel, the old owners might take it out on Faith, or on Steph's other animals :no: I'm not sure what the best solution is.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

OK if asking did not work it is time for "crazy horse lady" to come out of the woodwork

Take photos sit on the Sheriff's door step, make a nuisance of yourself.

Call in to see if they have been out there yet, call in to see what they have done/are going to do.

Be polite but be a nuisance.

It also helps if you know exactly what laws they are breaking and can quote them at the Sheriff!!!

Fenbendazole is NOT a good wormer on it's own- it is only really good for getting rid of roundworms in a single dose.

You need a five day, - I would suggest single dose at first- and then ten days later the dose for her weight at the moment, of Ivermectin.

I would do a faecal on her in ten days time (after the Ivermectin) to see what you are up against.

I would give her some bulk in her feed- my starvation case received half her hay ration as chaff, mixed in to a "long" feed.

 

[Steph_D]

The thing is, about the new horse that they have, right now he's fat and sassy. If the police or humane society are going to do anything, it'll be when he starts looking like Faith did :no: I did find some Missouri state laws on animal care, that say the horse has to have clean water, nutritious food, and adequate shelter. I wish I could take pictures. They have big dogs that are known to bite, so I can't go onto the property. And driving by isn't an option because there is a small amount of trees between the house and the road. And if they do have him tied to the same tree Faith was tied to, it'll be hard to see him except from the right position, which is on a curve. The next time I go to my cousin's house, I'll have to get pictures for y'all, to show you what I'm talking about. I don't think they know where I live. I took extra caution to make sure of that. But we live in a small town and I'm right by the highway, so it wouldn't take much to figure it out.

As far as increasing Faith's grain, we're still working on it. I'd like to get her up to 4 cups of grain, fed twice daily, maybe a little more. She's getting bermuda grass hay, which is the best my feed store can get. She's also getting free choice salt and loose minerals, and the occasional carrot as a treat.

 

[Steph_D]

Oh Jesus, the guy that owned Faith before JUST SHOWED UP HERE! So my project for today will be building better gates and getting her under lock and key. I don't trust him at all. The thing is, Faith loves everybody. She comes out to see anyone that comes here. She would NOT come out when he was trying to call her out. She remembers him, and apparently she don't like him. That's my girl!

 

[Miniv]

Got an idea.........

Go up to the curve and snap a photo now while the new horse is fat and sassy.......then go back later when he's losing weight and snap another photo.........(sort of the reverse "before and after" comparison).

Glad that Faith remembers her old owner and "told" you what she thought of him!

MA

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Doggone it, I sure wish he hadn't found you either. You need a few signs up saying recording camera in operation "SMILE". Do lock up tight and as I said..if you need my help I'm here..albeit a long ways but we'll see what we can do if push comes to shove.

 

[~Karen~]

Oh No, Steph! I so wish that he hadn't found you! I'm glad that Faith didn't come out when he called. He doesn't have that right to just start calling for a horse he doesn't own, does he? I don't know how you aquired Faith, I'll have to search around for a post that you may have made (this is my 1st visit on the rescue thread... I actually thought it was a thread completely dedicated to listing horses that need homes and I didn't want to get depressed, but a post header caught my eye. I am now glad that I have come here, it has so much more than just pictures that would make me cry.)

I am so happy that you have Faith and are helping her through this! It makes me ANGRY that those people are so heartless, and have gotten yet another one. :~( And even angrier that authorities aren't doing anything about it either even though it is a law that is being broken.

I may be just spittin' in the wind here with this idea, but could this abuse be reported to animal cops (like the big time ones, i.e. the ones that air a show on t.v. Tell them about what is happening, and it is a repeat offender and the authorities there could care less. They may not be able, personally, to do anything about it, but they may be able to kick the law into motion, and get your local authorities lazy tails up and do something about it.

If you want to go in over your head, you may be able to press charges as a citizen against these people. Just keep records, pictures, and any other documentations you can. Build a case and take them to court.

I just don't know what to say, it just makes me sick that people can be so cruel.

~Karen

 

[Steph_D]

Hi Karen, long story short, my cousin lives across from the people that I got Faith from. She'd told me about her and I asked others and everyone said that she was starving. I went to see her and nearly cried. And of course, they wouldn't sell her at that time. Two weeks later they had a sign up again, advertising her for sale and broke to ride. I called them and got her here with some cash and trades. She'd been tied to a tree with a 10 foot rope (10 feet at the most, sometimes they tied it shorter), so much dirt in her mouth that I couldn't see her teeth, and no horse poop in sight (either her or the dogs were eating it). The pictures don't really show how bad she was, but I'd seen worse online. I've had her for 6 weeks now and she's doing great.

About the other horse that they bought, it's getting bad as well. They've moved it farther away from the highway than they originally had it. When I'd drove by, I could only see it's head, now it can't be seen at all. But my aunt and cousin can still hear it calling for someone to bring it some food and water :no: They traded an old car for this one. And even if they would sell it, I can't afford to buy another one. The stupid sheriff's office won't do a thing. I even called the humane society and they wouldn't do anything. I might have to check out some web sites and see if I can get something done.

We have another cold snap coming in and I'm so glad that Faith is safe and warm here. I just feel so bad for that other horse

 

[whitney]

In Michigan we have an organization called Horses Haven. These are the people I called about some starving thoroughbreds I discovered while assessing their property. Horses Haven does not take no for an answer. We moved out over 35 horses........Every agency was involved local police, humane society, state police etc. etc. etc. Find an organization like that in your area. Pictures in the local news paper might work too.

As far as the prior owner....................Holy GOD after I got done with him he'd be scarred I was CRAZY and would fear I might lock him in a cold dark place to starve to death if he EVER returned.

 

[tracerace]

I'm just wonering if you know how the new horse is doing?

The old skinny mare I had been trying to get away from her owners finally died. She was always standing in the same place when I drove by....last week I couldn't see her, but saw the gate was wide opened. I asked a neighbor and they said she died. It broke my heart.......I couldn't get anyone to help her.