I would like to introduce three horses to you. After reading this, please pass it along to any horse/animal lovers you know.
They live on John’s Island and share a farm with a couple of Great Danes, a few cats and a wonderful lady named Sara. A single woman would find it hard to keep up with the work these horses require but Sara by herself does all the care and training. Of course it is expensive so I am asking that we all try our best to help her with their needs. I figure if one lady can do all the work maybe we can help financially with donations or feed etc.
Please open your hearts to these wonderful creatures!
Thank you,
Celia Eade
Arteca
Arteca is a 7 year old Puncheron. Now weighing 1800 lbs. she is thriving in her new environment but she was a lot to handle upon entry needing nourishment, medical attention and a whole lot of training. She would not let anyone close to her. Imagine standing next to 1800 pounds and having to gain her trust and respect.
Arteca is a now a majestic vision to behold. Happily grazing each day, knowing she is surrounded by love and safety.
Arteca’s Wish List:
Seminole Grain ( Safe and Light), orchard grass, Seminole alfalfa pellets and Timothy and Alfalfa cubes.
Arteca needs bute, MSM supplements, Veterycin for eyes, aspirin (horses doses), peppermint oil, garlic powder, ginger, and Vitamin C. A draft size or warmblood blanket 89–90”. Arteca’s Farrier fee is 35.00
Tolly
Tolly is a horse that traveled far and endured much before coming to the farm. He is a 10 year old thoroughbred gelding with a long pedigree line. In Illinois he had three owners and countless trainers. After sustaining a back injury from one of the trainers due to his inexperience he was put on stall “rest” and kept in a stable for 2 years and 9 months but then they classified him a nutcase and his sentence was to be euthanized.
A local stable manager saw him on the web and decided to ship him here. After only a few weeks she decided he was going to have to be euthanized also.
That is when the farm owner decided to attempt his rehabilitation. Little did she know that his transport in the horse trailer to the farm was going to be another horrendous incident in Tolly’s life and the prophetic straw that nearly broke the camels back. The stable manager did not feed him for three consecutive days and thought that by doing this he would go easily in the trailer once his food was put in there. He did just that thinking he was going to be fed but to his horror the trailer door was slammed shut and he went into escape mode losing his footing and banging around trying to find his way out. By the time he arrived at the farm he had nearly lost all trust in humanity or the lack of it and was extremely hard to handle. The stable manager laughed as she recounted his transport story to the farm owner and he was unloaded as quickly as possible.
Even though this horse had a life of ignorant owners, inexperienced trainers and horrible unnatural punishments he has come a long way. I am told he is a work in progress but from what I saw he was perfection, he loves the farm owner and she loves him. He follows her around the pastures and they have daily long walks. He announces when he is hungry and his feed is providowner’s pets. How wonderful that he finally found a home with an owner who understood what love and patience can accomplish in a few months time.
Tolly’s Wish List:
Seminole Perform Safe, Seminole Alfalfa
Pellets and Timothy Cubes and orchard grass. Tolly needs Carafate for ulcers, Soybean oil, Ginger and garlic powder, Quest Plus Moxidectin) Wormer 4 tubes. An extra special treat would be a blanket 84-86”. Special Note: Tolly needs a farrier for only 30.00.
Baby, the wonder pony!
This is Baby, the wonder pony! I was amazed to see how far she had come under the Farms special care. Being a Dane rescuer for more then a decade, the abuse I have seen is horrific but this mare suffered as much of not more then any animal I have known. She is a wonder to me and all who have the privilege of meeting her. J was amazed as I pulled up to the ranch to see this mare hanging out in the yard with no fencing. Baby is so content and even at her age of 32 she has a lot of love to give and she is an equal opportunity lover!
Baby’s vet, who has handled many abuse cases was quick to say that Baby was the worst case she ever saw. She was found on the same rundown farm in Hemingway, SC as Arteca. The preacher/owner had a very beautiful home with a nice barn...but in this barn there was a home of horrors. The stalls darkly enclosed rows of yearlings, one, two, three, and four year old Quarter Horses, standing in their own manure cowered in back corners. It was clear that this is how their lives were spent. Then there Baby was…standing nearly comatose in a tiny, dry paddock was what I first didn’t even recognize as a horse. So taking no action was not an option, the decision was to have charges pressed or get the mare and try to save what was left of her life. The Farm owner did the latter and Baby could hardly make it to the Farm.
Baby had been forcibly bred every year of her life in order to make babies for sale. But now in her old age she had been discarded in this dirt cage for over two years (the vet suggests) and literally starved to death. Her lumbar vertebrae were showing and that is horrible emaciation. It was only by her own determination that she was still able to stand. instinctively knowing that to lay down was never to get up again.
The vet examination showed Baby in her early 30’s. with hardly any teeth. This vet had been involved in one of the worst abuse cases in SC history but relayed to me that Baby was probably the worst he had ever seen, the emaciation was so complete, her digestive system had completely shut down, extensive organ damage was to be expected, and these weren’t even the most immediate concerns. She was suffering from exposure, serious pneumonia, an almost fatal parasite load, a systemic fungal infection, and an advanced bacterial uterine infection. No one thought she could make it and the vet offered that she be given a comfortable place to die. But somewhere behind the glassy, runny eyes the Farm owner saw a spark of determination and was inspired.
It began with a small handful of mash every two hours, around the clock, and it was enough to convince her to fight. Told that colic was inevitable even if she began to eat and treating her parasites was enough to kill her, Baby would not give up! One step forward two steps back. But she simply refused to give up her life and she was prepared to fight to the end.
So, at the astounding age of 34ish Baby lives in the front yard. She stands sunning herself and awaiting her 3:00 feeding. No fences needed she isn’t going anywhere; she is at home and in peace. Because she has no teeth with which to eat grass and hay Baby requires all of her food in “loose oatmeal” form and due to the scarring of her
digestive system she can only manage small meals fed frequently throughout the day. Her little body displays the scars of a truly terrible life. She walks on once broken bones, ruptured tendons, torn ligaments, and chronic hoof infection that never saw medical attention. It takes a whole lot of nutritional and medical support but somehow this triumphant old gal musters up enough spunk to be often mistaken as a baby. She truly is a wonder pony!
Baby’s Wish List:
Wellness Senior mix, Timothy and Alfalfa pellets,
1 gallon of mineral oil, Seminole Ultra Bloom/Rice Supplement, MSM Supplement, Finish Line Fura Free ointment. Her farrier fee is 30.00. She would love a 74-76” high neck or full winter blanket.
