REHABILITATION AND NEGLECT CASES

Rescue
The sparkle of life has long since left my tired eyes
Years of neglect have brought me here
A steel hand is all that I have felt
The bang of an auction gavel sealed my fate
The huge steel truck stands before me
But a golden ray of sunshine comes upon me
A soft voice whispers in my drooping ears
A gentle hand touches my tired withers
Although I flinch, I do not feel the sting of a whip
Calming words and a soothing voice ease my fears
A halter and lead rope are gently placed on me
Another trailer stands before me now, I am urged to go inside
I struggle with fear and pull back hard on the rope
Awaiting harsh words and whip lashes, I pull harder
But no harsh words hurt my ears
No sting from the whip piercing my skin
I only hear more gentle soothing words
With fear and trepidation, I step into the trailer
My entire body quivers in fear
A huge mound of fresh green hay awaits me
At my destination, I am gently led into a stall with deep, soft bedding
A trough of clear, cool water to drink from
A feed tub with fresh gain awaits me
I peek out my stall door to a pasture of lush green grass
I wonder to myself, "Is this the Rainbow Bridge?"
The horse in the stall next to me nickers,
"No, it's an EQUINE RESCUE."
Author = Anon

Buck

My Name is Buck - short for Bucket. I just arrived at eagle hill farm on the 7th of November when Culpeper Animal Control found out that my elderly owners were no longer able to take care of me. They often forgot to feed me and because I am an older horse, about 25 I think, they felt I would be better off here.

Since my arrival I have gained 80 pounds and am beginning to enjoy my life so much more. The vet has told Annie and the rest of the people who help out here, that I need to have my teeth filed down, but I must gain a total of 200 pounds before that will be safe for me. We are all hoping that can be done sometime in early January.

I have already received my booster shots and completed a power pack worming program. And, oh yes, on the 30th of November I had my feet trimmed. Boy do they feel good! Thanks Ernie!

We are keeping very close watch on my progress both here and on the website. You can see below some photos of me the day I arrived and we will add new photos every few weeks. Please watch to see how well I am doing. My weight chart will also be updated regularly.

Thanks for stopping by to admire me.

UPDATE 15 December

I am affectionately known as "Old Man" now and as you can see I am looking much healthier these days, and have gained 135 pounds. Since the moment I stepped on the trailer headed to Eagle Hill Farm all I have known is the gentle love of everyone who has laid eyes on me. I now enjoy a life I could have never imagined. I have the largest stall in the heated barn with nice thick bedding. I am fed a wonderful senior feed four times a day along with soaked alfalfa cubes which I am particularly fond of. On cooler days I can be found munching the grass in front of the barn sporting my blanket that keeps me nice and warm. I am very animated in my expressions and have now taught everyone exactly what I want. I am always a gentleman but have learned how to give them "the look" until I get my way. I keep everyone laughing with my expressions I will keep you updated on my progress. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas - Buck

Please look at my new pictures taken 6 weeks after I arrived here at Eagle Hill Farm

		Hi, My dear friend Robin helped me write to Santa on a stocking a few weeks ago and hung it over my stall. I so wanted carrots for Christmas. Aunt Michelle knew that would never work, since my dental appointment is not until the 5th of January, so she left a note letting him know that what I really could use is a new winter blanket that fit just me. Low and behold the nicest, warmest, and handsomest of all blankets was outside my stall on Christmas morning. I just had to share with you how proud I am wearing it as I spend the chilly mornings grazing along the driveway. Purple is my favorite color you know! Everyone stops and admires it - or maybe they are just stopping to see how much weight I have gained! I have heard stories going around the barn that when my teeth are floated I should begin to gain even more. I will hoof a thank-you note to Robin and Michelle for helping to get me just the right present and I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday Season and that 2007 brings you all great joy. Old Man
Buck's New Winter Coat Just for Him	Buck's X-mas Stocking with His Own Picture On It	Compare Buck's Head Now to When He First Arrived

Sinbad

Sinbad is a 15.3 Bay tattooed TB gelding without current registration papers. His coggins shows him as an 8 year old, but his tattoo places him at 10 years old. He came to us from an auction. He is a work in progress and is quite underweight. Dental exam discovered a rotten front tooth with hooks 3/4 inch long on his back teeth. His teeth were floated and he had had a second floating a few months later. This coupled with a Panacure Power Pack series for worms made him more comfortable, and helped him gain much needed weight. He certainly seemed happy to have had is feet attended to as well.

We will include updated photos to chart his progress. He is a dream to work around, very friendly, and hopefully will find a wonderful home in a few months to return to his duty as a riding horse.

Sinbad has gained around 250 pounds now and as soon as all the shedding horses quit looking like molting camels, we will have some pictures up. He is very friendly and has nice ground manners. He has definitely had some training because when being ridden in the round pen, he would flex and get right up on the bit. But, Sinbad is NOT for the faint of heart. Right now he is a feeling good and we suspect he was once a field hunter or a jumper. We will continue to do his groundwork now and then and let him get up to weight.

May we re-introduce Sinbad our faster than lightning TB. Quite a change in his looks and you should see him run! We have had him under saddle a few times and done some ground work with him. He has most likely been in the hunt field, but I imagine was hard to control. He is extremely fast and strong. We will need to find him an owner who will ride him quietly.

Clicking on the image will bring up a larger picture of Sinbad who has found his new, forever home and been adopted.

THANKS

Thanks was a drop-off. This is her story.

All pictures were taken the first few days before she went down even though they are placed with the text throughout the story

Thanksgiving Day 24 November 2005 Welcome “Thanksgiving” to Eagle Hill Farm. Thanks arrived late this afternoon from a most concerned equine friend who had just convinced someone to “give” her this weanling. (Really does not appear to be a weanling with that long mane). We were told that there are three others that the same “farmer” might consider getting rid of - hope that is the case if they too look like this one. All were “purchased” sometime late summer and apparently, as you can see from the photo, this one is so, so skinny, full of rainrot and weak as a kitten. She is a solid bay filly and truly in dire straights. Our vet has been alerted and will be here on Monday unless we run into a serious problem. She is not terribly wild, and seems to spend most of her time enjoying a clean, dry stall, eating a bit of grain and hay and catching up on much needed sleep. We have restricted the amount of grain to a cup at a time so as not to tax her system. She is in overall terrible condition, but with a heart of gold and a will to live. Amazingly, her feet are not in bad shape. We will keep tabs on her every 2 hours around the clock.
Friday 25 November 2005 Thanks is eating and her body functions appear to be working well. Her gums are pink, her temperature is normal and she seems to be enjoying seeing us every two hours – day and night. We introduced her to a blanket this afternoon and she almost seemed to wrap herself into the warmth it provided her. Thanks gave us no problems putting it on today which certainly was not the case yesterday. She seems to understand that we are trying to help her out.
Saturday 26 November 2005 At our 8 o’clock check up on our new girl we found her down in her stall for the first time, but alert and anxious to get grain. We encouraged her to get up and though she tried, she just did not have the strength to do it. We called our vet who arrived within 30 minutes. Her body temperature was down to 97.4. He administered warmed IV’s and stayed with us for well over two hours. We saw a marked improvement in her reactions to us and her willingness to eat grain and drink water. We supported her with bales of hay which helped with her breathing. Meds were prescribed and we are hoping to see a marked improvement.
Sunday 27 November 2005 The Vet was back this morning. Thanks is still down and even with the help of four people we cannot get her to support her own weight. Temperature is now in the normal range. More IV’s were given and the results of her CBC were not all that bad. She remains alert and is being such a fighter. She is eating more grain and has no problems drinking and all body functions appear to be working well. She is getting ever so tame with all the love that she is being given. She nickers when you approach her stall and is delighted when someone sits on a bale of hay and strokes her neck and head. She has lost all fear of people in such a short time – even though so many recent encounters with humans have brought needles and prodding. We continue monitoring her every 2 hours around the clock. She is so brave and such a fighter.
Monday 28 November 2005 8 AM found Thanks no better, but no worse. She attempted to get up this morning, but again did not have the strength to hold her own weight. She had a wonderful breakfast and enjoyed being around the group of volunteers that were here to support her needs. At 9AM the vet called to inform us that he and two collegues were about to leave the clinic to stop by and evaluate her condition and try to get her up. As I looked into her stall I noticed that she had fallen asleep with her head propped up on a hay bale. To my greatest dismay – she had actually fallen asleep and passed away.

Thanks was the fourth “drop-off” foal that we have received in the two years of our operation. Three had latter stage strangles – all were undernourished, and at deaths door. If not for the outstanding team of veterinarians, all would have died. Two are now lovely yearlings who you would never know had started off in such terrible conditions. The third never lived long enough for the vet to arrive and now we have the story of Thanks.

We never heard back from the lady who brought us Thanks. We kept hoping to see her drive back on the farm with the three remaining babies, this never happened. We don’t know her name or where she lives. She has a heart of gold – but didn’t want to get more involved. I know she will continue attempting to help needy animals whenever she can, and we have let her know we will accept responsibility for any equine she brings us.

PLEASE, PLEASE, if you see, hear, or know of any horses that are in need of help call your local animal control office, SPCA, Veterinarian Clinic, the non-emergency police dispatchers or someone immediately! Time is of the essence in these cases. Two additional days of care could possibly have saved Thanks. There are so many people who will help these needy cases, but we must be made aware of them. Animal neglect is handled much like child abuse – you do not need to leave your name or number, just provide them with as much information as you can and they will take it from there.

Thanks, Thanks for sharing a bit of your life with us. Thank too to our Vets and Volunteers. Thanks to those who have brought us foals they were no longer financially able to care for. Thanks to those who are concerned about animal welfare. And Thanks to you for reading this and perhaps sharing it with a friend. We all need to be aware of the plight of neglect.

Mork and Mindy

Mork and Mindy arrived at Eagle Hill Farm on 6 April, 2006 having been placed with us by our local Animal Control. They were surrendered by their owner late that morning.
The following photos were taken on 7 April just after their first vet check. CBC's were run and we are delighted to report all tests were within normal limits. They were given a small amount of wormer - repeated two days later, and will soon be given a Panicure Power Pack Treatment.
Mindy will need dental care and is about 13 years old. Mork the darker and much larger gelding appears to be about 7 or 8. Both are rated as 1 ½ on the Henneke scale.
There are currently enjoy free choice hay, and being fed 4 times a day. Mindy took to the grain immediately, but it appeared that Mork had to relearn how good it really was and barely touched his for the first two days. We are hand grazing them on the new spring grass twice a day now in hopes of getting them adjusted to something other than a total dry lot they had been living on.
Shots will be given in about 3 weeks but they must put on some weight before we can proceed with that. Mindy arrived weighing 620 pounds and Mork just barely 700. Both horses are friendly and enjoy being groomed, however Mork is a little shy around men. Neither appears to have been physically abused.
Please keep checking back on their progress. Hopefully with time they will both find wonderful homes and enjoy trail rides with their loving family

Mork

Mindy

Mork Before

Look at Me Now!

Mork is now #180 pounds heavier, had a panicure power pack treatment for worms, his feet were recently done, he is current on all shots and coggins, had is teeth completely floated, and will soon be ready to determine his riding potential. He still has about #125 pounds to gain, but will soon be available for adoption. Mindy will be having a dental visit in a few weeks which should help her to gain some more weight. Pictures will follow after her dental treatment(s).

Mork and Mindy have been adopted together and soon will go to their new forever home. Hooray!!!!!!! This is a picture of Mindy after her stay at Eagle Hill.

Mindy Before

Mindy After

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