Kelli, April 25, 2005
Kelli, April 25, 2005
Kelli and Libby
Kelli and Libby
Kelli and Libby
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Giving Back to Our Equine Friends: Kelli's Story
In April we were watching the news on TV when they covered a story of horses being seized in Wake County and showed them being coaxed on a trailer. It was horrible and they looked near death. We were outraged as was everyone else. There were dead horses in this pasture that had starved to death. We got a call a few weeks later asking if we had room for another foster horse. We are pretty packed but couldn't turn them down. The only rub was that this horse was pregnant and in bad shape. We said we would do it knowing that either the mare or foal or both could die but how can you not give them a chance. My husband and I went to pick her up and were startled at her appearance but this girl got right in the trailer even though she was shaking and nervous. I kept telling my husband to drive faster because I was afraid she would go down in the trailer. These horses are usually untrusting of people and some have aggressive habits from having to fight for food but Kelli was so trusting of us from day one. All we could do was feed her (a lot) and love her and try to clean her up. The vet thought (no way to know exactly) she was about two months away from foaling. Her backbone was so bad you could almost put your fingers around and touch. Her front and hind quarters were totally emaciated and she had sores from laying down because her bones stuck out so bad. Her feet were turned up and cracked and her hair was falling out from malnutrition. Still, in all this misery she responded to us and calls out to us every morning when she knows someone is up and about.
July 4th weekend came. I had been checking her every night but she had not waxed. I had all the meds and supplies ready by her pen and had phone numbers of helpers ready. The night of July 3 I decided not to check her because she had not waxed. Something got me out of bed – couldn't go back to sleep so I decided to walk up to the barn. SURPRISE! Kelli had just had a beautiful, black filly with a white star. She is all legs and looks like a spider. But, everyone was fine and Kelli is an awesome mom.She will probably drop weight again while Liberty (Libby) is nursing but afterwards she should gain rapidly.
Libby is beautiful, still getting the hang of those legs. Our entire family has enjoyed watching her run, buck and sometimes crash land in their paddock. So that she has a playmate we will keep one of our weanlings up in this barn for her. Parting with both of them will be really hard when they get adopted.
Libby Update, May 2006
Kelli, Libby's mom, went to a new foster home in Virginia so we could
wean Libby and get her adopted out. In November my daughter tragically
lost her show horse and we were all devastated. After flip flopping back
and forth with the rescue league we finally decided to keep her and Christie
will take her on as a show prospect. Then this winter she became very
ill and had an awful abscess under her jaw. We immediaatly thought the
worst (the "S" word) so quarantined her and the vet lanced
the abscess. It turned out not to be strangles and it cleared up. Then
this spring she stuck her head between the gate and fence post and badly
injured her eye. While waiting for the vet Burta noticed her lips didn't
work. It turns our she damaged nerves on both sides of her face which
paralyzed her lips. She also couldn't blink her right eye and had a deep
corneal puncture. She was put on a very aggressive massive steroid regimen
which would compromise her immune system so we had to make sure she didn't
get around any sniffles or coughs. She had to learn how to eat mashed
and wet food (yuck) and we had to rinse her mouth out twice a day and
give eye drops three times a day. She's on regular food now and has improved
greatly. She has about a 90% blink and only a little droop on the left
side of her mouth. She's one lucky girl. She just had her first bath
and what a fiasco that was!
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