A new arrival.

(in the trailer, on the way to the LCC)

Yesterday afternoon Victoria received a call from a wonderful woman, who we will call 'T.' T had a starving Percheron stallion that she had rescued who she could no longer afford to feed. Victoria wrote the story from here:

"What were the odds that we would end up with TWO starving Percheron stallions at the same time? And in both cases, that we would be the second tier rescue? Well, I'm not sure what the odds were, but the fact is that it has happened.
King was an Amish-bred Percheron who was purchased as a two year old by a man who used him as a herd stud. The stallion wandered lush fields breeding mares, not a care in the world...
Until one day, when he was sold to a less than caring man who put the beautiful black stallion out in a tiny dirt pen. There were too many horses on the farm and not enough food. The lovely horse's light began to fade as famine took the helm. His slow decent into hell was accelerated when he fell through a rotten floor in an old dog kennel that served as his shelter. Not so much "fell through" this floor as became ensnared by it. His right front hoof was through the floor boards and stuck. He lay on the planks until his owner told the employees to wrap him in electric fence and turn it on. "He'll get himself out of there." He figured the pain would shock him into fighting himself free. It did not. He simply lay there in a quivering heap. Only at this point did it occur to them to chainsaw out the offending boards, freeing the previously electrocuted prisoner.
At this point I couldn't believe my ears! They did what to this horse??? You couldn't make this kind of stuff up!
King's front hoof was a mess, his hide stretched tight over his bony frame, his face covered in fungus. He was continuing to lose weight. T finally convinced the owner that King must have cancer. The owner agreed to allow T to take him to the vet, and bury him if he did have cancer. Well, lucky for King, all he had was a lack-of-grocery-itis. T took him home to her farm on July 8th. She has patiently been helping him regain his strength and well-being since. When he arrived at her farm, he was so weak, he traveled the entire 1 1/2 hours laying down in her trailer. Without T's patience, love, kindness, and financial support, King would NOT have pulled through! What a guardian angel!
King has gained about 200 pounds since he arrived at T's farm. He still needs to gain at least 200-300 more to be a healthy horse. He is sound and has a heart of gold. Tomorrow he'll become a gelding and start his retraining to be a contributing member of the equine society."

How lucky is that!! Another starving Percheron. We can never turn away a starvation case.... here are photos of King from when he was sold to WV, exactly a year ago yesterday:



King in July:





King tonight... with his new stall buddy Brutus, skinny pre-grooming picture, and post-grooming pic. (What a difference a brush makes!)


Triumph was SUCH A GOOD BOY today... what a SMART boy he is. I put him in the crossties for the first time EVER - no big deal for him. He got a thorough grooming, and then he learned to pick up his feet. I say 'learned'.... it took him all of two tries to 'get it.' Let me hold and pick out all four feet. He is a really gentle, smart horse. I also figured out that treats are a great motivator for him to keep his attention on me. The leading is coming along so nicely. He leads absolutely perfectly and is super responsive, except for when he decides it is time to go somewhere else, and he just drags me there. SO, the treats worked fantastic, he could look and neigh a little, but he only got a treat when he 'whoa'd politely and backed two steps. Yay! Tomorrow I'll try it without any chain at all. I still had the chain on in case he started dragging me, but I didn't have to use it at all today.


I also took Tracker out for a little ride. Tracker is a really cute little QH who is just as sweet and easy going as can be. He rides in a side pull. He really doesn't like ring work. I took him in the arena first, and I had to use a crop to get him to canter. He wasn't bad, he just was laaaaazy. We went out on the trails across the road for a minute after, and he was like a different horse. Really fun to ride. He would make such a nice trail horse for someone. He's the right height for a trail horse too - easy to get on and off of! His eyes look silly in this pic because the neighbors behind us were revving 4-wheelers....


Schatzee and I tried out the creek across the road too, and she didn't mind leaving the barnyard by herself or the traffic. It was dusk, and I was worried about a black horse and a rider in a black t-shirt being in the woods, so we made it quick, but I'll try again for a bit tomorrow. I wanted to take Charmer out across the road too, but ran out of time. Bummer!

Have a good Tuesday... I am finally getting to bed!!