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rescuing animals
(I'm feeling determined)
in the words of Candie
and through the lense of her camera
if you ever have the chance to adopt an animal in need.
the story of apache pony - I'm Alive
For 5 1/2 years before Jesse died, I swore when he went NO MORE HORSES. I couldn't go thru the heartache and pain I'd gone thru with him, not to mention the expense.
Jesse died Feb 18, 2007. I kept my word for exactly 6 days. I called my friend to tell her that Jesse had died. She asked if I wanted another pony to keep Cisco company. I said "NO". She told me about Apache aka Patchy Pony. She had gotten him the day after Thanksgiving 2006 and didn't think he would live thru the night. He had been starved and was dehydrated. He leaned against the trailer wall the whole way home. She didn't tell her husband about him for 2 weeks and kept him hidden, he looked so bad. She said she would give him to me because she knew I'd give him the loving home he needed and deserved. She said that she wouldn't give him to just anybody either. It had to be somebody who could and would feed him and care for him in a special way.
She brought him over Feb 24. He was a sorry sight to see. She'd been feeding him for about 3 months and you could still count every rib and his hip bones stuck up even with his long, shaggy coat. His head was too big for his body and it hung down a lot. So basically, the front end hung down and the hip bones stuck up. One of my friends loaned him a blanket until I could get him one that fit. When she saw him, she said it was a good thing he was so far back from the road and had a blanket on or somebody would have turned me into the SPCA for starving him. I worked with my vet to feed him properly as I'd never rehabbed a starved horse like this before.
People were so kind to him. A friend from the EPM board had an friend who was looking for somebody who needed a blanket and sheet. His horse had outgrown them and he wanted to give them away. My friend from the EPM board shipped them up to him from NC. They were a little big but I was so grateful for them and he was nice and warm since he had no body fat to keep him warm at all. A friend from work wanted to help and paid for his eye surgery. Some other friends gave each pony a matching halter and lead line, shampoos and all kinds of nice gifts for them and me.
Three weeks after Jesse died, my sister died. I was in the paddock one afternoon while off for my sister's death, brushing him. He was standing there with his eyes squinted shut. I looked at him and brushed fast so I could take him back in the stall. I went in and called the vet. She came the next day for his eyes. He has Cataracts and his pupils are dilated open permanently. I asked her what the spot was on his eyelid. She wasn't sure and said to hit him hard with Ivermectin in the hopes it was parasitic. It wasn't parasitic. She didn't want to do anything with his eyelid herself so she referred us to New Bolton. I talked to the Opthamologist and e-mailed her pictures of his eye. She thought, without seeing him in person, that it looked like Squamous Cell Carcinoma. She and my vet consulted and we set up an appt for surgery. It was set for May 1, 2007. On Apr 30, Patchy Pony, Cisco and I went down and stayed with my college roommate. We hadn't seen each other for years so it was great to see each other again. New Bolton had said Cisco could come along too since I had to bring him down. I was afraid he'd freak really bad after losing Jesse. That little pony came unglued when they came to take Jesse's body away. Cisco had glued himself to Patchy Pony's side the morning we were to go to New Bolton so he went too. One of the senior residents did the surgery and found another smaller SCC on his lower lid. They also unblocked a tear duct. He had only been sedated and did so well we all 3 went home the day after. The 2 ponies were the hit of the day at New Bolton! Everybody loved them. I'd brought down 2 weeks worth of feed - just in case. Everybody thought the ponies would be down here at least a week.
Since then he's grown stronger and gained a lot of weight. You can see the progression in the pictures. He's got a lot of energy now and once he knows his way around, I forget he doesn't see well. My vet thought he could maybe see light but everything was blurry because of the Cataracts. The Opthamologist told me sometimes the muscles to the Iris's atrophy in older horses and the pupils are permanently dilated. I've seen him gallop around full speed ahead many times without running into things. I do put a fly mask on him when he goes out just to give him some protection from the light.
The last pictures were taken on Dec 31, 2007 a little over 10 months after I got him. I'm sure Jesse sent him into my life. Not only to keep Cisco company but so I'd have somebody to take care of since Jesse was on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge looking down on us.
I put his sheet on him for the first time this winter yesterday. I wanted to put them out in the morning but it was still pretty cold and the wind had a bite to it. As soon as I walked in the stall and put it on his back, he let out the biggest, happiest, most content sigh and didn't move a muscle. As I let every strap out from where they'd been last spring, he'd turn around and nuzzle me when he could reach me as if to thank me for putting his sheet on.
I still miss Jesse terribly and think I always will but I love Patchy Pony just as much in a different way. My friend told me several times that I saved his life. I'm glad I had the chance and was able to help him too. I think that's one of the reasons I'm on this earth - to help a few special needs horses. If I had more time, space and definitely more money, I'd help more. At least I can help a few.
That's our story. Not brief by any means but do what you need to with it.
Maudie
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