Sorry for the picture quality but I wanted to include photographic evidence of Bodhi's breakthrough!
Well this weekend was a roller coaster ride of emotions! First the good news:
Two of the other boarders rode Bodhi this weekend. It is always nice to see your horse being ridden by other people. He had a bit of a ponytude at first and was doing a lot of bulging and refusing to turn. What a buggar! They reached an understanding soon enough though and got some nice work done. One of the things I wanted them to try was to get that left lead. They were amazed at how balanced he is on his right lead going to the left. He really has an amazing counter canter! They could not get him to pick up the left lead either. Bummer. They however thought to ask him for a flying (why didn't I think of that!) and he gave it to them-consistantly! My four year old can do a flying! I was very impressed. So I guess our new game plan is to practice our flying changes to build up strength on his left side. Hopefully this means the left lead canter will be comming soon. We set up a little cross rail course for him as well, as I wanted their opinions on how Bodhi is progressing over fences (they are jumper people). He did great for them, and is even starting to develop some grace over fences. He took one 2 ft verticle at the end of their ride with no problem. What an improvement to my nervous little clutz. I guess he has a future as a hunter pony after all- and who knows maybe cross country? I am so stoked!
On to the bad news-
I went out to grab a few of my things left at my old barn. I talked a little bit about what happened in this post here. Besides the things I found at her farm I have been taking the end of our friendship pretty hard. It really hurts to be ignored and forgotten and I have been having a pretty hard time of it. I have been trying to avoid seeing or talking to her to save myself the heart ache.
I had not seen her horses since I left in June. It looks like they had not had their feet done since I left. I am also aware they have not seen the vet as the vet has called me conserned. The older fellow who was in bad shape when I left is now worse- I would say a 1 on the weight scale though I am not a vet. He was gaining weight slowly back from his founder episode with a lot of beat pulp, senior and alfafa. I wanted him to be fed three times daily though she was not up for that. There was only senior at the farm now, no beet pulp, no alfafa or even hay. They do have some grass left but not enough for an oldman like this guy. His feet were horrific. His toes are insanely long, and one of his front feet was warm. There were flies everywhere, and the stalls were dirty. I was devastated. What am I going to do now? I think I will call her parents (she lives on their property) or my vet. I have not decided yet. At this point the old man is bad enough to be charged for it. I do not want to be a "tattle", or get her in trouble but this has to stop. I have a broken heart over this, I have not slept since I saw it. Everytime I close my eyes I see the poor old man. I have to figure out what to do and fast. I am so torn.
If you have to get someone in trouble to save the horses - particularly the old one - do it even if it's hard. An emaciated horse would likely be immediately taken by the animal services. Start with who you're comfortable calling but it sounds like this may be a situation that can't wait too long. Very sorry you had to see that.
ReplyDeleteGlad your boy is progressing well!
Thanks for the support Kate. I wish I had the resources to take them myself. These horses mean the world to me and I hate to see them neglected. I am going to call around to get some actions started as soon as I get off work.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is a tough spot. I can't imagine how sad you must feel to have seen that. Are her parents horse people who would recognize the immediacy of the situation once it was brought to their attention? If so, I'd start there. If not, then I think I'd contact your vet first. The main concern is to get the horses the help they need as soon as you can. Of course, you want to do that in the least hostile way possible toward your friend, but it does sound like these horses need someone to speak up for them and it might mean that your friendship will suffer a little more. Though from what you've said, there may not be much to salvage at this point as far as your friendship goes. You never know though, if you speak up for these horses now and get them help, your friend may look back on it down the road and realize that you were doing your best to help her and her animals, and that could be the best way to mend the friendship.
ReplyDeleteOn a more positive note, Bodhi is adorable!
You should contact the SPCA and report the horses conditions. At the very least they'll investigate and possibly offer to work with her. I just went through something similar at my old barn. So sad.
ReplyDelete