07/13/2025
Please keep our team in your thoughts and prayers this week.
The atmosphere has been heavy at the barn the last few weeks, well, if I am being honest, it has been heavy for a while.
We have had significant losses this year, and the hits keep coming.
We have euthanized more horses than we have adopted out this year. That hurts. It was best for those horses, and we are thankful we can give them a peaceful end, but it doesn't change its significant effect on our team.
We give everything we have to these horses every day. It leaves a huge hole when they cross over.
Tomorrow, we will be saying goodbye to three more of our dear four-legged friends. The time has come when, no matter what we do, they are in pain, and we have to uphold our promise to them that we will let them go on a good day before they suffer.
Blue
Oh, our dear Blue. I could write paragraphs on this big guy. He was a show horse in his younger years and then went on to a therapy program after an injury. Blue is the kind of horse that will give you everything he has daily, no matter how much he hurts. By the time he made his way to us after serving the kids of our community for years, his joints were destroyed. After radiographs, we knew there was nothing we could do but make him as comfortable as we could until his mobility started to go. We are now at that point. It is almost impossible to trim or clean his hooves now. He no longer chases the other horses to show them he is the boss of the pasture. It takes him a little longer to get up after he lies down. He is a volunteer favorite. Everyone he meets instantly falls in love with him. He has the most incredible old man energy in the barn. He LOVES his grooming sessions and makes the best faces when you find that perfect spot. He loves to "steal" a bite of the other horses' mush as he is being turned out. He loves to "sneak" out of a gate and pretend he is feral. Not seeing his grumpy face every day will be heartbreaking.
JR
Oh, JR, we tried so hard to get you a home. JR came to us in December 2020 with his full sister. At 14 years old, he had minimal training. We spent a year getting him ready for a home, and right before releasing him for adoption, he got gravely ill. We spent months nursing him back to health. We put him back in training, and he was doing amazing. We went to release him for adoption again, and he ended up with a sarcoid on his sheath. We had to do surgery to remove it. Again, we waited months for him to heal and be ready to start training again. He started right back where he left off and was doing amazing. Maybe this was his time, but it wasn't meant to be. One day under saddle, he collapsed in the back end. I didn't want to think about it, but I was pretty sure he was having suspensory issues. Our lameness specialist confirmed it with an exam and an ultrasound. We immediately took him out of training and thought we would at least be able to give him a few good years of retirement. Again, it wasn't meant to be; he has declined rapidly. We knew it was time when he could barely stand for the farrier to trim him. That is not fair, and the kindest thing is to let him cross over before he starts suffering or his leg collapses on him. The entire team is hurting over this one. He is such a sweet guy, and we wanted him to have his own family so badly. We didn't know it was going to be us. He loves people and always wants to be near you. He has to touch you with his mouth, but never being mean, just wanting to rest his mouth there. He tries so hard to please and will give you everything he has. Oh, sweet boy, I am sorry we didn't get you a family.
Parastou aka Twitchy
Sweet little, keep all the ponies in line, Twitchy. Severe starvation can cause long-term damage that we can't fix. When she arrived, we noticed a slight muscle twitch. It was worse when she was stressed. Diagnostics revealed she had a severe vitamin E deficiency. The damage was done, and we couldn't reverse it. We keep her on a high dose of quality vitamin E. It has helped, but over the last few months, the twitching has gotten worse, and her muscles have started to atrophy at an alarming rate. She became so unstable that we had to remove her from the pony herd she ruled over. After discussing our options with our veterinarians, we know the kindest thing is letting her cross over before it worsens. I will miss watching her rule a huge herd of ponies. It didn't matter that she was the smallest one out there; she didn't let anyone step out of line! I could hear her squealing from the barn!
We have spoiled them with all their favorite things for the last few weeks.
We know this is the right decision for them, but our team is hurting.
You can make a donation in their honor to help with their final expenses at this link
Donate – Hope Equine Rescue https://share.google/yPamiB9Um6XK19Tit
or the donate button below.
