By: Susan N. Thompson
Sanctuary Horses
These horses will have sanctuary at Dreamchaser for the rest of their lives, to ensure they are never bred again. These horses have spent their lives being bred and have never been exposed to anything else. Some we are able to eventually ride, others are not at all suited to riding or physically able to be ridden. These horses need your help. Please visit Dreamchaser PMU Rescue & Rehabilitation Inc. to find out more about these horses and others in need.
Rush:
Rush arrived at the ranch on February 8, 2004, heavily pregnant. Wyeth had suddenly cut Premarin contracts and thousands of mares (all pregnant) were headed for slaughter. We had just gotten home with three weanlings from Canada and were now adopting two pregnant mares. We waited for three days in Nevada for Rush and Dusty, since the hauler was waylaid by snowstorms. She was 14 years old, and had just been separated from her foal. Once she was settled in at our place, we started taking her for walks, along with Dusty, to begin the process of bonding. She delivered her last foal on June 4, 2004, a beautiful palomino colt, who was adopted and lives about 5 miles from us. Her delivery was complicated by a retained placenta, probably due to being transported late in her pregnancy. Rush is now under saddle, and will be used in our programs for ‘city kids’.
Dusty:
Dusty arrived with Rush on February 8, 2004. Dusty was 6 years old and had already had three foals. She was heavily pregnant, and delivered a healthy colt on May 16, 2004. She also retained her placenta and required much veterinary care. Her colt was adopted and lives about 35 miles south of us. Dusty is recently under saddle and is doing well. It took her and Rush almost a year to be comfortable with having their legs touched and their feet picked up. Now it is a distant memory, and their new life begins – a life of enjoying the trails and of never being locked in a straight stall again. She will also eventually be used in our programs for ‘city kids’.
Essence:
Essence arrived on March 8, 2005, also heavily pregnant. She was 10 years old, and delivered a colt on June 14, 2005. She was so upset at having her foal in a setting she hadn’t settled into that she abruptly stood up, pulling on Koda’s umbilicus and creating a hole in his ureter. At 18 hours old, we were loading the mare and foal into the trailer and heading to a veterinary hospital where Koda underwent surgery for removal of the umbilicus and bladder repair. Urine had been leaking into his abdomen and would have killed him within 24 hours.
Essence will not be able to go under saddle – she has stifle problems and hind end problems due to having foal after foal and inadequate exercise. We need to raise funds (approximately $800) in order to give her IRAP injections, hoping that will help her stifles and enable her to be more comfortable. She is a gentle and loving mare, who is still very attached to Koda.
Miakoda (power of the moon):
Koda survived his major surgery, only to suffer a hard fall (running around the mare area) and fracture his pelvis. He spent about 7 months on stall rest with his mother keeping him company. He could not even go out for walks. Now he is two, and is able to be out with the herd, running and playing. He will not be adopted out as he must be handled very carefully so that he does not re-injure himself. We hope to be able to lightly use him under saddle.
Goldy Jay Dee Bars:
Jay Dee arrived on October 13, 2006, pregnant, with a foal (Goldy Sugar Bars) at her side. She was nine years old, and still is very distant from us. She is quite nervous and kept her foal away from us, so it took several months to be able to touch the foal. Jay Dee had a hole in her flank that went all the way up to her pelvic bone and is still seeping. We had to have our Vet literally put her to sleep in order to check the wound. Since it has still not healed and she is still relatively untouchable, she will have to be put to sleep and most likely have surgery to see if there is some irritant keeping the wound from healing. Since she is pregnant, this will have to wait until after the foal is born and is thriving. Jay Dee will probably never be trained for riding due to her personality. She will remain at Dreamchaser for the rest of her life, being ponied out into the desert and having room to run.
Speckled Cash:
Cash is 12 years old, and arrived at the ranch on October 13, 2006, pregnant, with a foal (High Cash Diamond), at her side. Cash is a very shy mare, easily startled, and very slow to trust. I delivered her stillborn foal on February 10, 2007, the result of a separated placenta. Cash surely grieved the loss of the foal, but Little Cash fortunately was still by her side.
Cash has severe stifle problems, and sometimes seems to cave in on her hind end. Just like Essence, this is the result of continuous breeding and the impact it has on the mare. She also will have stifle injections and anything else we can do to make her comfortable. Expenses will be approximately $800, and we need to raise funds for this. She will also be ponied off another horse, since straight line exercise is good for her. She will spend the rest of her life with us.
Skippy’s Glory:
Glory arrived on November 28, 2006, pregnant, and with a foal (Diamond Royal Glory) at her side. Glory is 16, and delivered Ty Eyed Blue on April 7, 2007. Ty is healthy and so is Glory. Glory will be ridden and will be used in the riding program for the ‘city kids’ once Ty is older and weaned. Glory has a sweet and loving personality.
Ebony:
Ebony was rescued from a feed lot (next step is slaughter) in Canada in 2005. She is a stunning black mare, and since she is not registered, we have no idea how many foals she has delivered. She is sound and is being trained under saddle. We estimate she is about 13 years old.
Classy Quick Charge:
Classy was rescued from the killer auction in Canada in 2006. She is a stunning palomino buckskin who has quickly settled in and become a gentle, personable mare. We are also putting her under saddle and she is learning quickly. She is 12 years old, and we have not been able to determine the number of foals she has had. She is healthy and willing and will be a great addition to our kids’ programs.
Veri Picapride:
Pride is 10 years old and is a registered solid paint. She has also spent her life as a broodmare, and is now being trained under saddle. She was also rescued from a killer auction in Canada, and is an absolute doll. She has learned so fast that we can already use her for lessons. It is amazing how these mares have the desire to please, and how they seem to know they are now going to be loved and given the best of care for the rest of their lives.
Annie:
Annie is a registered Arab who is 20 years old. She also has spent her life as a broodmare, and is now re-experiencing being lightly ridden. She is healthy though she needs a little weight, and she has a very loving, quiet, personality.
Trumpet Keeper:
TK, as we call her, is our saddest story to date. She was at the killer auction when our Canada contact called us. He said the killer was buying this old mare who was skin and bones and had a three month old colt at her side. The killer was purchasing them for $700, could we afford to take them? We never hesitated, though the costs to us would be approximately $2100 to buy them and transport them to Arizona. Our rancher fed TK for a month before she came to us, trying to get weight on her to enable her to withstand the 2600 mile trip. When TK arrived, it was the saddest sight we had ever witnessed. She literally was skin over bones, and her backbone stuck up at least 4”, with a platform where her rib cage began. Beside her was a beautiful colt we immediately named Keeper’s Will, as we could see that TK gave all she had to keep this colt alive. Trumpet Keeper is 24 years old. She was bred at 23, was not fed and taken care of, and then was taken to the killer auction. This is a pretty strong statement about the heartlessness of mankind. TK still needs more weight, and she needs exercise to help build her muscles back up. Her foal, Will, is adopted but being boarded here, so TK has the luxury of enjoying having her ‘boy’ with her instead of the usual forced weaning at three months of age.
Illusion:
Illusion is a 16 year old Premarin stallion, a full Canadian Percheron. He spent his life pasture breeding Premarin mares, and, when the rancher lost his contract, Illusion was in danger of going to slaughter. He is 16 hands tall and weighs 1800 pounds, so he would have brought a lot of money for meat. We rescued him and he is a delight to all. Our visiting children love to climb up on the feed tub in order to brush him. His best friend is a burro, Jeremiah. Illusion is too old to be gelded, but he loves to spend time with the babies and is living a good life with us.
Taylor:
Taylor is 14 years old and is a big stocky quarterhorse/Canadien cross. He was rescued from a feedlot in Canada (next step is slaughter), and has become a gentle, reliable riding horse who will be used in our ‘inner city kids’ program.
