New Rescues

Newbies day 2 . . . Sis, Little Mama & Baby

posted in Blog, FSHR Horses, Mares & Foals, Rescue Tales | Thursday, April 7th, 2011

Little Mama and Baby in the quarantine paddock this morning

Today was eventful for the newbies. I’ve been calling the pregnant sorrel mare “Sis,” and the dun “Little Mama” and the foal “baby.”

"Sis"

So…the vet came out today to check-up the newbies and fix that nasty hole in Sis’s shoulder. She gave Sis a small amount of sedative (Sis is a very sweet girl, but this was going to hurt), cut away some dead skin, cleaned the wound thoroughly and then asked us if we had a Sleazy. We didn’t, but we had the next best thing, a red fleece that was just like a Sleazy, which had been donated about this time last year. The idea was to pack the wound with gauze (a layer of ointment between it and the flesh) and then use the “sleazy” to hold it in place. We weren’t sure Sis would accept the sleazy, but she did so with a minimum of fuss.

Sis in her "Sleazy"

So, all cleaned up, doctored, vaccinated, and dewormed with Safeguard (Strongid was the vet’s first choice, but of what was on hand she approved of Safeguard. A horse in her poor condition should never be dewormed with Quest). Sis got a little Banamine for pain, and started on Tucoprim to prevent infection of the wound. This was given in one of her small meals of senior feed. I’m very glad the vet judged Sis’s wound will heal well. Sis’s fecal egg count came in at zero, which means Sis is not shedding parasite eggs, but does NOT mean she is parasite-free.

Sis immediately prior to removal of her ignominious butt tag

Sis was aged at about five. She’s young, able to learn new things, and has a bright future ahead of her. Thankfully, she will never be “just a number” again!

With such a sweet disposition, I am sure she will be a great mother.

Little Mama was aged at no more than three. Kids having kids! How could this happen? It makes me wonder if she was just out in somebody’s back yard with a stud or several and his inbred relatives…and no food.

Baby comes close to check me out

It is heartening that although Mama’s BCS is only 1 to 1.5, the baby filly seems so healthy and adorable. Mama had almost no milk at all last night, but seems to be producing more now. Baby just chows on the grass hay right alongside Mama, crunch, crunch, crunch. Needless to say, they’re enjoying the hay. The mamas are also started on small (1lb or less) snacks of senior feed to build them up. Baby helps with that, too.

Yummy, yummy!

I’m pretty glad I’m not a dog. The dogs came in here and the filly appeared to them to be playing. How wrong they were! Avalanche, who is slightly smaller than Baby, got both barrels right in the chest; she knocked him on his rear.

Avalanche

Avalanche is a Great Pyrenees who was wandering the county last year, and people insisted we take him. He is quite a character. He has a problem with locomotion in his back end, which is not believed to be hip dysplasia but rather the result of having been hit by a car at some point in his life. This does not stop him from being a happy and playful slobber dog.

We are holding off on vaccinating Little Mama for a while, until she is in better weight. We also have her blanketed, since the baby is taking all her energy we don’t want her wasting any trying to brave the cold wind and snow that are forecast (the wind was pretty darn bitter already at feeding time)!

All of our blankets except one were too large for her. They hung down past her knees, and might have prevented Baby from finding her tiny teats. The blanket closest to fitting her used to belong to Tulip, our little burro, and needs mending (missing a surcingle).

Baby nursing

It’s actually a bit too short. Her butt sticks out the back, the way Arroyo’s used to from his, before we bought him an X-tra Large with donated funds. But it provides some protection, and Baby can nurse! I am working on this problem, hoping to get a better blanket fit and/or planning a serious sewing session.

Blanket already askew!

Little Mama didn’t object to being blanketed, either. She is a little harder to catch. She walks away a couple of times before stopping and waiting for me. She lets me get my arm over her neck to pull the halter on, then tips her nose up as if to avoid the noseband, but without much conviction, and I just tug her nose down, slip it on and tie it. She’s a bit feistier than Sis, and her sweet and compliant behavior now may not be the full revelation of who she really is!

I can’t wait to watch and learn as their personalities unfold and blossom along their journey back to health.