Summer 2021 proved to be another busy one for the horses and team at Fredericksburg. Due to the high costs associated with Walker’s hoof treatment, new intakes were put on hold so that we could appropriately manage his care along with the other horses in our custody.
In July, we thought we had reached the end of the road with Walker’s treatment as we were unable to get him weight bearing at all on his hind leg and if he was still in pain and unable to bear weight then there was nothing else we were going to be able to do. After multiple consultations with different surgeons, we were beginning to believe that he may be septic. We made the calls, we scheduled his euthanasia and we cried.
What we did not expect to happen was on the day of our 11th Birthday Party event, we saw what we never thought we would. He walked. With his heel down. I stared at him and watched trying to decide if what I was seeing was what I so desperately wanted to see or if he really was putting weight on his heel. I took a video. I sent it to Dr Moga and to Cindy with the caption “do you see that? Does he LOOK better?” We finally decided that whether we were only seeing what we wanted to see or he was truly better, we were going to give him one last Hail Mary and proceed with the OsPhos injection that we had discussed. He had two months to show improvement or we would be back to square one.
Today marks the 2 month deadline that we had set back in July and the amount of improvement we have seen since then is nothing short of a true miracle. Walker has gone from being isolated to a stall in order to protect his hoof from further injury and infection to being turned out in a pasture with a herd of his own.
Walker has the ability to walk, pace and canter around the field without causing injury to his hoof. He has put on a significant amount of weight and the muscle that he had begun to lose in his hip is finally starting to come back.
Walker has had 3 full hoof debridements to remove the false souls and open up the cavities where infection has built up. While we think we may have finally gotten it all with this last one, we will still be monitoring his improvement closely to ensure that another false soul doesn’t develop.
We are very pleased with the way that Walker has been progressing. There have been some set backs along the way but we, and he, have taken them all in stride and we have continued to pray and fight for his recovery. Walker is still in need of sponsorships to help support his care at the rescue. His current wish list items consist of:
Elastikon
Animalintex
Treats
Gauze pads
Walker receives regular shoeing every 4 – 5 weeks and with all of his new activity he goes through metal plates and bolts. He will also be receiving another OsPhos injection towards the end of the year to help with his joint healing.
February proved to be not only cold and snowy but also very busy for the rescue. The first week of February, the rescue took in 5 horses from owner surrender situations. Three of those surrenders were due to an emergency and the other two through our safety net program. This brought the total number of horses being cared for by the rescue to a total of 29 across both the Fredericksburg and Brodnax farms as well as horses in training foster homes.
At the beginning of February, we transferred Chase, our 3 year old Mustang cross, to training at Advantage Horsemanship to work with Scott Purdum. Chase has proven to be a smart and challenging young horse that was in need of a higher level of training than we could provide through our volunteer trainers. During his first month, Chase has been able to complete several of our initial training goals including being able to be caught and lead from different locations through out their farm. Chase leads daily from the barn, the turn out paddock and the round pen for training. Chase has always had an issue with bolting as soon as he sees the open space around him and this has proven to be our biggest challenge with his training. Chase will be featured in a series through their TV show featured on RFD TV, Cowboy Channel and Horse TV.
In February, we finalized two adoptions on horses at our Fredericksburg farm. Sugar was adopted by the Jones family locally here in Culpeper. She has joined CVHR Alum Kash and Buster with a wonderful family that also volunteers their time here at the rescue. Sugar came to us in December as one of our six Christmas ponies. She was the first to be made available for adoption and the first to find a home.
Our second adoption was sweet and spicy Marco. Marco is a mid teens Paso Fino that was adopted by a wonderful family in Louisa. Marco has been with the rescue for a little over a year and has been kept at our Brodnax location with Cindy. Marco was a volunteer favorite and we are very excited for his new mom Eleanor as they begin their journey together.
At the end of January, we officially announced that the rescue had moved to Fredericksburg and put an ask out for volunteers. February was a busy month with volunteer orientations and training. We are excited about the response that we received in our local community and the number of volunteers that are interested in working with the rescue to help the horses in our care.
Christmas has been able to move into an actual large pasture with one of our herds. His body condition score has finally improved over 3 and hes currently between and 3 and 4. He is enjoying having new friends and a larger space to be able to run and explore. We estimate that it will still be several months before he is available for adoption.
Nick has improved to a BCS of around 4.5 and we have started evaluating his training needs and soundness for riding. Nick had some soreness in his back that has gone away after a chiropractic adjustment from Dr. Moga. We have started with his ground work first in order to build muscle before attempting his initial first ride.
Frosty continues to improve daily and has almost fully reached his desired weight goal. When Frosty came, he required a tooth extraction, a serious bath and a lot of weight. We had anticipated a full 6 months needed to get him to the weight that he should be at however he has come a long way in the 2.5 months that he has been at the rescue. He has transformed from our sweet scared underweight bulldozer to a sweet mostly well mannered gentle draft. He has learned to walk appropriately on the lead line and will more often than not allow us to pick up his feet for cleaning. We look forward to doing his first ride evaluation in the month of March.
We continue to move full steam ahead into March which has already proven to be a busy month for adoptions. I look forward to the next month recap! As always, we appreciate all of our sponsors, donors and volunteers. It takes a village and all of you make up THEIR village!
We have had a busy month and a half at Central Virginia Horse Rescue! So far this year we have taken in a total of 7 horses, all from owner surrender situations.
In January, we brought in Shadow and Marcus through our Safety Net program. Their owner was unable to keep them and needed a place for them to go. Marcus was adopted privately through a rescue staff member and Shadow has been receiving the care that he needs to be ready for adoption. Shadow is an almost 23 year old branded Standardbred. Shadow has tested well with everything and was formally made available for adoption after his farrier appointment this week.
The next three intakes also came back to the rescue through our Safety Net program when their owner was no longer able to keep them. Little Hope is back with the rescue and after an evaluation period will be available again. Hope was broken under saddle last year and is a petite Arabian/Quarter Horse mare. She is approximately 10 years old.
Along with Hope, we also brought in her pasture mates, Zeus and Artemis. Zeus is a senior branded Standardbred that is approved for light riding due to a previous injury that he had. We haven’t noticed any soundness issues with him but will be monitoring for any issues during his evaluations. Artemis is a senior tattooed BLM Mustang. Artemis has tested well in all situations and we are awaiting nicer weather to test her under saddle. She loaded on the trailer, stood for the farrier and has been enjoying being spoiled by our volunteer team.
Intakes 6 and 7 were also in the first week of February. Bo and Susan arrived, through our Safety Net program as well when their owner needed to find a home for them due to circumstances beyond her control. Bo and Susan came in as a bonded pair but they are adjusting well to being a part of the mini herd.
Susan has proven to be a little challenging to catch and our volunteer team is working with her on socialization so that she will be able to go to a good home. Bo appears to have settled in better and will come up to visitors when in the pasture.
As we finish up the evaluations and determine their needs, our newest intakes will be made available. Some may be available earlier than others depending on their own individual needs.
Each incoming horse receives an evaluation and has services scheduled as needed such as vet exams, farrier care and dental floats. Through our rescue supporters and donors, each horse is able to receive this necessary care to prepare them for their adoptive homes. Your donations help to provide these horses with a second chance.
The current pandemic has been hard on the horse community in general. There are a lot more horses needing your help more than ever. We thank you for making it possible for us to be able to care for these beautiful animals.
We thank you for your Support of our residents and adoptable horses!
We would like to introduce Carly as our volunteer of the month of February. Each month, our volunteer team votes on a volunteer that is the “Volunteer of the Month.”
Carly was nominated by multiple people for the passion and drive she brings to the rescue. Carly is one of our newer volunteers and while she is not a current horse owner, she has previously ridden dressage with her previous horse, Chief.
Carly had approximately two days of training before I was diagnosed with COVID and as the saying goes, she was “baptized by fire.” Carly stepped up and was at the farm every opportunity that she could be here to help ensure that the horses were cared for.
On Carly’s volunteer inquiry, her answer to why she wanted to volunteer was because she was really missing the connection with horses that she had after losing her horse in July and moving to the area in October.
Carly continues to be a huge asset to the rescue in her dedication to their care and also assisting in training of new volunteers as they come in. Please join us in not only welcoming Carly to the CVHR team but also in being nominated and chosen as our Volunteer of the Month of February!
In late 2018 we pulled a dapple gray BLM Mustang mare we named Fable and her little baby colt from a kill pen in Oklahoma. The colt we named Chase and we watched him grow alongside his mother at our farm in Kenbridge.
Baby Chase with his mother in 2018.
Chase was moved to our Fredericksburg farm location in June of 2020. When his pasture mate was adopted we sent him on a training foster with one of our volunteers. At that time, Chase was unable to be handled in the slightest bit. His halter remained on at all times with a lead dangle at the bottom so that you could grab him if you needed to. The sound of the clip from the lead line would cause him to bolt. Cindy had made great progress with him before his gelding but the gelding process set him back again and we were starting over with gaining his trust.
Chase at his foster farm morning February 7, 2021.
Chase has remained with his handler until today when we were able to successfully move him from their barn to the Advantage Horsemanship barn in Stafford. Moving Chase to the Advantage Horsemanship barn was a task but with a lot of teamwork from both locations we were able to get him onto the trailer and then off of the trailer and into the corral they set up specifically for him.
Chase has proven to be an incredibly intelligent horse through his training however that also makes his training a little more difficult. Chase remembered his touch training that he had been doing with his handler today with Scott during his initial meet once we got him to their barn. He was curious enough to want to come up to us while we had him corralled and would continue to take treats or his feed from our hands. Eventually, after a lot of patience and work, Scott was able to get the final clip attached on Chase’s halter and we all decided to leave things on a good note with him at that point.
Scott’s initial work with Chase on his halter.
We are looking forward to seeing Chase progress further with Scott at their facility. You can follow his progress on their Facebook page, Advantage Horsemanship with Scott Purdum. Additionally, we will be sharing progress reports through our website and social media. We know great things are in store for Chase and we are excited to give him this opportunity to advance his training.
You can sponsor Chase’s training through PayPal, Facebook or Venmo.
Sugar is our Standardbred Christmas pony! When Sugar arrived at the Rescue, she was underweight and anxious/shy of humans. With patience and time from our volunteers, Sugar has gained weight and slowly learned to trust. She willingly lets our volunteers approach her in the pasture and loves a good neck rub! Last weekend was Sugar’s first day under saddle and she did great! She is now available for adoption!
Spice is our 11 year old Quarter Horse! When Spice came to us we had very little information on her and didnt know if she had ever been under saddle previously. We have now had her under saddle twice and the determination is that she is still very green. We have worked with Scott Purdum at Advantage Horsemanship to come up with a training plan to prepare her for her adoptive home.
Spice handles very well on the ground with the exception of wanting to pick up her feet for grooming and the farrier. Before she can be made available for adoption, she will need to be able to do the basic things. Our volunteer team continues to work with her on these items.
Spice is looking for sponsors for her training. If you are interested in being her sponsor, please click the links below.
There have been a lot of ups and downs in the last 4 weeks since the Christmas ponies have arrived at CVHR. We never really know what kind of issues a horse is going to have when we bring it in. We have a lot of experience in dealing with horses that are starving and need rehabilitation. We know how to kick start their recovery. What to feed them. What happens when they lay down and can’t get up. It never seems to fail though that one of them will always keep us on our toes.
St. Nick – The Choking Quarter Horse
We saw his pictures online. We saw the complete defeat and lack of will to live in his eyes and we knew that you would want us to save him. Nick is an 8 year old quarter horse. They tell us he came from a lesson barn in New York. He looked like he was involved in a train wreck. Who could have allowed him to become so beat up?
Unhealing ulcers developed inside of Nicks mouth.
On the very first day that Nick arrived, after we took his intake photos we fed him and he immediately choked. With the guidance from our vet, Dr. Moga, and our founder, Cindy, we were able to get him through the choking episode and started providing him UlcerGard to sooth the ulcers that we determined were the cause of his severe discomfort. I’ll never forget watching him and trying to understand why he was giving ALL of the signs of a colicking horse that was not colicked. There was no way. He had maybe two bites of his food. He had pooped yet here he was in pain and discomfort kicking at his stomach and all he wanted to do was lay down.
We took him out of his stall and walked him and massaged his throat. We gave him some meds to relieve the discomfort and pain and we comforted him the best we could. He was moved to an all soaked alfalfa diet with UlcerGard treatment daily and waited a few days for the UlcerGard to work and then put him on a feed specific for horses who tend to get ulcers and tried again. Exactly one week after his first choke, he choked again! This time it was clear that he was not going to be able to pass it on his own and Dr Moga came to the farm and tubed him. We determined his esophagus was swollen. He had multiple clogs in his throat and all of his food was removed for the rest of the night to give him time to rest his throat from the tubing. The next night, he choked again but this time on soaked alfalfa.
Nick eating his soaked pelleted feed.
After his third choke we made the decision to send him to the clinic to get scoped. Maybe there was something anatomically wrong with his throat causing him to choke? 8 year old horses don’t choke. The scope revealed most of what we already knew. He had stomach ulcers. His esophagus was swollen. They even performed a barium swallow to see if they could find anything that would be causing him to choke and they could not. He was sent home with very specific instructions for feeding and a new medication to be given after the UlcerGard.
Fast forward to today…. Nick has consistently choked at least once a week. In all of our reviews of what exactly happened each of the days he choked there is nothing consistent that we can pin point that is causing it. During each vet exam we did notice something curious and that is an unhealing ulcer that has been there for roughly 3 weeks now. We also discovered 3 more in subsequent exams of his mouth. This added a new piece to the puzzle and we added yet another medical treatment to his day. He was to get an antiseptic mouthwash after each meal. He had a visit from the state vet and the USDA vet this week to test for one virus and a biopsy on another day to test for an autoimmune disease. We have built him a round pen dry paddock that he can stay in next to his friends and even gave him a friend to hang out with during the day.
Nick in his round pen with cushings pony Angel
Nick’s medications and treatments are totaling into the thousands. The months worth of UlcerGard is close to $1000 and we aren’t sure how much longer he will be on it. The surgeon suggested starting him on a medication for megaesophagus that runs approximately $300 a month. His vet bills are currently in the thousands. Nick is in desperate need of sponsors. If you are able to assist with a monthly sponsorship, please use the link below:
Christmas …. The starved Christmas Pony
While Nick has been a lesson in patience and perseverance, Christmas has continued to thrive at our Brodnax barn with Cindy. We saw his photos and we knew he was in rough shape but we didn’t know how bad until he arrived at the quarantine barn and we got the initial intake photos. He was a body score of 1. He was so weak that he could barely walk after the 30 minute trailer ride from the auction lot to the quarantine barn. He stayed there for about a week and at that point we determined he was strong enough to make it to Brodnax where he would get his dental, rest a couple days and then make it the rest of the way to Fredericksburg. We couldn’t have planned for what happened next but it must have been in God’s plan.
The day after Christmas arrived in Brodnax, I became ill and went to get tested for COVID. With the test coming back positive, I was quarantined from the Fredericksburg barn and unable to be of any help to the volunteer team taking care of the horses at the farm. We made the decision to leave Christmas in Brodnax until I was cleared and able to get him. During this time, Christmas was settling in and finally felt comfortable enough to lay down. This was excellent! Except when he laid down, he couldn’t get back up on his own. When a horse has nothing to eat, it’s body will start to sacrifice its own muscles for energy. That is what happened to Christmas. He had no muscles left and his hind end couldn’t pick his body up off the ground. Thankfully for him, he wasn’t the first horse that has come to CVHR with this issue. You may remember Hope from the Nottoway seizure.
Chistmas lays down for a nap.
Cindy called for back up, rigged up a sling, and picked him up off the ground with the help of Jordan. Christmas was grateful and went on to walk around and eat the rest of his alfalfa. This process would continue for two weeks. There were days he laid down in his stall and they had to find ways to get him out and then pick him back up. We purchased a cattle lift that was installed in the barn that made the process easier. He would lay down for a nap in the paddock and then we would wait and pray that he was able to get back up on his own. The day finally came this past week when we watched him stand back up on his own completely unassisted. His body condition was slowly improving. His muscle was coming back. He was eating as much as his little heart desired. He was on the right path to recovery!
Next week, Christmas will be making the trip to Fredericksburg where his journey will continue.
Christmas continues to gain weight and muscle.
Improvement Continues
While Christmas and St. Nick have been the most needy of our six Christmas ponies, the rest continue to show great progress. Each of them gaining weight and showing us more of their personality. The latest measure of success was the day that I had to adjust all of the straps on Frosty’s blanket because it was too tight and wouldn’t easily go back on him. Frosty is still roughly 300 – 400 lbs underweight but he has gained quite a bit in the last 4 weeks since his arrival. With dedication and hard work, the team has managed to get all of the caked on manure off of his coat and he is actually a white horse again. He still has to learn to pick his feet up without stomping them back down and that the proper way for him to walk on a lead line is behind his person. But he is getting there. He has a willingness to learn and has begun to trust his care team.
Sugar we found is not actually a morgan saddlebred cross as we were told but she is a branded Standardbred. We have pulled her brand and found her race history. She will be turning 21 years old this year and is now back in a proper body weight. Sugar is still learning to trust her people but if you come offering neck rubs or treats, she becomes your best friend.
Solstice and Spice also continue to thrive. Spice is incredibly easy to catch in the field. She has a bit of anxiety that we are going to be working through. Once we are able to handle her feet without issue, she will be evaluated for riding. Even when she is scared and trembling she is very willing to work with our volunteers for her care. Solstice is on a weight gaining plan. She continues to have a never ending supply of alfalfa and a special feed just for senior horses with bad teeth. She will remain with Cindy at the Brodnax farm for now.
We want to thank everyone for their prayers, support and donations. We continue to pray for Nick and Christmas that they will continue to improve. Even if we have to take a couple steps backwards before we can go forwards again, we are making progress. Until the next update…… Thank you for all you do.
