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Please let us host
your Girl Scout, 4H or Brownie Troop!
Kids learn about animal care, plus get to work with
some of our rescued horses like Sammy!
Give us a call - we will be glad to schedule your
event!
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Please Help Fuzzy Peaches - aka
"Sammy"
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First of all, thank you so much to everyone who has
helped us with our most recent and most tragic rescue yet. Little
Fuzzy Peaches, our 3 month old Chincoteague Pony colt, has been through
a lot in his short life. He was infected with Salmonella in
both back legs and chest, causing swelling, extreme pain , infection
and fever. He was not supposed to live, but his owner contacted
us for help, since he was out of funding to pay for further medical
treatment.
After much scrambling, we quarantined both Momma Pony and Peaches
(he's not even weaned yet!) with a wonderful family who graciously
opened their home (and backyard) to us. We enlisted the help of a
not-so-local veterinarian, who has gone above and beyond to save this
baby's life. She is the reason that Peaches has made it this
long, and we can't be more thankful for her help.
He has gone through 3 major treatments of his legs, which include
flushing the joint with saline solution, a painful process, plus treatment
with antibiotics and pain killers. You just can't imagine what
this little man has gone through in such a short time.
The good news is that his prognosis for survival has been upgraded
from 10% to 40%. You can see such a huge improvement in only
3 days - he has gone from not able to stand to actually trotting around
his mother to play. The bad news is that medical treatment, bandages,
antibiotics and pain killers are really expensive, especially for
such a small non-profit. We are going through resources fast.
If anyone can donate funds to pay for his medical bills, OR vet wrap,
antibiotics (penicillin), cotton gauze, or cotton wraps, furizol or
topical antibiotic, we would greatly appreciate it. Our address
is 148 GreyStone Road, Hartly, DE 19953. All donations are fully
tax deductible.
One look at this colt and you just melt. He is one really special
horse who needs a lot of TLC and caring hands to make it through this
ordeal - please help out if you can.
UPDATE - Sept 17, 2003
Peaches is doing well on his medications, but still requires constant
care - such as bandaging, disinfecting his legs and washing his chest.
We watch him daily - he is actually starting to play now - what a
neat little horse!!! He still has an uphill road, though - long
time to heal and then we get to assess his future riding abilities.
UPDATE - Oct 8, 2003
Peaches continues to improve, but its a long uphill process.
Hock is healing nicely and his chest has totally healed. We
are still bandaging his other hock and hoping for the best.
UPDATE - November 1, 2003
We have changed Peaches name to Sammy, as he simply refused to come
to us with the name Peaches. Could be because he is a boy???
But Sammy has stuck. It stands for "Summer's Absolute Miracle",
which we feel that he is. His unbandaged hock is totally healed,
and we are still hoping for a miracle with his other hock. It
is still swollen and draining, but we are making slow improvements.
UPDATE - November 14, 2003
Sammy has a friend named Sassy! The two of them are playing
in the field together and we really feel that Sassy's arrival has
helped Sammy tremendously. Everyone who comes to our farm just
falls in love with both of them! The good news is that his leg
has healed considerably, thanks to all the medications and constant
bandaging. It's still swollen, and we are worried about his
growth. Right now, we are teaching him how to walk on a lead.
He thinks everyone is out to poke and prod his leg, so we are giving
him lots of extra TLC.
UPDATE November 30, 2003
Ok, most of you have heard the news - we had a vet out here who took
x-rays and wanted to put Sammy to sleep. After all we have been
through - no way!! He doesn't appear to be in pain and is RUNNING
in the field, playing like a colt should! INSTEAD, we are working
with a company out of California called www.totalhealthenhance.com
. We have him on some potent meds, but after 5 days his leg
is upright and he is BEARING WEIGHT on it! He is also starting
to act like a baby - rearing up, playing like we have never seen him
do. THERE IS HOPE!!!!
Update - February 23, 2004
Wow, has it been this long already? Where has the time gone?
We are happy to report much progress for our little man, who has a
disposition of gold. He gives kisses and looks in my coat pockets
for the treats I leave in there for him. (Nah, he's not spoiled!)
He is improving all the time. After getting quite a few opinions
from veterinarians and farriers, it seems that he may need surgery
to straighten his back leg, thus eliminating all the pain he may feel
in his fetlock. As he grows, the weight may become too much
for him to bear, so surgery is definitely an option.
He is doing just wonderfully, regardless. Just the other day,
he chased our barn cat! And, he bears weight on the bad leg.
You can still tell that sometimes it hurts - he will bring it up for
a few minutes, but that is to be expected.
Just the other day, we caught him "Sam-bathing" in the warm
sun - just lying around as babies tend to. He has our hearts.
We are still actively seeking donations for the cost of his surgery
and will keep you up to date as our decision is made.
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