Alerted by a post on Facebook that this horse named Arrow was hours away from being loaded onto a trailer to be shipped to Mexico and ultimately slaughtered to be sold as meat, I knew that something had to be done! And quick!
She was listed as a Gelding, 14.3 hands, afraid, and appeared to have not been handled too much. She was hard to catch!
Well when the Veterinarian examined "Him" he reported that He was a She! LOL
She had to be lassoed and sedated in order for them to examine her.
We raised enough money to save and transport her to NY from North Carolina along with a 4 year hold Thoroughbred castaway from a Texas Kill Pen named DJ Finale.
Speaking with my wife, she came up with the name Liberty because we Liberated her from certain death!
So Arrow who was a Gelding became a Mare named Liberty! 😂
Liberty and DJ arrived around 12:30 AM to our rescue. It was all I could do to keep my eyes open. We were in constant contact with the Transporter Diamond T Equine Transport. They are fantastic and I highly recommend them. They always had the horses well being at the forefront of the trip.
The driver let me know when they were close as I had requested, and I parked my vehicle at the end of the long driveway with my flashers on so that they could find it.
As I saw the headlights of their truck round the bend my excitement rose. All of the frustration, letdowns, anxiety, etc. from the last week finally were rewarded.
My anticipation grew as they opened the trailer doors and we settled our account balance. Then there she was. She backed up off the trailer, nostrils flared, head high, eats straight up in the air! Taking in the new sites and smells.
No screaming horses! No smell of fear or death! No known threats. 😊
We walked her around a bit to stretch her legs and she led pretty well considering what we were told. Then we put her and DJ in their quarantine stalls for the night.
I got home around 2 AM and was so wound up that I didn’t get to sleep until around 3.
I woke up at 6 AM the next morning and lazed around until mid afternoon. Then I headed back to the farm.
Liberty wanted nothing to do with anyone. She was petrified. Trying to get the lead line on her was a chore. But we finally did. We were able to walk her and we took our time and were patient. And she did good.
Monday I received a text telling me that she wasn’t eating and that she was lethargic, and not walking as usual.
So I called the vet in. I met him there and he examined her.
She had a fever, which after he looked at the paperwork from down south he determined that she was released with a fever, and she had pneumonia in her right lung.
This was horrible news!
He gave her a banamine shot and an antibiotic shot. Handed me a bottle of pills with instructions to give her 25 later that night. So I returned after work and we gave her the pills. And thankfully her appetite had returned and she took the pills in her grain!!
The Vet has been going there daily checking on her today and as of Wednesday her fever was gone. The report today was positive. No fever. One more antibiotic shot and pills for the next few days!
I have to admit that I was very worried at first. He told me straight out that pneumonia in horses can be tricky. But our girl pulled through.
When you adopt or save an animal you make a commitment to them. You become their voice, their advocate and they depend on you!
We need support to save more from abuse and slaughter!
And any little bit that you can spare helps.
Next time an update on DJ Finale. A soon to be 5 year old OTTB thrown away for failure to win the big purses!
Until next time I remain
Frank
Sir's Human & Thor's too!
