The horses, many in extremely poor condition, were rescued from properties in Lewisville and Blue Ridge, located in Northeast Texas.
President and Founding Director Anastasia Keyser has been involved with the rescue foundation since it began in 2002. Because of the large number of horses involved in the latest operation, most of them are being held at Pilot Point Livestock Auction's sale barn in Denton County. However, Keyser's property in Collin County houses the main facility and serves as the base for the organization.
"Lewisville Animal Control called me and said they had a situation that needed a rescue to take in some neglected horses," recalled Keyser. "They desperately needed a rescue that would be able to help them. I was told that there was about 30 horses with only a handful in poor condition."
She agreed to accopany animal control to evaluate the situation. When they arrived, Keyser realized they were in for more than they bargained for.
"It was horrible; I cannot begin to explain how sickening it was to see the condition of the horses," she said. "They were in various stages of starvation and neglect. Not only were there over double the number of horses on the property, nearly all of them were in poor condition."
This was the largest number of horses acquired by the rescue operation at one time.
"When we were taking in Premarin horses from Canada, we would get up to 30 horses at a time. So, 64 from one location was quite different for us, especially when we had another 14 to rescue at a second location," she explained.
With the severity of the situation, Keyser walked the 50-acre property to ensure there were not any horses down in the back of the pasture. Unfortunately, they discovered three dead horses and the bones of many others.
"By the time we were brought in, the owner realized he was in over his head and had agreed to surrender them," Keyser said.
Lewisville Animal Control had anticipated the rescue process would take some time and brought in several round bales of hay to the horses. The Hope for Horses team immediately started arranging for a place to take the horses where they could be rehabilitated.
"Upon arrival, the horses in the worst shape were so weak due to malnourishment that they didn't even have the strength to pick themselves up if they went down," Keyser recalled. "In fact, one yearling filly had to be picked up numerous times the first week with the help of several people. One of the weanlings had a broken leg that had been left untreated. Due to the severity of the break and the length of time elapsed since the injury, the veterinarian was unable to help her; and she needed to be euthanized. Also, a handful of the youngest and weakest horses had a mild sickness for which we treated them with antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory."
One of the mares touched so many hearts at the rescue she has been dubbed Sweetheart. She was initially so weak from malnourishment that she went down in the trailer as they were moving her to their holding facility.
"It took one-and-a-half hours for her to have the strength to even walk to a stall," said Keyser. "She had swelling on her side, and upon examination, we realized she had an abdominal hernia. Many people thought that between her extreme starvation and the hernia that she would need to be put down, but she showed us that she was a fighter."
After talking with a specialist, they decided that the best thing to do was to help her gain weight, and once stronger she will likely receive a hernia belt. The group is currently raising the funds to buy the hernia belt to promote natural healing and avoid putting her through surgery.
While not all the horses were in such dire condition, they all immediately required wholesome food and treatment for parasites.
"We gave them Thrive, a feed that is formulated for horses especially in severe starvation," explained Keyser. "We also gave them two doses (14 days apart) of de-worming medicine to rid them of intestinal parasites."
The horses from the Blue Ridge property consisted of 14 mares and stallions together, which caused uncontrolled breeding. The horses were all underweight; with the mares, foals and donkeys being in the worst shape.
"Unfortunately, the vet confirmed that two of the mares and two of the jennies are pregnant," added Keyser. "The owner had not worked with any of these equine, so only a couple of them were halter broke. Apparently, the owner had always wanted to have horses. She got them a couple of years ago, and unfortunately, due to a combination of lack of knowledge and her own physical condition, the horses were not receiving any of the care they so greatly needed."
The majority of the horses are Pony of the Americas and POA crosses. There are a few Paso Fino and Paso Fino crosses. Their ages range from five months to 20 years old. Keyser said many of the horses had not even been halter broke, so the likelihood of any being broke to ride is very slim.
There were about 30 volunteers who quickly responded to Hope for Horses requests and helped to get the horses moved and settled.
"The volunteers have been wonderful," Keyser said. "Volunteers helped with the loading and subsequent unloading of the horses during the initial transport to the facility in Pilot Point. They helped with feeding the horses and filling water troughs. They brought supplies such as detangling sprays, combs and brushes and paste wormers. They helped hold the horses to administer medications, and they took pictures of the horses. They also spent many hours just loving the horses and helping them adjust to human contact."
The operation was possible through an outpouring of initial support, where they received approximately $12,000 to help with the rescued horses.
"This money is what paid for the initial feed and vet care," said Keyser. "A veterinarian, Dr. Valerie Bixler, donated many hours of her time, which saved us a tremendous amount of money, and many of the vaccinations were donated by Intervet/Schering-Plough" Keyser said.
Until all of the horses are adopted, Hope for Horses still needs volunteers to help with the daily chores and donations, and with health, feed and housing requirements. To find out more about Hope for Horses and learn about adoptiong, volunteering or donating, visit www.hopeforhorses.com .
