ABE

Not good news....

Abe came in from turnout with the rear quarter of his left front foot split, from the ground all the way up to the coronary band. This created a large tab of hoof wall that needed to be removed. Upon examination it became obvious what caused such a failure of the hoof wall, Canker. It appears it is a severe and longstanding case. He is effected in the other front to a lesser degree. This is awful news. The treatment would involve surgery to debride feet followed by diligent daily care to change bandages and topically treat feet. Because of his age, poor condition, etc, I don't think he should be placed under general anesthesia. We will try and figure out a treatment that will work for him, but the prognosis is grim.

On a lighter note: Ozzie had his first road test today. He was terrific. No problems with traffic, r strange sights. He is a real champ and wonderful to drive.
Beth

After X-Mas

We had some lovely company! Family and friends have been stopping by to meet the biguns. We also had some official visitors, a reporter and photographer from the Times Herald Record. Yesterday they published an article on the crew and the work we are doing here. It was some wonderful publicity for our rescue. Tomorrow is another sale at New Holland. I am figuring out if I am going to go back down.

The latest updates: Abe is continuing to eat and has moments where he looks very bright. He still looks very depleted a lot of the time though.
Sally's sinus infection improves steadily and she really loves the attention each day. She is such a quiet gentle soul.
Chinook spends time following us around as we do chores. He is the first to hang his head over the dutch door looking into the stall to watch us do the stalls. It is, as if, he is trying to figure out a little about us. Just as we are doing with him. His new dad stopped by and spent an hour grooming him out in the paddock the other day. He really seemed to love the time spent. We worried he might not like a male caretaker.
Ozzie is doing great! His skin lesions are beginning to improve. Some are starting to grow new hair, others are more stubborn. It'll just take a few more weeks of diligent treatment. He'll be looking exquisite when his summer coat comes in.

I hope everyone had a Happy and Healthy Holiday!

B

Can you say COLD!!! Brrrrr. It is freezing here in NY. The crew seems to be content to come into their warm stalls at night. Abe actually finally lay down and took a nap in his stall last night. That is huge! None of them realize they can actually lay down and have room. Some have only been in straight stalls, or even no stalls. Abe has been started on alfalfa and transitioning off the Dengie. We are trying to find a diet he will eat. Our vet has been helping us determine the best course of action. We want him to continue eating and gain some condition, but not overload him too fast. He seems to be tolerating the change over to alfalfa well and is eating it happily.
We were interviewed today by the Times Herald Record to do a story on the Belgians. Hopefully it will bring some exposure to the issues and allow us to rescue more horses from New Holland.
Once I know when they are publishing the story I will let you all know.

We have added new stuff to CafePress!

Happy Holidays Everyone
Beth

Another big storm! The crew went out long enough for me to do stalls and water before they started begging at the dutch doors to come in. They are all cozy and happy now. Abe still looks dull :(
I'll speak to the vet in the AM. More work on Ozzie's legs. The large crusty lesions are sloughing off. WOHOOO!! Our soundness track vet met them all last night. He took one look at Ozzie's strange feet and said he was working as a hitch horse, or at least that is what they were trying to do with him. We'll try and get a proper trim on him and get his angles a little more normal and pull the flares back a bit.

More later. B

New Morning Snow

We woke up to a beautiful blanket of fresh snow. The crew is outside enjoying it. This will clean up their muddy legs! The frontline is working and Abe has stopped stomping all the time. Ozzie's legs continue to improve and his lesions are drying up and he has stopped chewing at them. It appears Abe is feeling a little better. We have supplemented his diet with Dengie. When he is outside he nibbles at the hay piles, but at night he has his bucket of Dengie. Sally continues to improve. We are thrilled with her progress. Her nasal discharge has diminished further and she is off NSAIDs. No temp! She has decided she wants to spend her time standing with us. Doesn't matter what we are doing, she just wants to be with us. I think she may worry we will send her away. Chinook has decided having his face hugged and scratched is just the best thing ever! Josh spent a good hour or so with him out in the paddock yesterday. He is coming out of his shell and really becoming a big mush.
B

Update:

Morning Update: The crew continues to settle in well. Sally came into heat and spends her time tormenting Chinook :) They have become very good buddies. Abe and Ozzie have paired up, but just tolerate each other. Hopefully they will become more friendly toward each other.
On a more concerning note, Abe has stopped eating hay. He remains interested in grain and Dengie, but will not eat the hay like the rest. He spends much of his time off to the side standing quietly. We will start adjusting his diet to account for him not eating hay. We will also try and figure out what is going on with him. Though his teeth need to be done, it does not appear to be the reason behind this. When he was eating the hay he did not make hay "balls" or spit out feed, like a horse who cannot eat properly due to teeth issues. It is worrying, but at least he is eating something.

More reports later. Off to prepare for big winter storm coming in.

B

CAFEPRESS

NEW!! Items on sale to support the Belgians
http://www.cafepress.com/SWBELGIANS

Thanks!
Beth

A new day!

The crew is doing very well today. Sally's sinus infection seems to be getting better. She's still being a very good girl about eating her antibiotics mixed in her grain. She wants to visit and be with us rather than eat. We have discovered she loves to have her face brushed.
The large fella, Chinook, is turning into a social butterfly. He went from worried to needy real quick! So I have he and Sally vying for attention all the time.
Abe is sweet, but still has one thing on his mind, FOOD. He also really enjoys his face brushed. He is proudly wearing a blanket now. We want him to put the nutrition toward weight gain, not trying to stay warm.
Ozzie, is still very up headed and leary. He will be the slowest to come around. If you go to work on him, he stands like a rock. I clipped his legs and cleaned his lesions while he stood patiently with no halter. What a champ.
Hopefully we will ground drive him in the next couple days. They all seem a little lost not working. It has to be a hard transition for them. It will take a little while, but they'll come to figure out the spa routine here at SquirrelWood.
We'd like to take a moment and thank all the generous people who have helped with the adoption and care of these Belgians. They have many angels watching over them.
B

Morning Outside

Today was the first turnout day for the crew. They are out in the snow enjoying fresh air and a little moving around. They have figured out the pecking order and are behaving well :)
Sally has been taking her antibiotics well and we hope to see some improvement in the sinus infection. Ozzie has been terrific. He stood to be clipped and have his mange treated. He has some nasty lesions on his lower legs that we are treating aggressively. Hopefully they will start to clear up now that they are exposed to the air and have treatment. The next step for him is a course of ivermectin and topical use of Frontline spray to take care of mites on his lower pasterns. Abe is also dealing with mites. Lots of stomping. He was treated with frontline spray and shows improvement. It will take worming and topical treatment to clear him up also. Chinook and Sally seem to be okay. No stomping or chewing at their legs. Sally has been getting very affectionate and follows us around when we are in the stall. She even attempted to have a carrot.
The outpouring of support has been amazing. Thank you to everyone who is helping the cause and allowing us to bring love to these big drafts.

New Holland 12/15/08

Not a bad turnout in the AM. Mix of horses, ponies, minis and donkeys. A few brought decent $600 to $850 or so. Most did not come close. A pair of liver chestnut morgans couldn't bring 50. A lovely black Percheron mare went thru and brought good money. I saw a decent Percheron stud out back, but did not see who he sold to. I'm not a regular there, so I can't tell you what went to who. All in all, it was not as terrible as I envisioned, but then again I have only seen film of how it was before they cleaned it up a bit. All the horses had hay and water. There was a beautiful bay right off the track- would have loved to take him home :(

I hope to head down next week.

THEY'RE HOME!!!

Well what a day. Not 2 but 4 Belgians have come home to SquirrelWood!
Abe is very sweet. He is being great. We have a long road ahead of us to get the weight on him and get him healthy again. He sure seems to have the will. His eyes are bright and he enjoys human company.
Sally, the roan mare is quiet and reserved. She is a bit under the weather and we will have to keep a close eye on her over the next few days.
Oz, a dark sorrel gelding joined the group. He looks to have been roughed up a little and did his share of work, but is intelligent. He will figure us out.
Last, but not least, Chinook. An enormous fella. He is very curious and appears to hit his head on everything. Easy to do when you are 18h or so. Once he figures out how tall he is, it may not be as much of a problem.

Tomorrow is their vet exams and farrier visit. More news then,
Here's pics of them in quarantine their first night at home.

Our History & Horses Cared For

These are some of the wonderful horses that have been in our care over the years:

The Prep for Arrival

A special thanks to Another Chance for Horses of Bernville PA. The take the time to take photos of broker owned horses and place them online. This allows the horses to be seen by a larger audience. This leads to placement and intervention before the horse(s) go back to auction. See their site http://ac4h.com/ for more info and pictures of horses awaiting aid.

We have begun the prep here at SquirrelWood for the arrival of the Belgians. Due to them coming directly from auction they will go into a quarantine barn and be held there for 3 weeks. We will have the vet do routine bloodwork, fecal exam to determine worm load, and dental exam. Once we have a sense of each horse and they are evaluated, we create a protocol for their care. Careful management of diet, worming and vaccination will take place. Dental work is very important during this initial period. We need to rule out physical causes for weight loss and body condition. It is easy to just say they were starved, but physical reasons may exist and contribute to their condition.

We will post on Monday when they arrive home. Thanks for taking the time to follow their story.

Welcome!

We invite you to check in weekly for updates on the Belgians from New Holland.

Abe: Shown on left, one of the group of Belgians.


They are scheduled for pick up in PA at the auction this Monday. Photos and updates will be available weekly.

For info on donating toward their care please email us at LuvPolo@aol.com

Thanks! Happy Holidays from SquirrelWood Farms

Beth & Diane