Bryant: “Brave, Courageous, and Strong of Heart”
- Chestnut QTR Gelding
- Entry Date – 3/12/07
- Type of rescue – Seizure by Jackson County Animal Control
- Reason – Starvation victim
- Special needs – Special feeds
Bryant’s Injury
Bryant, an Appendix Quarter Horse, arrived in 2007 after a lengthy intervention by Jackson County Animal Control to rescue him from a ranch in the Rogue Valley. Neighbors had watched Bryant’s steady decline over the winter of 2006, until he was close to starvation weight. His hip bones were completely devoid of hair and full of scabs, and what little coat he had was reflective of his general state of ill health. Despite his physical condition, Bryant fairly leapt into the trailer wearing a halter that barely held his huge and beautiful head. He nickered as he left the trailer, nickered as he entered the barn, and nickered to each person who came to greet him.
Bryant’s condition slowly changed over the next year with the introduction of good nutrition and lots of love. Nearly all of his body hair fell out within three weeks—a sign of how close he was to starvation. Eventually he grew a coat of silky copper, which he loved to have stroked.
Arthritis and navicular disease caused him serious discomfort and lameness continuing to plague this stoic horse. With special shoes and special medication from our “Foot Fetish” project, he became able to canter and play. Notwithstanding his difficult past, Bryant was wonderfully affectionate and responsive to humans—everyone got a nicker, and he loved to be groomed! Bryant made his own way down the aisle to his stall after turn-out, but frequently put himself in the cross-ties instead, waiting for some grooming and loving.
This sweet horse spent his evenings in his cozy stall, some of his days mixing it up with the gelding herd in the back pasture, and most recently keeping the company of Juan, a blind Sanctuary resident, who was in the stall next to Bryant’s.
Bryant was a testament not only to the power of healing, but to the incredible good and kind nature of horses even after they have been terribly neglected.
