Johnnie B. Goode

Johnnie B. Goode

Last month, we lost two of our most beloved horses. Both Johnnie B. Goode and Bader came to Equamore in appalling condition. Both appeared to have recovered, but that recovery was tentative, as it is with most horses who have suffered abuse or neglect. Johnnie, who lived into his 30’s, died as the result of colic, always a threat to horses who’ve suffered long-term malnutrition. He was rescued just last year in response to a call from the Jackson County Sheriff’s office about a starving horse. With his skeletal frame and hair loss (a sign of late stage starvation), Johnny was in serious condition. Despite special feeds to accommodate advanced age and the condition of their teeth, aged horses who have suffered starvation are always at risk to colic, the number one killer of horses in the United States. Such was true for Johnnie, who simply ran out of time.

Bader

Bader

Unlike Johnnie, who looked his age, Bader, in his late twenties, seemed the vision of vigor and health. He was active and spirited both with his handlers and in the field. On April 21 when asked to come in, he was obviously in serious distress and lame in his left hind leg. A vet exam revealed a fractured hip, most likely the result of osteoporosis. The starvation and lack of exercise he had endured when kept in an enclosure no larger than a dog kennel had done its silent work. He, too, had simply run out of time. Because horses move so quickly and powerfully, the development of their bone structure is especially important. If, indeed, Bader’s hip fractured as a result of osteoporosis, his son Finn and daughter Star, rescued with him, may be in similar danger.

It’s time, as well as good food and good shelter, our donors give to Equamore horses. For some, like Johnny, life as an Equamore horse lasts less than a year; for others, like Bader, it lasts almost a decade. As a result of the time and care they enjoyed at Equamore Sanctuary, both Johnnie and Bader seemed to recover the mental equilibrium natural to herd animals, forgetting and even forgiving the neglect they had suffered. But time also revealed the toll such suffering had taken on their bodies.

In the end, they both ran out of the precious commodity. Please help us give the gift of time to more horses like Johnnie and Bader. You can become one in a Thousand, an Equamore Friend, by clicking one of the buttons below to help us continue giving the precious gift of time to one of the abused or neglected horse at Equamore Sanctuary in Ashland, Oregon.













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