Journey of Hope Horse Rescue
My heart has always been in horses.
Now my life is horses.
But my heart aches for those in need. Over the past few years we have taken in OTTBs and other unwanted horses needing care, rehabilitation for both body and soul, and given them a forever home to live at peace. But this past month I have been motivated beyond my limits and we are starting something bigger. We are opening a rescue so we can help more than just a few. We want to help the many. But we cannot do this alone.
Here are only a few of our most recent success stories.
Ella, shown below in her transition from off the track to now over a few months time. She begins her training regiment this winter once her back fills in from ground muscle training. She came to us significantly under weight, malnourished and covered in bacterial skin infections.
Day One
After 2 weeks, and 6 weeks.
She will remain with us for the entire 2016 year as we discover her talents for a new career; with hopes to enter the RRP Thoroughbred Makeover 2016 to raise more funds for our rescue.
Ella and her herd.
Rocking Q has been with me for the past 2 years. He was given to me as a 3 year old who had not been socialized in a herd and had a very serious cribbing issue. We had many, many behavioural issues with him in the beginning as we tried to acclimate him into a herd, and into living outdoors 24/7. He struggled through ulcers on and off the first year as he turned to cribbing to avoid the stress of his new home and avoided contact with other horses. In August of last year when we moved into our facility, he sparked on. We had him out in a large grass pasture with one other friend; and he began to eat more, run more and began to learn how to play.
Q's transformation from the spring of 2014 to fall of 2015.
His socialization has improved by leaps and bounds, as he now free roams the farm when we are home and visits with every horse he can over the fence. His favourite still being with my yearling filly, Gaia.
Q and Journey meeting for the first time.
And now he is my main steed. Keeping me safe everywhere we go, as we travel into the world of dressage at his own pace. To show the true nature and wealth in the heart of a thoroughbred. He is our pride and joy.
Our latest rescue, Journey, had a very rough go from the start. He came to us after travelling through a rehab farm after having unsuccessful surgery to remove chips in his stifle, then to another farm where we found him. With hopes to give him a full rehab we took him home in August. But he never found relief from his pain. We had xrays done, and the prognosis from the first xray was not good. It was clear he had suffered severe trauma to his stifle, and without a clear history from his first surgery, we could not justify a second surgery to try and fix it. We looked into injections, pain management etc. But every second opinion we received was too risky.
On Nov 2nd, we made the very difficult decision to put Journey down and free him from his pain. After living with a bone-on-bone joint in his stifle for almost a full year due to negligence, he was finally able to rest in peace.
Journey was 4 years old.
His love of running became his down fall as he ran through his pain; and no one took the time to ensure his own safety and comfort until it was far too late.
In his honour we are starting an OTTB rescue at our farm; dedicated to him and his final journey. We are asking for donations so we can begin rehab for other unwanted OTTBs in pain. These donations will go 100% towards the needs of these rehab horses. From feed, supplements, blankets, trimming, chiropractic and massage care; to transport and training.
We follow our own rehab models at Nature's Run Equestrian; based on natural horse keeping with a focus on enrichment, physical and emotional conditioning and herd socialization. We give full body treatments from qualified professionals in barefoot trimming, massage and chiropractic care.
Horses are our life here. We give everything we have to put back into them. But the costs are piling up and since having to put down Journey we are at a loss to be able to bring in our next rescue. These donations will be tracked and documented towards each of our rescue horses; and our rescue will be registered as a not-for-profit in the new year. Right now we are asking for help to get back on track as the winter creeps up and many horses will be looking for safe, warm homes.
Every little bit counts.
Please share our story and get others involved.
We are always looking for volunteers to join in on our adventures in helping these incredible horses find stability and happiness once again.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for everything you can offer to these horses. Their gratitude to you can be felt in every soft nicker at each meal, and in their free running strides in the fields.
Much love.
Please follow us and our journey with these incredible horses on our website;
www.naturesrunequestrian.com
Through our blog;
www.naturesrunequestrian.blogspot.com
And on our instagram page;
www.instagram.com/natures_run
