So Friday I got a phone call from a acquaintance of mine. His cousin has this horse...he's not been feeding it, and is going to shoot him if someone doesn't come pick him up TODAY. So like the suckers we are, MFB and I loaded up and drove out to get the guy. When we got there, pulled up to the fence, this skinny guy greeted me. Came right up to me and put his nose in my hand and looked at me with these sad eyes that practically begged for someone to help him. And that...is how "Gus" came home with us. (Cause we're both giant marshmallows.)
We were told he was a three year old, but our trainer said between five and six years old. He's a full stallion and had never been handled, never had a halter on or even a rope on him until we picked him up Friday. He's ran totally wild. The only time he had ever been in a trailer was when the guy bought him a year or so ago. The owner had him in a wooded area with little or no grass, no hay and said he "wasn't feeding the *&%$ thing" because he was tired of him and because he wouldn't stay in the pen. Now we are talking about a SINGLE strand of electric fence here, with three mares on the other side of the fence. (The mares were well fed. Gus basically got to see these other horses being fed while he starved to death in another pasture.) I hate mean stupid people.
He rushed us into getting him by threatening to let him starve or shoot him. Terry really wanted our cowboy trainer friend to take a look at him first, but he didn't get a chance before we had to pick Gus up. Anyway, he's got to be gelded and it's a $600 surgery. One testicle never dropped so not the quick cheap cutting we had planned. The training, feed and such we sorta figured on, but not a major vet bill on top of everything else... (Yeah, I'm an idiot.) He's at the trainer's right now, but he can't keep him there unless he's cut because of all the mares he has there. We can't keep him here because of our mare. So... What to do? The surgery is Tuesday...
Here's the really tough part. I am totally in love with him. He's a big, gentle boy. He didn't give us much trouble loading him although he was scared of the ride home. He's very intelligent. He'll come up to you, let you rub him, just very gentle for a intact male. We dropped him off at the trainers Friday evening. Within 5 minutes he had a rope on him, in 30 minutes he had a halter on him, in an hour he had the big boy on a lead and following him. He's a smart horse darn it. He's a Morgan/Percheron cross, very thin, his hooves are in terrible shape, but he seems to be in good health otherwise. Our trainer said he needed wormed, fed, hooves trimmed, worked and just shown a little attention and he'd be a good steady horse.
We just can't afford everything. I don't know... I hate to just see anything suffer and never given a chance.
Everyone I've spoken to about him says he's going to cost around 2 thousand dollars to get back into condition along with the gelding...most people just look at me like I'm completely insane...and I guess we are...but looking into those eyes I just had to give him a shot. The trainer summed it up best "He hasn't ever had a chance at life. He'd make a d*#$ good horse if anyone had ever given him half a chance." So anyway...we now have a rescue horse. Just another "Slightly Damaged Stray" at Whippoorwill Creek Farm.
We were told he was a three year old, but our trainer said between five and six years old. He's a full stallion and had never been handled, never had a halter on or even a rope on him until we picked him up Friday. He's ran totally wild. The only time he had ever been in a trailer was when the guy bought him a year or so ago. The owner had him in a wooded area with little or no grass, no hay and said he "wasn't feeding the *&%$ thing" because he was tired of him and because he wouldn't stay in the pen. Now we are talking about a SINGLE strand of electric fence here, with three mares on the other side of the fence. (The mares were well fed. Gus basically got to see these other horses being fed while he starved to death in another pasture.) I hate mean stupid people.
He rushed us into getting him by threatening to let him starve or shoot him. Terry really wanted our cowboy trainer friend to take a look at him first, but he didn't get a chance before we had to pick Gus up. Anyway, he's got to be gelded and it's a $600 surgery. One testicle never dropped so not the quick cheap cutting we had planned. The training, feed and such we sorta figured on, but not a major vet bill on top of everything else... (Yeah, I'm an idiot.) He's at the trainer's right now, but he can't keep him there unless he's cut because of all the mares he has there. We can't keep him here because of our mare. So... What to do? The surgery is Tuesday...
Here's the really tough part. I am totally in love with him. He's a big, gentle boy. He didn't give us much trouble loading him although he was scared of the ride home. He's very intelligent. He'll come up to you, let you rub him, just very gentle for a intact male. We dropped him off at the trainers Friday evening. Within 5 minutes he had a rope on him, in 30 minutes he had a halter on him, in an hour he had the big boy on a lead and following him. He's a smart horse darn it. He's a Morgan/Percheron cross, very thin, his hooves are in terrible shape, but he seems to be in good health otherwise. Our trainer said he needed wormed, fed, hooves trimmed, worked and just shown a little attention and he'd be a good steady horse.
We just can't afford everything. I don't know... I hate to just see anything suffer and never given a chance.
Everyone I've spoken to about him says he's going to cost around 2 thousand dollars to get back into condition along with the gelding...most people just look at me like I'm completely insane...and I guess we are...but looking into those eyes I just had to give him a shot. The trainer summed it up best "He hasn't ever had a chance at life. He'd make a d*#$ good horse if anyone had ever given him half a chance." So anyway...we now have a rescue horse. Just another "Slightly Damaged Stray" at Whippoorwill Creek Farm.
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