Forest was an 9-year old chestnut Quarter horse mare. As a foal, she was a SAIN horse named Speck who found a wonderful home. She and her stablemate, Gracie, landed back with us because her owner is battling a very serious ongoing health crisis. Gracie was adopted.
She was diagnosed with juvenile hock arthritis back when she was originally with us and she seems to be dealing with related lameness. Unfortunately, her condition was deteriorating very quickly, progressing to the point that she was dragging her back legs. With no treatment options available, we made the decision to humanely euthanize this sweet girl.
Run free, Forest.
Ren's story is below. Sadly, while we had hope for him -- as we do for all our animals -- Ren's many physical and behavioral issues made him a danger to himself and others.
Ren is a brown and white pinto horse who we're told is about 11 or 12. He came to us as a seizure from Skagit County Animal Control in really rough shape. We don't know his breed, but at 15 hands, he was very underweight when he came to us. Now he's come through a number of the issues he came to us with (see below) and this handsome boy is ready to find his forever home. He will be a companion horse only and has some special needs but we know that perfect place is out there for him. He gets on well with other geldings.
When Ren came to us, in addition to being so thin, he had lice and a noxious discharge coming from one nostril. And another thing...his hooves were overgrown and his frogs were in bad shape from thrush. Our vet was able to take down the sharp points on his teeth and scope his nasal passages. One was totally clear but there was an infection in the other with some inflamed and necrotic tissue. Fortunately, a course of strong antibiotics cleared up the infection.
His foster mom thinks he might be part Arab -- she noticed a little dish to his face, plus, there's the spice.
Update 5/8/2022: Ren’s infection has cleared and healthy tissue has grown in. We were elated to find out there was no sign of anything worse. He continues to gain weight, and though he still has a little way to go, he is looking much better. His feet are coming along, and he is finally not as sore-footed as he had been. His foster home is starting to do some groundwork with him, and we hope to have him assessed for riding once he has gained a little more weight.
Cosmo was adopted December 16, 2022 after about a year with us here at SAIN. We're ecstatic that this sweet, lovely horse has found a forever home with Jeanine...just in time for Christmas!
This guy is adorable! Cosmo is a sweet and gentle 16-year-old Quarter horse type gelding. He was emaciated from lack of food, landing at about a 1.5 or 2 on the 1-9 body condition scale. As is the case with many neglected equines, he needed his feet done (which has happened). Once he has more weight on him and can be safely sedated, he'll need his teeth floated. Poor guy also has rain rot. He has been dewormed and received most of his vaccinations.
Now that he's in a safe and loving place, he just wants to be near his foster people. He is happy to be in a stall with food in front of him. He enjoys getting in a good roll and some nice rubs from his foster family. And he has the best manners! "When it was time to put him away, I didn’t even halter him; he just walked next to me back to his stall and went in as if he’s been here for months, not hours," his foster mom told us. "Then he nickered at me when I brought him his dinner. He is so sweet."
Cosmo has a long road to wellness in front of him. We'll certainly keep you updated on his progress.
UPDATE January 22, 2022: Cosmo has now been fully vaccinated and he's putting on weight at a reasonable pace. He is now fully vaccinated. Soon, he'll get his teeth floated and he really needs it. We can tell he's a bit uncomfortable.
UPDATE April 8, 2022: We are so excited to say that Cosmo has had his teeth floated and he's at a healthy weight. We're currently assessing him for riding, which means he'll soon be ready to find his forever home! We'll keep you posted!
Update May 8, 2022: Cosmo seems to be having a little lameness that we're in the process of evaluating. We're going to work on figuring that out and addressing it before he's ready for a new home. He's staying in his attentive foster home for now.
UPDATE August 2022: Cosmo is doing better! He is no longer footsore when standing and walking, but still a bit lame at the trot. We are so happy to see the improvement!
UPDATE September 6, 2022: Cosmo is now available for adoption as a companion horse! He has continued to improve and finally no longer looks lame. Had a new farrier out and he dug out the sub-solar abscess Cosmo had had in his right front. This big love of a horse is ready for his new home.