January 27 th
Knickers gets a horsey makeover
By · CommentsKnickers, the 30 year old Arabian stallion we just took in, saving him from being put down, had a quite a day today. He got a horsey makeover of sorts! At 10 AM, the farrier came to trim his hooves. I normally do the hoof trimming here, but his feet were too overgrown and he is not too easy to handle. Sam (the farrier) and I managed to get the job done with no one getting hurt and Knickers was not caused any upset.
newly trimmed hoof
Knickers, won't you sponsor a horse?
In the afternoon, our vet was out to give Knickers a much-needed dental. He is missing some molars and the opposing teeth kept growing into points, which had to be cut off with molar cutters, a tool that looks like a bolt cutter. Here is what was cut off. He also got his teeth floated, which is having the sharp edges filed off.
Sharp molar points which had been causing pain
Knickers was sedated for his dental, so he was very well behaved for that! When I fed him his evening meal, he was already having an easier time eating his soaked hay pellets.
While the vet was here, he took a look at Tara, because the groomer and I had found she has a tumor on her hind end. It does not appear to be cancerous and we feel surgery would be out of the question at her age and condition and the cost to do it. Our vet thinks it could be quite some time before it causes possible incontinence. Tara already has arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, so putting her through invasive surgery would not be a good thing in our opinion.
Tara snoozing
Tonight, our friend Monica Wilson saw Knickers’ picture on Facebook and did some artistic changes. We love it!
Knickers, by Monica Wilson
January 22 nd
New Susan Monty Art – Donate to Animal Charity
By · CommentsSusan Monty is a superb equine artist and often uses our mustangs and burros as models to bring awareness to the wild horse & burro issue. She also donates part of her art proceeds to JERAS and other rescues. You can buy originals, prints & cards and donate to animal charity at the same time.
This is her newest- Vanishing Spirits- using Windy & Rene’ as models.
Vanishing Spirits by Susan Monty
Detail of Windy
Detail of Rene'
We love it and we hope you will visit her websites:
and
http://susanmontyfineart.ets
January 19 th
Sponsor a Horse
By · CommentsJERAS has taken in a new horse who was about to lose his foster home and was going to be put down because another home could not be found. We are seeking people who may want to sponsor a horse.
This was the post I had seen on Facebook:
“Knickers – Arabian Stallion in an animal shelter in Grass Valley, CA – 29 years old in desperate need of rescue. They have two-weeks to find him a rescue/adopter. Knickers was pulled from deplorable conditions back in June. He spent well over 10 years of his life living in a dark, dingy barn in a tiny 10×10 barb-wired pen. The pen was never cleaned and the water and food supply was sparse at best. A Foster Care person pulled him and 11 other horses from the property, some were living in 5 feet of mud. They put wood shavings down and the horses were so hungry they started eating them. Knickers came to stay at the foster care’s mom’s house. They had the vet out, his teeth floated and his feet trimmed. He was thin but not nearly as skinny as the others. Knickers is a very gentle boy with people. Eventually, they had to place him in another foster home right up the road since they had two mares. Knickers did really well in his new foster home and is was living with a gelding in a big pasture. The reason we need to find a new place for Knickers is because the original foster owners are moving out of state and his current foster mom’s house is in foreclosure. They are worried that euthanasia might be the end result. They can bring him up to date on all necessary vaccines and transport. We just need to get him out of our shelter system as soon as possible. Please help they are desperate.”
He looks just like the little Arabian gelding I had for 24 years, who died of a stroke at age 31 in 2004. I could not bear to think this horse might die after being rescued, just because he is losing his foster home. Stallions are hard to place and require special handling. The consensus is he is too old to geld safely. After all those years of neglect, he deserves to spend his final years in a safe, comfortable home.
It also turns out he has spectacular bloodlines, and is a Naborr grandson and great-grandson. If you aren’t familiar with this famous Arabian, just Google him.
We have built a paddock to separate him from the other horses, since he is a stallion, but he will have lots of company on the other side of the fence. We hope to be able to eventually pair him up with Raven, our one domestic horse. He arrived at 11 PM Jan. 18 and was quite wild and rambunctious, but settled down overnight. He is a beautiful horse, despite his age.
Knickers requires a diet of soaked pellets, as he is almost 30 years old and has lost molars. His feed and supplements will run about $125 a month. With rising hay prices, it is a constant struggle to get enough funding to pay our feed bills. Won’t you consider becoming a monthly donor to help sweet old Knickers?
Knickers shortly after rescue/summer 2011
Knickers
When you’re looking to buy, 
