Bonnie and Clyde; update: 5 months later: pg.3 post 51.

[misita]

I don't do horse rescue and have never been around rescue horses. On Tuesday, I and some horse friends went to Petaluma, Ca. to view 16 horses who were rescued.

2 4 1/2 month old foals captured my heart within seconds. Plus, I felt they wouldn't live long if not adopted. Meet Bonnie and Clyde.

Nothing could have prepared me for the condition of these 2, and yes, I've seen rescue on TV. They are so filled with ticks that I've been pulling them for an average of 2 hours a day since Oct. 21st. The filly now sees me and puts her ears flat back. So I have mixed up her tick pulling with times where I just pet her. The colt, the darker of the two, is too ill to complain at all.

Neither foal has offered anything in the way of a trot at all. My vet is helping me with nutrition for both. The colt has quite serious diarrhea just from the little I've increased his grass hay.

I don't want to be judgemental. I understand how we can have horses and find ourselves in situations that are out of our control. But I'm having a very hard time with someone who would bring these two babies into the world when they're having hard times.

These foals mothers are in equally dire straights. I could not take them. Please pm me if you have any room for two JC TB mares who are in equally terrible condition, if not worse.

I would love to hear tips for taking care of these two? The photos don't show how terrible they truly are since they're both sporting very thick coats that cover most of the bones.

First 2 photos from Oct.2008. Last 3 photos are from March, 2009 Bonnie will be gray and Clyde a dark bay.

[rideagoldenpony]

Bless you for taking on those poor babies.

The hardest part is going to be worming them without killing them. Please proceed VERY VERY cautiously. I lost a stunning filly a couple of years ago, when she arrived here infested with parasites, and I stupidly just put her on the same worming program my other babies were on.

My vet suggests starting with a half dose of Safeguard or Panacur, as it is the most mild wormer. DO be careful. I hope they have an uneventful recovery. Very, very sad, but hopefully they have a future ahead of them now.

BTW -- OT, but I LOVE Cloverdale! I used to live in Boonville!!

[misita]

Thank you sooo much for your advice and please keep it coming. I am totally out of my realm here.

My vet has been helping me thank God. My plan had been to worm the hell out of them and give them grass hay round the clock but my vet totally changed my plan. Like you said, she had me give them a 200 lb. dose of wormer and would only let me give them 1/2 flake hay each morning and night. NO grain, alfalfa, or anything else. She did tell me with the current situation, I would kill them.

So now, today, the babies got 1/2 cup each of grain in the morning and 3/4 flake grass hay. Nothing else. It's SO hard not to throw more feed at them.

So for the ticks. I think I have most out of the filly but the colt still has a heavy population. I pick and pick and pick, but then feel he needs a rest. It's so hard to tell what's a tick and what's a sore. The flies just cling to this guy because he has sooo many tick sores.

[spacely]

I can't help, but I just wanted to say THANK YOU for taking these babies & giving them a chance.

[Bugs-n-Frodo]

I have heard of a couple things that will help ticks detatch. One is by taking a cottn swab and putting alcohol on it and dabbing that on the ticks themselves, not the surrounding area. If the poor baby is hurting, alcohol may not be the best choice. (I do, however, poor some alcohol in the bottom of a container and as you pick off the ticks, drop the buggers in the alcohol... just to make sure they are dead. The second thing that may help is baby oil, applied the same way and the third is vasoline. They can't breath so they detatch and you kill the nasty buggers. My concern is that they may be weak because of those nasty blood sucking bugs. I HATE ticks! HATE them. I hope those two little sweaties feel better soon. Jingles to them and their dams.

[misita]

That was my next question. When you've picked a tick off, can he get back on? So far, I've just been overwhelmed with getting them off.

[Bugs-n-Frodo]

Yes, if they are still alive. Kill the darned things. :lol: Alcohol is your friend, NOT theirs. :lol: When you get them off, just drop them in the alcohol, simple as that. Thanks for taking care of these babies. They don't deserve to suffer like that, you are doing a good thing.

[Dressage_Diva333]

Poor babies :( Thats so sad, so awful that this happens to so many horses.

Best of luck to you with them, they found themselves in a lucky situation :)

[f4leggin]

I dont know if in their condition it would be harmful - but years ago, I got a horse covered with ticks, and I used a dog flea and tick shampoo on it. Left it on for about 30 minutes. It killed all the ticks - I don't remember exactly what I did after the bath - but I think I just brushed all the ticks off once they were dead.

I rescued a filly last year that looked like your two. I kept her in the barn (with a paddock) all winter, and this spring, she emerged just fine. The thing you have in your favor is their youth.

Good luck - Jill

[Fenway]

Poor babies. You are so wonderful to take them in. I'm glad you are working closely with your vet on this. Jingles for the two darlings and some hugs for you.

[can't re-]

That was my next question. When you've picked a tick off, can he get back on? So far, I've just been overwhelmed with getting them off.

Yes, they will climb right back on the babies. Get a jar with a lid and fill it with alcohol, put the ticks in there. Even if you squash those little buggers, it's really hard to kill them. I hate ticks and am so glad I don't have them where I live now.

I'm glad these two have a chance with you. Ask you vet about probiotics. The key to getting them used to eating, is small amounts often.

[misita]

Apparently the babies are Iberian Warmbloods. I don't know what that is.

These babies are doing much better today. The filly is openly aggressive to me at times so I'm spending only a few moments, twice daily, pulling only a few ticks, so she knows I'm the herd leader. Then just petting her where she likes it most, and then leaving her alone. Her ticks at this point are not life threatening and I'm more worried about her human view. I want her to learn that we can be very nice.

The colt also is doing much better. Today he actually walked away from me as I tried to pull off his ticks. This is his first show of protest at all. So I'm quite happy. I did pull a few more but then just went about giving him some scratches.

I've yet to see either foal offer a buck or trot. They just kinda walk around lethargically.

f4leggin had offered the advice of tick shampoo and I'm going to talk to my vet. At this point there are only a few very HOT spots around the throat, neck, mane, armpits. So I think if I used the shampoo on only these areas, I could end this problem right away.

I'm still very worried about their mothers. So if you, or someone you know, can take on a JC registered mare, please let me know. Honestly, I don't think either is a good broodmare candidate for at least 2 years, if ever.

[clint]

Good for you for taking on those foals. UC Davis has a program for rehabilitating starved horses, and interesting, they use alfalfa. Here is the link with the reasoning behind that: http://www.completerider.com/starvedhorse.htm

[misita]

Clint,

Thank you for that study. That is so interesting. My vet was a student of UCD and I will forward the study to her. I have no idea where these foals would fall on the starvation scale. You can easily feel evey bone in their body.

[3Dogs]

don't have any better advice than that all ready given but bless you for taking these little babies!

[misita]

Here's their mothers who are still looking for a home. I'm not sure which mare goes with which foal. I suspect the lighter bay is probably the colt's mom. That would explain his horrid condition. Poor thing, she just didn't have anything to give him.

I do know they're both about 7 or 8 years old, approx 16h, and JC registered TB mares. I'm going to put them in the free section too.

Both are in Petaluma, Northern Ca.

It's so hard to believe they're between 7 and 8 years old. They look like they're in their mid 20's.

[rideagoldenpony]

We took in a rescue a few years ago that had a lice problem. At the suggestion of my vet, we used flea and tick shampoo (dog) from the grocery store, and it worked REALLY well. I think that you would be safe to at least wash the areas where the ticks are with the shampoo. If you just drop them on the ground, they will crawl back onto whatever they can find -- the horses, you, your pets, etc. And if you were able to kill the ticks by something other than pulling them out, maybe that would get you one step closer to being friends with these little guys!

[Ladybug Hill]

Nail polish in small amounts painted on the heads of the ticks will make them detach very painlessly. I would not bathe the foals at this point. Gentle worming, increasing grass hay for a few weeks until their guts are repopulated, gradually adding bits by bits. I have rescued and everything needs to work slowly. Good luck!

[horsechick]

sure fire tick removal...not for the faint of heart though! Grasp tick as close to the skin as you can manage (think pinching near the skin) and twist counter clockwise until it pops out-head and all. I swear it works! God Bless You!

[Tornado Run Farm]

Bless your heart!!!

About 15 years ago I reluctantly went to look at an OTTB 5yo I had NO intention of buying. (I had seen her when she was racing as a 3yo and made an off-hand comment to the owners that if they ever wanted to sell her, let me know. Thought she was gorgeous!)

Fast forward a couple of years when the owners kept hounding me to come look at her to buy. My inn was full at the time, and I kept putting them off. When I finally went, it just broke my heart. The once magnificant, vibrant filly was nothing but skin and bones, shivering in a pen with no shelter in 20 degree weather. She had tick nests throughout her forelock, mane & tail as you describe, rain rot to the point she had virtually no hair from the hips forward, both eyes completely swollen shut due to whatever, and hooves - we won't even go there. I bought her on the spot.

Fast foward again to today. She is fat and happy and retired grandma. She ended up being my foundation broodmare - bred her to all warmbloods and all her babies went premium and later as premium mares.

Hang in there - they'll rebound very quickly under your kind hand.:)

[Ladybug Hill]

It might not be an easy road to go down. I had many crying days with my rescues when things went wrong. Hope your path is smoother, but keep us updated with good and bad and we can support you through any rough patches and rejoice in your successes.

(how about that for a run on sentence?)

[misita]

WoW! OMGosh! I've never heard of 'tick nests', but that's exactly what they are. They're so thick in places, I can't tell where one starts, one finishes, and what's a scab, a sore, or a tick.

Never having been involved with rescues, this situation has just amazed me.

Good grief! Tick nests! That's just amazing! My horses get, what I thought, was lots of ticks. I have to go out there several times a week and spend 20 or 30 minutes body searching my mare band. But nothing in my experience has prepared me for this. I'm even dreaming ticks! No kidding!

[Star Creek]

Chris,

We've rescued all types of animals over the years and when ticks have been a problem we reach for our handy "tick hooks". A small plastic device, looks a bit like a forked crochet hook. You hook it between the tick's head and the animal's skin, spin it about 360 degrees and the tick lets go. Promptly make certain to then knock the tick off the hook into a jar of alcohol (we use an old glass jar with metal screw lid that some peppers came in from the grocery.) We have yet to have an animal object to tick removal by the tick hook. Certainly, it can take some time if you have many, and if you can remove in mass waves with shampoo, that'd be great, but if you have any stubborn ones, the tick hook rocks ! We got ours at Petco in Napa.

Regarding the moms, do you know Joe Shelton in Woodland? He and his wife Cathy are amazing people. They rescue thoroughbreds. Maybe you could pass on the details to him at tbfriends at aol.com. He could also likely provide some advice on feeding, worming, etc. for the foals His cell is on his web site at tbfriends.com.

All our best wishes from the Napa side of the Mayacamas ridge.

[misita]

Star Creek,

Thank you for that lead. I don't know these folks but I just e-mailed him all the details on the mares. Hopefully he can help.

[Bugs-n-Frodo]

I hope those mare's find homes. I wish I could help them out.

You do know that since you rescued these poor souls that we are going to be needing updates and them, in about 6 months, before and after pics.

[hrfponies]

I visited my cousin ranch several years ago and they had a poor horse that was white and she had ticks all over her so she almost looked green!! I took crisco and put it over the ticks and they began to suffocate and eventually came out.... it did make a mess, but it worked. Good luck and thank you for your kindness to rescue these poor babies!!

[flashykatt]

Hey Chris,

I think Iberian Warmbloods are a cross between an Andalusian or Lusitano and, well, anything. So since you know the dams are TB, the sire(s) could be full Andalusian/Lusitano or partbred, like an Azteca (Andy + QH) or something.

Lisa

[misita]

I just got this e-mail from Betsy Bueno this morning regarding the two TB mares. Does anybody have any great ideas? I just can't take on two more horses.


Chris,
I'm starting to get worried. She is talking Auction Yard now with these TWO broodmares. In their shape, they will go to meat. The two babies 1 and 1 1/2 yr olds, I don't know. She didn't mention these two. I'm going to pick up the Percheron and Belgium today or tomarrow and get them out of there for now so they don't go to auction next Monday. The rain is coming and I'm worried about those mares not having shelter or fat to keep warm.

Betsy

[genevieveg17]

The Petaluma auction on Monday? I can go get them and hold them for someone until they get transport arranged.

[grayfox]

Chris you are a wonderful person to rescue those poor babies. Are the other horses at a rescue or still with the original person?

[Star Creek]

Chris & Genevieve,

If the situation gets desperate (as if they aren't already, sorry) for the mares let me know. I don't have any available shelters but could set up a temporary pasture in an area of our farm that has oaks, and blanket them.

I will however likely need a roof for myself after that, as hubby has already laid down the law recently that there will be no additional animals at the homestead. He might put me in the chicken coop for the winter but I seriously doubt he'd send me to the meat auction, so I might take my chances.

Warm hens make good bedfellows I'm sure.

[misita]

Genevieve17,

Thank you!!! They are headed for the auction on Monday and I'm assuming it's the Petaluma auction since they are in Petalum. We are still trying to find a permanent home for them. It there's anyway you can take them temporarily, that would be a great help. Please pm me or contact betsybueno@aol.com

If you get them before the auction then they'll be free. If they're anything like their babies, and I suspect worse, then they'll be horribly filled with ticks. If you do end up with them, we'll have a tick pulling party!:eek::eek: The best remedy I'm hearing so far is to bathe them with dog flea and tick shampoo, which will kill the ticks. Then we can just brush them really good. This should save the moms some of the torture that I put Bonnie and Clyde through!

Phoenix Sporthorses in Healdsburg, Ca. has donated training to these mares, once their healthy, to get them back under saddle. Thank you Heather Bailey and John Strassburger!!!

Grayfox,

They are at a middle ground that is not a rescue. The County is just getting involved but it seems to be a slow process. Again, sorry for the sketchy details but I've never been involved with any kind of rescue. Please contact betsybueno@aol.com for better details.

When I asked Betsy about the auctions, this was her reply:

Wow Chris, do we need to teach you. No, they will not to good homes. Only two people are the auction yard, Butchers and Traders, well besides crazy people who do rescue like me. Anyway, the butchers buy them up in droves. They travel to all the yards, pick up as many as they can, jamming them into trailers without food or water. They travel like this for 3 days, never getting out of the trailer. They arrrive in Mexico, Texas or Canada and go to the Butcher Houses. There they sit in blood soaked paneled areas waiting, hearing and smelling the death before it is their turn. They are trying to OUTLAW slaughter in ALL states, but we are not quiet there yet. It is Outlawed in Calif to kill for meat, so in turn thats why they are shipped out of state in these horrible trailers. Traders are the others at the auction yard. They buy them up CHEAP normally around 24-48 cents a pound. They take them home, drug them to be calm, beat the shit out of them into submission and then present them to a new buyer has a DEAD BROKE horse for their family. People actually fall for this. If you ever want to go, its every Monday, Petaluma Auction Yard.

Betsy

[genevieveg17]

I am picking these two mares up tomorrow morning. Hopefully we can find them a permanent home after they get healthy.
I will post photos in the morning.

[rideagoldenpony]

Bless you, Genevieve. I can say from personal experience that the Petaluma auction yard is a TERRIBLE place. Thank goodness these poor mares will not be put through that.

Please keep us posted!!!

[Hiddenacresmi]

Kudos to you for taking in these babies.. it warms one's heart to see the love that is being bestowed upon them. Congratulations, and thank you from a fellow equine enthusiast!


BTW.. years back, we took in two TB colts .. same sort of condition. We raised them until they were 3 years old and then I sold them (very reasonably priced) to a trainer. I hear now that one is living in Long Island NY at a fancy dressage facility!! The other is competing in the hunter/jumper circuit in Maine. It was a happy ending for our situation and sure made us feel good at the end.

Good luck!

[misita]

Thank you Geneveive!!. You the best!!! Please let me know if you need help cleaning them up. I'm so thrilled that now these mares will have a chance to begin their recovery.

[genevieveg17]

The two mares are here. One has a terrible infection, either vaginal or uterine, as she walks big, slimy globs pour out of her. Both have goopy noses. They are thin, coats look patchy and rough. Plenty of ticks.
I will post photos in a little bit

[3Dogs]

Genevieve and Misita - bless you both!!!!

[hollyhorse2000]

Where is your local humane society in all of this?????

Thank you both for stepping it, but this looks like it deserves legal action as well.

[Iron Horse Farm]

Bless you Gen!!!!!!! I have been lurking and hoping that someone would take them.


Does anyone know what happened to the other two (the mares yearlings?)

[JGHIRETIRE]

You guys are great for doing this!!

Please keep us posted with updates and pictures!!!

[Fenway]

I hope things work out for these two girls. :(
You guys are saints for looking out for them.

[misita]

Bless you Gen!!!!!!! I have been lurking and hoping that someone would take them.


Does anyone know what happened to the other two (the mares yearlings?)

This is a yearling who still needs a home. There's another one too but I don't have a picture. There were 16 horses involved from this one owner. So far 8of the 16 are safe. The worse ones, the two mares and foals, now are out of there.

The county is getting involved but Betsy Bueno does all that. I have no idea how it works. I only know it looked like these two mares were going to auction before the county could take them. Thank God Geneveive got them out of there.

This is a yearling still looking for a new home.

[TKR]

Are any charges being filed? What is the story? I hope someone is prosecuted for this.
PennyG

[misita]

I asked Betsy Bueno, the woman who does the rescue, and this is what she said.


Hi Chris,
I myself am sickend by this woman and would love to do more to her but the system SUCKS. Animal control would #1 tell her to call out a vet to check them #2 give her a feeding program and then re-check them in 2 weeks for weight gain. #3 give her the option to give them up to private parties or animal control. The only way crimminal charges are filed is basically DEATH or near Death for them to do something. That's ok, we got almost all of them good homes. Only two more to place, the 2 1/2 yr old Andulusion / TB Cross, Black and Grey with blonde mane and tail, Filly and the 2 1/2 yr old Percheron / TB cross Bay, Colt that was in with the yearling with pigon fever.

I will follow up on this lady. One thing I am going to do is insist she pay for the vet bill on the sick mare that has a fever and squirting infection from her vagina. Possible plasenta still stuck or just infection set in. Never the less, this is what Animal Control would ask of her, so, so am I.

Thank you for all your help. If it wasn't for you, at least the Bay Mare would probably have died from infection and malnutrition. Thanks You so much for being there and reaching out to people.

Betsy


Geneveive got these mares just in time.

[FLIPPED HER HALO]

This is a yearling who still needs a home. There's another one too but I don't have a picture. There were 16 horses involved from this one owner. So far 8of the 16 are safe. The worse ones, the two mares and foals, now are out of there.

The county is getting involved but Betsy Bueno does all that. I have no idea how it works. I only know it looked like these two mares were going to auction before the county could take them. Thank God Geneveive got them out of there.

This is a yearling still looking for a new home.

I was talking with Betsy about this guy as I was going to pick him up tomorrow to keep him from going to the auction on Monday but she found a placement for him.

There is still a 2.5 year old solid bay Percheron-TB cross that needs a home ASAP.
He is on the right in this picture.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i131/TBJMPR2/RescueatPetaluma1yrand212yrolds001.jpg

[genevieveg17]

If she is referring to the mare I am fostering I would seriously doubt that she has retained a piece of placenta since the foal is 4.5 months old and the mare is still standing. I think she just has an infection. No fever, just the nasty discharge.
The mares seem content now. They are doing well. The tick population is dwindling but some of the little blood suckers are still hanging on despite all of the treatments. I just keep plucking the little buggers and drop them in their alcohol jug of death.
Hopefully someone will step in and give these mares a permanent home. They are handling all of this with such kindness and grace. Really sweet mares.

[JGHIRETIRE]

Good job you guys for getting them out of there!!!

[misita]

The mares: Geneveive17 rescued the mothers of Bonnie and Clyde. She went to get them, got them medical attention, bathed them, and pulled jillions of ticks!~:eek::eek: She got them out of an emergency situation where they were headed for auction, and probably slaughter in TX, Canada, or Mexica, within days. But now she needs to take care of her own herd. So we need to find them a more permanent home.

Phoenix Farm has generously donated free training to these mares to get them going back u/s when they're in condition for training again.

I will donate one breeding to each mare when and if they become in breeding condition again. They have shown that they are good producers because the two babies I took are very nice with correct conformation, good movement and superb temperments.

Please contact me, Geneveive17, or betsybueno@aol.com if you would like to give these girls a loving home. They are still terribly thin and will need a lot of TLC.

Bonnie and Clyde: These two foals are doing spectacular especially since I didn't even know if Clyde would live. They are still racks of bones but they got their 2nd dose of wormer today. They have a regular glow in their eyes now and hold their heads high. Today they even were trotting and slipping around in their paddock and acting much like regular foals. They are truly eating like horses!:) It looks like it's going to be a long time before some real flesh gets on their bones but I'm thrilled with their progress.

I will be putting them both up for adoption when they're fat and sassy. Probably in late Spring.

Right now they're still too weak to go in with my other weanling. Her name is Wildflower if that's a clue. But in about a week, I hope to put the 3 babies together.

[genevieveg17]

The two mares, nick named Hope and Faith, are doing very well.
They have been deticked, dewormed, vaccinated and had their feet trimmed. They have good attitudes and great appetites. The bay mare's, Hope, is no longer having the yucky discharge. The vet has examined both mares and confirmed they are both young (6 or 7).
I would love to find these girls a permanent home.
If you are interested I will deliver them (reasonable distance)

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc149/glenhillfarm/HopeandFaith022.jpg

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc149/glenhillfarm/HopeandFaith002.jpg

[misita]

Just thought you'd enjoy to see Bonnie and Clyde now. Both have had all their baby shots and Clyde was gelded. Both are thriving and should make lovely lower level performance prospects. The lighter one is Bonnie and she will go grey. The bay is Clyde and he has the sweetest temperament imaginable

First 3 photos: 5 Months later
last 2 photos: Before

[Hampton Bay]

They are both adorable, and they look SO much better! I wish I were closer. I would take one of them in a heartbeat.

[FalseImpression]

and wondered. Genevieve, what has happened to the mares? You are becoming quite the rescuer.. mares, dogs...
and a breeding to the mares? okay.....

[misita]

These are the 2 TB mares that Genevieve17 saved from the auction and meat truck. They are still in a rescue center but safe from being sent to auction.

I had oringinally offered a free breeding to their new owners but the rescue center will not allow them to be adopted as broodmares. Both are quite young, I believe 7 or 8. They are the dams of my Bonnie and Clyde. They were in absolutely horrible condition when Genevienve17 saved them from auction.

First 2 photos are of Hope and Faith now
last 2 photos: 5 months ago.