You can read Freya's story below. This one was devastating to us, but not entirely unexpected. After 3 years of neglect, Freya's hooves had grown into elf shoes. Radiographs showed us that this neglect had completely remodeled her coffin bones. She was in quite a bit of pain and there was no chance we could rehab her feet. Despite the pain she was in, she had such a delightful personality. It's a tragedy that she lost the opportunity for a full life because of the neglect she suffered. We hope you're running pain-free now, Freya.
Freya arrived on June 11, 2023 became an instant fan favorite! She is a tri-colored pinto mare who had very long, overgrown hooves (elf shoes) as a result of receiving no vet or farrier care for at least the three years she was with her previous owner. Her mane and tail were severely matted. We also know that white bread was a key factor in her diet. She just had her first vet appointment and we think she's likely in her late teens to maybe 20. Her cloudy eye is due to an old untreated injury.
Our farrier made significant progress on her feet in her first visit, but we'll be getting x-rays to do a deeper evaluation and help guide on-going foot rehab work. We're also running bloodwork to check for anything else we need to address. We expect she'll put weight on properly with a healthy diet of hay.
Now that Freya is in a safe place being well-cared for an loved on, her personality is really emerging! She's very playful and social and looks for every opportunity to connect with people and horses around her. She's a bit of a snack stealer, too -- don't be eating a chip in her vicinity or she's likely to snag it from you. She was a big hit at our Tack Sale and loved having all the stimulation of the people saying hello.
More to come on Freya as she makes her way through her rehab!
UPDATE 7/10/2023: Freya's Bloodwork was good, but she tested positive for Cushings. She was pretty lame after the big trim we mentioned above, so we put some Soft-Ride boots (similar to Cloud boots) on her, which helped. Our farrier checked her again on July 7 and we took the boots off. She is moving better, though still a little sore when turning. She is eating well, gaining weight, and her personality is coming out now that she feels better; she loves attention and was a real star as one of the featured animals at our Tack Sale. She has an appointment coming up to get her teeth done and radiographs of her feet.
April 5, 2024: Oh, dear Sparrow. In the last few months, his pain levels with his arthritis were increasing at a rapid pace. Every day was getting more difficult for him and his formerly sunny personality was a victim of his chronic pain. We tried a variety of options to see if we could keep him comfortable, but nothing seemed to make a difference for him. Mercifully, he had a peaceful transition over the rainbow bridge after being spoiled with carrots and love by his wonderful foster home. Fly free, sweet Sparrow. 
Tall, dark, and handsome Sparrow and his pal Hopper recently made the trek to us from Save a Forgotten Equine (SAFE). Both geldings were part of the Graham 27 horse Pierce County Animal Control seizure in November of last year. We have great admiration for SAFE and have been partnering with with in horse rescue when we have capacity.
This sweet, well-mannered, and friendly Thoroughbred gelding is a 22 year old former racehorse. He sure doesn't seem to have let his less than ideal prior life cloud his sunny outlook.
June 12, 2023: He has done really well in his foster home, which is especially heartening given the arthritis in his knees/hocks and stifles. We're treating his arthritis with anti-inflammatories and pain meds.
January 2024: Sparrow seems to be dealing with an increase in pain levels, so we're having him evaluated.
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.
Othello was a 7-year old half-Navajo Mustang/half-Arabian. Unlike many of the horses on this page, Othello rehabbed quite successfully and was acing his training. Much to our heartbreak, he was discovered in distress at his foster home early one morning with a twisted intestine and was euthanized. He was deeply loved and each of us who knew him is left with a big hole in the heart.
Selena was a 20 year old mare that had spent most of her life without being handled, and as a result was unable to be rehabilitated enough for us to provide the basics of care for her.
Kiowa was a 13 year old APHA mare who was diagnosed with cancer and was blind in one eye.
Gladys was a 30+ year old mare who developed respiratory issues, causing her difficulties when breathing.
Star was a 23 year old mare that had a chronic choke issue as well as ongoing lameness, and her attitude was uninterested, distant, and untrusting. After much discussion and consultation with several veterinarians, we made the decision to peacefully euthanize her.
Hot Shot was a 32 year old mare with joint and spinal arthritis. She had stayed in our program for over five years.
Daphne was a 20 year old paint mare who had severe hoof problems that kept her from being sound and comfortable.
Dodger was a 17 year old gelding who had re-fractured his coffin bone, causing him to be in chronic pain.
Stevie was a 26 year old Quarter Horse type mare who had severe and unpredictable aggression issues.
Edward was a 27 year old Thoroughbred cross who was diagnosed with Wobblers.
Henry was an older gelding who had medical issues that prevented recovery.
Kenneth was an older Quarter Horse gelding who became unable to rise.
Dunn was a 15 year old Quarter Horse type mare who suffered from neurological issues.
Splash was a 6 year old Pinto mare who had a terribly deformed leg.
Mazy was a very sweet 15.3 hand, registered and tattooed bay Thoroughbred mare. According to her records, she was born as Sunset Echo, foaled April 8, 1997, and raced once as a 4-year-old at Portland Meadows. Before she came to us, she'd been through some difficult stuff. Her body condition score was 3-4/9 when she was released to Skagit County Animal Control in February 2019 with current wounds and scars from old ones.
Mazy had severe muscle atrophy to her left shoulder and upper leg, likely due to nerve damage. It was a progressive condition without the possibility of improvement. She got to the point where her stability was unreliable and we made the difficult decision to euthanize her.
Spud was a very special 25 year old senior horse. An adorable Bashkir Curly gelding, he came to us six and a half years ago in terrible condition. He was emaciated, among other things, and had a previously fractured pelvis which had turned arthritic. And yet, his personality shined through. Because he had a complex variety of conditions needing special care, we decided not to adopt him out, but to place him in long-term foster care with his devoted foster mom, Gina.
Just recently, it became clear that his arthritis was progressing to the point that was no longer comfortable. These are the decisions that gut us, but that as stewards of these magnificent animals, we must make.
We all will miss Spud -- especially Gina. And we cannot thank Gina enough for the love and care she lavished on Spud during the last years of his life. He was happy and well cared for and knew he was loved.
SPUD'S BACKSTORY
Spud is a 1998 Bashkir Curly gelding that stands at 14.1 hands. Spud was released to Skagit County Animal Control on 4/28/2017 with a 2/9 Body Condition Score, lice, and fungal skin infections. We later discovered that Spud also had a previously fractured pelvis. Unfortunately, due to the progressive deterioration of his pelvic fracture and associated arthritic, Spud is now in Long-Term Care with his loving foster family and is not available for adoption.
Spud's foster home says:
What can I say about Spud? In short, he is adorable, and full of personality. He is always gentle, never pushy, waits at the gate the minute he hears my car come in the driveway. He follows me around in the pasture poking his nose at what I’m doing, nibbles gently at my hand or nickers when he is hungry. If he doesn’t like the taste of something, like dewormer, he makes the funniest faces for quite a while afterward. He is by far the easiest horse to be around I have ever met- gentle and sweet.
