Baby boy was acquired on
We received a call from our local auction about a blind, weak and extremely skinny horse. He was a small saddle bred. He would make the transportation truck headed for the slaughter house due to his condition. He had been badly beaten with the majority of his body covered with open lacerations and he also suffered serious conjunctivitis.
We immediately went to save him from this devastating situation. He had been badly beaten with open lacerations throughout his body both prior to coming to the auction house and from other horses injuring him while in the kill pen. I fell in love with this scared beaten horse and knew we had to get him out of that situation immediately. With no hesitation, we loaded him onto the trailer and brought him to our main facility. You could just see the relief in him as to say thank you for getting me out of there and knew he was now safe.
At this point, he was NOT available for adoption and our only concern was getting him back to health. The vet did come quickly to look him over and prescribed antibiotic ointment for his eyes. He did say that he did not think that he would regain his site. He was very week, but had a good attitude towards me. He was very scared for about three days. He was put on a special feeding regimen four times a day and, given the supplement of Red Cell.
Below: a photo of Baby Boy after one week at our facility being treated by the vet and Penni White. Most of his wounds are now closed and he has adapted to his new environment well. You will see that he is starting to gain more weight and his wounds are healing up. I was applying an ointment to them to help them heal and keep them clean. The kids and I were spending a lot of time with him to get him comfortable and to feel love and attention. Something that from the condition and looks of him, he was not used too!
When Baby Boy arrived, he was immediately seen by the vet and evaluated. He was put on medication for his wounds and his eyes to try to regain some site. At this point, he could "possibly" see shadows. We found out that his blindness was caused from optical nerve damage possibly from being beaten and starved. Baby Boy is completely blind in both eyes and we were unable to save any of his vision. He was put on a feeding regimen and monitored closely. Baby Boy adapted to our facility very well and gained his trust with us quickly.
Below is a photo of Baby Boy at our facility now for a little over two weeks. You can see that he is gaining weight from his feeding regimen and his supplements. His coat is becoming shiny and he is getting better. He has such a great personality.
We had continually worked over the next several months with his increasing his feeding regimen, decreasing supplements, and continuing his normal routine vet checks of his progress along the way. Unfortunately, we were not able to save his eye sight, but that did not stop Baby Boy from his training and becoming a great horse! His lacerations completely healed and he was gorgeous. He was updated medically and later gelded. Baby Boy gained weight and became a beautiful shiny horse with great spirits and a great personality.
Below is a photo of Baby Boy prior to leaving our facility and taken to a temporary foster site on May 1, 2004.
Unfortunately, Baby Boy's story did not end here happy. He came back from foster care in February 2005 with weight loss of 200 pounds as verified by our local humane society and vet. You can imagine how upset we were knowing that after all this progress, he had again went downhill. We were glad to have him back. We again put him on a feeding regimen and had gotten him back up to his normal healthy physical condition as well as the another vet check. Below is a photo of Baby Boy upon his arrival back to our facility after being in foster care for approximately 9 months.
Please meet Baby Boy now. Happy Anniversary to Baby Boy. We have had him for three years and all that he had endured in his life. We are happy that Baby Boy is safe and will remain here for the rest of his life working with children and adults to help them gain more experience with horses and learn about proper horse care.
After getting him back to maintaining weight, Baby Boy had went up for adoption. We thought we had found him a qualified permanent home through our Adoption Process. They had nice facilities and seemed to have a lot of knowledge with great references. However, accidents do happen! We understand that, but when they go completely ignored and neglected, we had to step in for the safety of Baby Boy. We found out that his injuries were not properly being taken care of from a call from the adoptive owners veterarian and neighbors. We made arrangements for Baby Boy to return home immediately.
The photos below of of his injury recieved at his adoptive home famiy and the after photos of the injury healed and cared for at our main facility.
Photos on left upon arrival, middle photo shows the injury being cared for and starting to heal, photo on bottom is injury completely healed.
The last photo is Baby Boy and my daughter, Hannah. They always have a great time here on the farm. He loves ALL children and is so careful with each of them big or small when they are visiting him.
After spending time with Baby Boy, watching him feel safe and trust again after all that he has been through, we have decided to keep him on our facility as a permanent mascot. Baby Boy has endured so much in his life and he is only four years old. He needs to have a permanent home where he feels safe and secure. Baby Boy has made friends here at the farm and has adapted well. We are using Baby Boy to educate the public on abuse and neglect and to show them that EVERY HORSE has a purpose. Baby Boy's purpose is to help us educate children and adults on the proper care and responsibilities of horse ownership. All the children that come to our facilty love to give Baby Boy treats, groom him, and give him loads of attention. His purpose is humane education and training children about horse safety and awareness through our Round Up for Youth. Baby boy has since made public appearances on behalf of AFH INC by teaching both children and adults the responsibility of horse ownership and how to properly report abuse. Please see the photos below of Baby Boy fufilling his purpose and his mascot duties at our main facility where he will remain for the rest of his life, happy and content helping others learn.
my daughter and Baby Boy playing peek-a-boo
These children's first time around a horse. Baby Boy showed them he was okay and they could feel as safe as he feels.
After getting to know Baby Boy, they share hugs and kisses.
You are welcome to visit Baby Boy or any of our horses by appointment. Please contact us to set up a time that is convenient for you. Baby Boy loves his apples and it is a nice experience for the children when petting and grooming him to feed him his treats.
Baby Boy is also available for sponsorship.
It is important for us to maintain a safe facility for him since he is blind. We are currently saving up for a new paddock area for Baby Boy and a friend so he will feel even more secure and it will be easier for the visitors to work with him while we help teach children and adults proper horse care. A lot of times people will come to our facility just to visit Baby Boy because he is so special and has such great personality. It is a good learning experience for people wanting to be around horses that need more experience or handling.
If you are intersted in sponsoring Baby Boy or one of the other horses that may require more medical attention and not yet ready for adoption or placement, please click here for more information on our sponsorship program.
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