Raindance lived with the same family in Granite Bay, CA and until she was 29 years old, she was the family horse. One day, for reasons unknown, her long time owners put her in a stall with a bit of food and water, drove away and abandoned her. When authorities found her, she was down in her stall, 400 pounds under weight and unable to stand. Animal Control officers decided the best course of action was euthanasia. Fortunately, a kind-hearted neighbor, familiar with horses and aware of Raindance’s history, stepped up and asked if she could try to save her life. They agreed to let her try.
[image caption=”That’s my favorite scratchin’ spot!”]http://hartsong.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/raindance-scratch.jpg[/image]
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About a month later, I met Raindance for the first time – a day I shall never forget. She displayed no emotion what-so-ever – she didn’t raise her head… she didn’t move her eyes… she didn’t move away… didn’t do or acknowledge anything. She was the most defeated, wrinkled horse I had ever seen. Right then and there, I made the decision to bring her home to HartSong.
Nursing a starved horse back to a healthy weight can be a very tricky endeavor. Knowing her digestive system needed time to reacquaint itself with the action of processing food and not wanting to overwhelm her already challenged state, we offered her all the hay she could eat and four times a day, in very small amounts – she received a watered down mash of Purina Equine Senior, Purina Amplify, a bit of beet pulp, vitamins, minerals and probiotics. She savored every meal and sure enough, slowly but surely, her light began to shine.
Raindance became a healthy, energetic, beautiful Appaloosa mare who easily makes friends among the other horse residents. Her longtime friend Dandy passed away in the late summer of 2012, then she experienced the unexpected loss of Clipper six months later. Happily, our newest blind filly Deli came onto the scene in the summer of 2013 and Raindance immediately made her most welcome. She is a shining example of how good nutrition, good exercise and lots of good lovin’ can bring out the brilliant beauty and vibrant spirit of a once discarded old horse.