Before and After! Horse rescue!!?

Question

I was given a 3 year old Paint gelding after the owner had got him back from being neglected. He was not trained, but he was such a sweetheart that I trained him myself. Lately I have made more of a connection with neglected horses and they seem to trust me more. Anyways I was wondering what else I can do to improve his looks. He is recently getting sunscreen applied to his eyes, ears, and nose because he has pink skin and he burns easily. Also he has marks from the other horses from being reintroduced back into the crowd, but I am using corona cream on there and it is looking like it works well. What are some ways to clean him up even more and even put some weight on him. I ride him 5-6 times a week up and down hills so he has been putting alot of muscle on. I think he looks 100% better! I would love to see pics of your rescue stories! These animals are great!

Answer 1

He looks perfect now well done!

Heres my rescue filly bought from auction on the 3rd of May this year

http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbumBig.jsp?Me...

And this is her at the begining of this month

http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbumBig.jsp?Me...

I know how you feel it feels great,

Good luck with your guy:)

Answer 2

He looks great .. i dont think you need any advice .. your already doing it!

Good luck.

Answer 3

before:  http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=am45yu&s...

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=34pe05d&...

after: http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=28i68o8&...

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=20uwvnt&...

she's even grown a little. she looks all downhill xD

your guy looks amazing, you've done such a good job with him.

Answer 4

For adding weight I usually feed, XTN made by Nutrena. It's high in fat and fiber and low in protien so it doesn't produce any "hot" issues but will really add the weight, even for hard keepers.

Also  I like to use Wheat Germ Oil. It's 99% digestible fat and right now where we live is actually cheaper than Corn Oil. I can get a gal of Wheat Germ Oil for around $11.00 and in the grocery store corn oil is $14.99. Also doesn't seem to take as much Wheat Germ Oil as Corn Oil.

Your horse looks great though. Looks like you are doing a wonderful job so far. You'd probably do fine just keeping up what your doing now.

Regarding other rescue horses we ran across a 24yo QH gelding. He's been here almost a year now so the first pics was from when he was 23years old. When he came he terribly thin and malnourished, had rain rot so bad his back & croup was mostly hairless and had open sores on bis back from still being ridden with a poor fitting saddle that rubbed his spine raw. Also had a severe open draining abcess in the sole of one rear foot.  It was slow going due to his poor condition and age --- he had terrible teeth and was too weak to float them so had to work with Senior Feed & Beet Pulp mash.

I get so tired of people saying their horses are skinny or in bad condition because they are old. No excuse at all for the way this wonderful old guy looked. He's actually a very easy keeper and an all around wonderful horse to have around.

Also turned out to be the best beginner kids horse I've ever seen. (Hence the bucket in the last photo). My daughter free lunges him at the walk and trot to warm him up before riding him and it never fails that after a couple minutes of warming up he'll park himself beside her makeshift "mounting block" and stand quitely there until she's mounted up.

Found his forever home here with us. When the time comes that he no longer feels up to riding the kids around he'll be fully retired here for the rest of his days. Never will he again be shifted from home to home to survive in misery or have to wonder where or when his next meal will come from.

EDITED**** Danged thing won't let me add the pics for some reason. When I add the links it says it can't complete do it.

Anyone else having this problem??

Edited Again**** One more try on the pics. Uploaded to a different host. Maybe this will work

The Beginning

http://i38.tinypic.com/2efl2co.jpg

The Hoof

http://i37.tinypic.com/aorm94.jpg

After 1 Month

http://i36.tinypic.com/530i95.jpg

Feb 2008

http://i38.tinypic.com/m9uo9c.jpg

Now -- Pic taken a couple weeks ago

http://i37.tinypic.com/7105kg.jpg

Answer 5

He is a very handsome horse and I wouldn't worry much about what to do to put weight on him. Seems he is progressing well weight wise. His ribs are showing in the first photos but the more recent photos show that his ribs have smoothed over and that his hind quarters have filled out nicely. He does look very much better in the recent photos. So I would suggest you just keep doing what you are doing. He will continue to fill out nicely with good quality feed and hay and with lots of grass pasture he will progress even faster. Just continue to exercise him and ride him and I'm sure he will tone up very well.

Answer 6

oh honey god bless you for what you do !! we are hoping to move soon and we want to do the same . I just helped a pet where we live as it had an owner who was abusive and I confronted them and he now has a good home .I love and am not afraid to stand up for an animal as they depend on someone like us .All the animals I have helped will meet me in heaven I am sure of it.

Answer 7

wow, he looks so much better! its awesome that you're taking the time to do this! =] but anyway, about your question. corn oil will put weight on him, definately. another thing you can do is do alot of backing. back him up hills (but get off of him when you do it so he can sue his back), and just back any chance you get. instead of walking him down the aisle of the barn, back him. instead of walking him into his stall, back him(if he backs straight enough to do it safely). just back him alot. this will build his hind end up, which helps down the road for balance and cadence, along with making his butt look s**y! haha =]

Answer 8

physically looking, he was in good condition for being neglected. he looks so much better now though!! he's come a long ways. try to keep a fly mask on him because it acts like "sunglasses" for a horse. same with a fly sheet if the rest of his body burns. beet pulp works well for putting on weight.

i don't have pics, but my trainer and a boarder rescued 2 horses- a yearling and a 2 year old full blood sisters. they started improving from day 1. they trusted and could be handled by 8- and 10- year olds without difficulty... they were very calm horses. at first we thought it was just from a lack of food and nutrients, but they were just naturally that calm! they started riding the 2 year old after a few weeks, and worked all the way up to a lope. we called her the "wild beast" cuz she was "just so darn stubborn." lol, she broke in very nicely without fussing. unfortunately, they had to be resold cuz my trainer didn't have enough room for them... they just bought them cuz they felt so bad for them.

Answer 9

When I looked at the first two pics I felt really sorry for Him!

but in the last pictures he looks so much happier and has put on heaps of muscle!!  Good luck with him.

:) ****

Answer 10

Hi,what your doing is working.He looked terrible now he looks healthy.People who mistreat any animal should not

be allowed to keep them.

Good Luck

Answer 11

aw.. bless you for rescuing him.  its amazing to see people like you take in horses like him.

and good idea on the internet safe thing

Answer 12

Corn oil will help put some weight on him...

EDIT - You don't need much, a TBS or two.  It helps when they shed as well, he is looking good...

Answer 13

Wow I think he looks great!  It touches my heart to see a horse go from neglection to a wonderful life.  I give you MAJOR props on his looks.   He looks gorgeous and healthy.  If you want him to gain more wait, I wouls suggest corn oil as well.  Make sure to give him a good amount of food every day, as well.  There are some brands of sweet feed that are specifically for weight gain.  It really helps.  You may also put a scoop of Seedlym in his food everyday.  It will help with his coat, joints, muscles, AND everything else.  I'm not sure if it helps with weight though.  For his nicks and soars from his pasture pals, I would recommend bacon grease!  It is the cheapest way and it works just as good and even better than most name brand wound dressing.  Always remember to give him lots of love, too(which it seems clear that you are) so his mood will effect his appetite and behavior!   Great job!  I hope I helped!

Answer 14

He doesn't need weight...he is in good shape now.  Congratulations...he's a very nice looking horse.  For his sunburn, you can also use the Cashel long nose fly mask, which keeps the bugs off and blocks the UV rays.

I like Enreco Horseshine as a coat and hoof conditioner...it is flaxseed meal and fed with his regular grain.  

For his bite wounds, children's A&D ointment or vaseline is good for softening and regrowth of hair, after any open areas heal.  I use Swat ointment at first, since it repells flies.

I hope you keep him at this weight...it is healthier for him to stay where he is at now, and some paints (I own one) can tend toward the easy-keeper end of the spectrum, which makes them prone to laminitis.  You got way lucky with this one!

Answer 15

He looks great now! Well done you, he looks happy too. I have dealt with a few rescue horses and I know how rewarding it is to see them come through for you. As far as for weight gain, vegetable oil will put weight on him but beware of feeding too much as it will cause diarreah (sp?). Sugar beet will put weight on him, but if that makes him fizzt try Speedi-Beet. Make sure he is getting lots of good quality grass and hay or haylage. Keep up with the sunscreen, he will need this all the time. Don't forget it on sunny winter days too, they can get burned then. With skin like his, I'd put it on every day, the highest factor you can get. We use Factor 50, it's from Tescos, Asda etc. for kids. Regular grooming will improve his circulation and coat quality too :-)

Answer 16

It takes time.  Dont change anything too fast because fast changes can make them sick to.  You are doing a wonderful job and a are a special person for it.  God bless and good luck.  Keep up the great work!

If you love horses check out this site.

http://www.saferhorseracing.com/

You can help.

Answer 17

You have done a great job with him he looks good.  I have 3 skinny horses in my rescue right now and i was expecting to see worse when i opened the pictures you post.  He does look 100% better.  You don't want to see the ones i brought in, I'm not even placing them on my website, its that bad.  Two are filling out nice, we are taking it slow.  The TB is getting there, she was the worse and still is.  I add corn oil to the fed but I'm going to check out this wheat germ oil one poster put on here.  I also feed through out the day, not just morning and evening, we divide the feed up throughout the day and offer grass at any time.