OUR NEWEST RESCUES
GIRAFFE
Meet Giraffe, a beautiful leopard appaloosa mare. She is approximately 15 years old and has had a horrible life! Giraffe was one of the PMU mares. For any woman out there that has ever used the hormone drug Premarin, you can thank this mare. For those of you who do not know what a PMU mare is, it is a mare that is kept constantly pregnant and is forced to stand in a stall 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 6 months out of her 11 month pregnancy while constantly hooked up to a machine that collects her urine because that is an ingredient of Premarin - pregnant, mare urine. You can find a lot of information on the Internet about Premarin, PMU mares, etc., but, to summarize, Premarin, produced by Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, is an estrogen product prescribed to women to relieve hormonal deficiency symptoms associated with menopause. Giraffe was approximately 4 years old when she became pregnant for the first time at the PMU farm she was at in North Dakota. It wasn't until she lost her 6th baby, that the farm had no further use for her. A horse rescue in New York took Giraffe. Later on, she was given to the woman we just took her from. Although this woman owned her for 5-6 years, she became unable to afford Giraffe or her pasture mate, Ser Khan. Neither horse has had vaccinations in over 2 years, and their hooves are in very bad shape because they have not been trimmed in over 2 years.
Because she has not been handled very much, Giraffe has some trust issues, but nowhere near what we were expecting! Giraffe is actually a very sweet but timid mare. We will be working with her over the next several months and just giving her as much TLC as we possibly can.
Giraffe has definitely over-paid her debt to society, and we will make sure that she only knows peace, kindness, and loving care for the rest of her life! We will not know for quite a while if Giraffe will be adoptable. Because of the conditions of her hooves, Giraffe may have permanent injuries and, therefore, will need constant care. Any horse at Peaceful Mountain that has permanent injuries has a home for life here.
If Giraffe does become adoptable, screening of potential adopters will be very strict, and a clause will be included with her adoption agreement that she is never to be pregnant again. Given her history, we can only imagine that she will never be able to carry another baby to term anyway. We hope that everyone understands our feelings on this, but our hearts go out to this poor horse and all of the suffering she has endured in her life.
UPDATE ON GIRAFFE = Giraffe's hooves are coming along extremely well and, after a few more trimmings, they should be good. Giraffe's trust issues are another story. Although she has come around a lot since her arrival in September, at this time we do not know if she will ever be "people-friendly" enough to be adoptable. Given all that she has been through, we don't blame Giraffe a bit, and if she is unadoptable, she will have a permanent home here at Peaceful Mountain.
SER KHAN
Ser Khan is a 25 year old grey registered, Arabian gelding. He is adorable and one of the sweetest horses we have ever met. We don't think he has a mean bone in his body although, just like a typical Arabian, he is very strong-willed. Khan is Giraffe's best friend, and since the two of them came here, we have been watching how much he looks out for her.
Since he and Giraffe were pasture mates where we got them from, they are both in quarantine together because he too has not had vaccinations or his hooves trimmed in over two (2) years. We are very concerned about the condition of his hooves, and right now we can tell he is in pain when he walks. Our vet and farrier will be out in the next few days, and a diagnosis on him and Giraffe and the condition of their hooves will be made this week. We hope with a lot of care, Khan will be able to walk again without pain.
Khan was a trail horse for over fifteen (15) years, but has not been ridden in the 5-6 years the woman we took him from owned him. Given the condition of his hooves, we do not know yet if he will ever again be rideable, or if he will be adoptable.
UPDATE ON SER KHAN = Khan's hooves are also coming along extremely well and, after a few more trimmings, they should also be in good shape. Khan is a sweetheart, loves people, and is extremely friendly. Since he was rideable, in the Spring after his hooves are back in good shape, we hope to begin his refresher course in riding to see how he does and will give an update. By the Summer, whether rideable or not, Khan should become adoptable.
