Hope

age: 5 years old
sex: mare
breed: Saddlebred
color: black & white pinto
height:

Seized by King County Animal Control on Feb 23, 2008
Status: AVAILBLE FOR ADOPTION with her colt, Biscotti

Located in Monroe, WA
Adoption Fee: $1,000 for mare and foal

Hope and her colt Biscotti are now available for adoption as a pair. Adopters must agree to have Biscotti gelded when he is old enough to do so. If we are unable to adopt these horses as a pair, we will offer them each separately for adoption when Biscotti is old enough to be weaned.

Hope was one of 10 horses seized from a Carnation farm, and taken in by SAFE. This beautiful, strikingly-marked Saddlebred mare had a Body Condition Score of 2 on a scale of 1-9. There was no food on the property anywhere and no water in the pasture where she was living with 5 other horses and the bodies of two dead horses. In addition to being extremely emaciated, Hope suffered from a massive lice infestation, rainrot and hoof neglect. She also had a huge parasite infestation - so much so that her manure, which was mainly diarrhea, was writhing with worms.

Our main concern with Hope was the parasite overload, as she was the one that was shedding them the most, and her slightly depressed demeanor. Unlike her pasture-mate Willow and Willow's 4 month old filly, Lily, she was slow to eat her small, frequent meals. We kept a close watch on Hope, along with all the rest.

Update (2/29/08):
While Hope is feeling much better now that she finally got some relief from the lice, she is still suffering from rather severe diarrhea due to her internal parasite overload. She is running a low-grade fever and has been started on medication.

On a more positive note, Hope got quite the beauty treatment by volunteers yesterday. She has many of her rain rot scabs removed, and then had her mane and tail brushed out and even a little Show Sheen to make her look pretty. I have to say, Hope is probably my favorite of the bunch...she has a beautiful eye and has attached herself to her rescuers quite firmly...she truly seems aware that she has been saved and, if I am not anthromorphosizing too much, almost grateful.

Hope is still battling the explosive diarrhea she has had, even despite the medication, unfortunately. She is drinking buckets of water as a result. This morning we did have some firm poops but then it was back to the runs by afternoon. We may have to try an antibiotic if this does not improve in a day or two. Dr. Hannah wants to see some resolution of the diarrhea before we hit her with a wormer, if possible.

Update (3/3/08):
Hope is achingly, painfully, horrifyingly skinny. But oh what a beautiful mare she is! She is a gorgeous black and white pinto, with a lovely head, just the epitome of a saddlebred. The way she looks at you reminds me of being regarded by a friendly Bernese Mountain Dog, if that means anything to anyone...she wears an almost constant expression of joy as if she just cannot believe her good fortune! She is sweet and loving, she talks to anyone who comes near her stall because if she missed a chance to say hello, she'd be SO bummed! She is a wonder.

She got another beauty treatment on Sunday morning...Jaime and I each took a side, and worked on her rainrot scabs. She's a good girl who tolerates this as best she can, and when she can take no more, she politely removes herself from under your hands. She's suffered from horrible diarrhea since we took her in, so on Sunday, Valerie set to work giving her a little sponge bath to clean her up without making her too cold and wet. She wasn't too keen on standing still, but eventually relented, and ended up looking so much more comfortable. Her lice infestation has improved since her last dusting, and the next one should make her feel even better. It is hard to see such a princess of a filly in such awful condition, but it won't be long before she has a shiny, clean coat and some nice muscling on those bones. She is going to be a stunner. She's already a stunner!

Update (3/4/08):
Hope handled her first worming quite well. Her diarrhea comes and goes but mostly it seems to be improving, as we washed her behind very well on Sunday and she has stayed mostly clean since then. She is getting a bit tired of the 3 syringes of nasty stuff being poured down her throat twice a day, and I don't blame her a bit.

Update (4/9/08):
Hope continues to do well. Her lice and rainrot have been erradicated, and her black and white coat looks so much more healthy! She is still very thin, but she is putting the weight back on slowly and surely. Hope was moved to a foster home at the end of March. She came back for a visit on April 5 so she could be involved in a follow-up story on the news, and we became suspicious that her nice round belly might not just be the result of weight gain. She was palpated by Dr Evergreen, and sure enough, Hope is pregnant! She may be as close as a month away from foaling. So Hope will be staying put at Jaime's farm so that she can be close to Dr Evergreen. We are all quite relieved that Hope has gotten the benefit of six weeks of good food and good care, as that will surely improve the chances of her having a healthy baby. Happily, Dr Evergreen reports that the baby has a strong heartbeat.

Hope has been identified as:
ACQUIESCENCE (BLACK WHITE PINTO)
by Kabuki ex a Chubasco mare, 2nd dam Gift Certificate by Titleist
Photo of Acquescence as a yearling (thank you to www.trot.org):

Update (5/8/08):
No baby yet! Hope is still on 24/7 pasture turnout, but will probably start coming in at night probably in another week or two, so she can be monitored for signs of foaling. She'll still spend her days on pasture with a couple of other mares, so she gets plenty of movement. She doesn't like being locked in a stall and is a bit of a stall walker, so we're hoping to wait as long as possible to start bringing her in.

Update (5/12/08):
Hope gave birth this morning to a beautiful buckskin colt! She foaled just before breakfast was served; no assistance was needed. Click here for ongoing photos of her son.

Visit the Horsebytes blog for a story about Hope at her (shortlived) foster home: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/horsebytes/archives/135515.asp

Click here to follow Hope's progress on the SAFE Message Board.

If you are interested in sponsoring Hope, please click here to learn more about our sponsorship program.

Please read SAFE's adoption policies prior to submitting an adoption application for any SAFE horses listed on this site. SAFE Adoption Policies can be found HERE. SAFE has a strict no-breeding policy.