Kokomo

age: yearling
sex: gelding
breed: Saddlebred
color: palomino
height:

Seized by King County Animal Control on Feb 23, 2008
Status: PLACED!

Kokomo is one of 10 horses seized from a Carnation farm and taken in by SAFE. On his arrival, Kokomo had a Body Condition Score of 1.5 on a scale of 1-9. Kokomo and another colt Sinatra, were living in a 12 x 36' pen which was full of dead blackberry bushes and debris, including pieces of wood with protruding nails. There was no food but the blackberry bushes in the pen and no hay anywhere on the property. Not 15 feet from their pen was a dead mare, her body bloated and partially eaten by coyotes, perhaps the mother of Sinatra or Kokomo. Kokomo was not wearing a halter and as it turned out, was completely unhandled. He has an corneal scratch to his left eye that had been untreated, which was undoubtedly caused by the blackberry bushes in his pen. Catching him amid his dangerous living conditions without causing further injury was an extremely difficult job and took several animal control officers and volunteers. Ultimately he had to be taken to the ground to get him haltered, and multiple people had to hang on to him to lead him into the trailer and get him safely loaded. Once he arrived at SAFE, Kokomo was put into a stall with Sinatra so that he could be easily caught for his eye treatments multiple times a day.

Like the others, Kokomo was suffering from severe parasite infestation, severe rain rot (the worst of all the horses), and his feet did not appear to have ever been trimmed. His appearance was deceptive due to his thick fuzzy winter coat and his extremely distended belly from the internal parasites, but when you touched this baby you could feel nothing on him but skin and bones. Kokomo made an amazing turnaround in the first few days at SAFE in learning to trust humans. He learned to lead around his stall, and became generally easy to catch, although he was still a little nervous around people. He tolerated his eye treatments very well and started wearing a blanket. He learned that in addition to food, people provide soothing voices, soft pats, and glorious scratches to his hard-to-reach itchy spots.

Update (2/27/08):
Kokomo did really well today with being handled for his eye treatments. Also he, Sinatra and Phoenix are all on Ranitidine three times a day for ulcers so he's getting really good about being caught and handled. He was a good boy for going back in the stall after his grass time today also - wasn't keen on being caught but calmly let me herd him back in.

Update (2/29/08):
I am so proud of Kokomo, he is coming along so well. He has discovered he loves to be scratched, so I can lure him easily into being caught now if I start by scratching his neck. He's really quite sweet and it's neat to see his look of wonder as he is starting to show interest in smelling humans and checking us out. He's still a little untrustworthy around food but a sharp no when the ears go back and he jumps back and the ears pop right back up. He's going to be a nice boy. He was also great to be caught after his grass time, and he had his first leading experience outside of the stall. He did wonderfully, and remembered to walk forward to release the pressure instead of pulling against it.

Update (3/3/08):
Kokomo is coming around in terms of being able to be handled, but he is still a bit unsure about the whole thing. Jaime's been very patient with him, and he is even learning to be led with a halter and leadrope. He is not a big fan of being petted while he's loose, but when Sinatra is visiting with people over the stall door, Kokomo is right there next to him....but he seems unsure as to whether he wants to allow you to touch him or if he'd rather try to nip. In another day or two, I'm sure he'll realize that being petted and loved and scratched is a good thing.

His eye, which was scratched by the blackberry vines in his former pen, is still giving him some problems but it appears to be getting better. He gets ointment in the eye three times a day. He will always have a scar on his cornea and he may have some loss of vision but probably nothing to be concerned about. He sees fine even now.

Update (3/4/08):
Kokomo and the rest of the Carnation bunch were wormed for the first time yesterday, but only a half dose of Ivermectin. Even then, the three colts, Kokomo especially, are having a hard time. They are not eating as well as usual, have the runs, and generally aren't quite as chipper as they normally are. I knew this was to be expected, but it has me worried, especially about Kokomo, because he is the biggest and the most robust of the three and yet seems the most out of sorts today.

Update (3/7/08):
Kokomo got his first trim done on Thursday and his feet are looking much better than when he first arrived. Click on the photo to enlarge:

Update (4/9/08):
Kokomo has progressed very nicely in the six weeks he has been with SAFE. He has recovered from his horrific worm infestation, and his rain rot is almost completely cleared up. He has learned to be more trusting, and so is easier to handle. He is turning into quite the handsome young man, and when he sheds out he is going to be a very golden palomino.

Update (5/8/08):
Kokomo's amazing transformation continues as he sheds out his winter/baby coat to reveal the golden palomino beneath. He has also made amazing progress from the unhandled, shy and skittish youngster he was to the friendly, curious and social young man he has become. Kokomo will become a happy gelding later this month.

Update (6/10/08):
Kokomo was gelded one week ago, and he is recovering from surgery in Silverdale WA. He has had several visitors since he came over to this side of the water, and he has been calm, friendly and affectionate with each one.

Update (6/23/08):
Kokomo has been adopted! Congratulations to Pat & Larry L of Kitsap County. Kokomo will be given time to grow up and plans to be an English show horse for a little girl who is as blonde as her new horse!

Read about Kokomo on the Horsebytes blog: The Admiring Lens

Click here to check on Kokomo's progress on the SAFE Message Board.

If you are interested in sponsoring Kokomo, 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.