It's been a long, cold winter already and winter hasn't even started!

I went out to feed yesterday afternoon and was getting out of my car just as the vet's truck zoomed past the barn. When I arrived at the pens, the vet, the farrier, the barn manager, and several other volunteers and boarders were doing their best to get Bella up. She went down about an hour before I got there, and the farrier and barn manager were right there and at her side instantly. Bella suffered nerve damage in her hind legs from West Nile, and then, a year later, managed to survive EPM but not without lingering severe neurological problems. Two other rescues rejected her before she made it to us, and I guess we have a weakness for retired, damaged horses. She had a lot of trouble balancing but, through massages and physical therapy, was sound enough to enjoy many years at the rescue playing with the other mares in pasture and getting love from all her human friends. Often she would roll and need help moving her hind legs into position to stand up again, but she always got up on the first or second try!

Yesterday, however, was very different. It looked and felt as if her legs were petrified- we could not move them into position for her, and after a couple attempts she stopped putting much energy into it. By the time got there, she looked completely defeated and was barely lifting her head. The decision was made to put her down, and it was a hard one to be present for. Always a fighter, Bella was on her side, whinnying to her friends, "running" with her front legs, and looked each of us in the eye before she calmed down, took a few deep breathes, and was still as the last dose was administered. As the vet said, not many horses can survive West Nile AND EPM, then live a happily into their late teens with the severe neurological damage Bella willfully pushed through!

2009 has been a hard year for many, and the rescue was no exception. In addition to three of our 33+ year olds, our 29 year old pony, and Bella all passing on, we saw four horses return to the rescue after their owners could no longer afford their care, two of whom came back sick but thankfully in good weight. This year, we have had so many horses in need that we perpetually had horses in iso pens, boarding spaces, and even turned out with boarders' horses.

On the plus side, we participated in a nation-wide effort to save 300 starving mustangs, and our two boys are looking fantastic and have started groundwork training with a professional who has volunteered his time! The downturn in the economy left us with some very nice riding horses who were adopted before they left iso, and many volunteers finally had the chance to adopt a horse that met their riding needs. We took in a mare from a kill pen who, at four years old, has grown more than 6" now that she's being properly fed. We took in a horse who had been abandoned along the highway and was severely underweight, but clearly well-trained, and watched him transform into a gorgeous, sound gelding who will make someone a very nice riding horse. And, thanks to the wet spring, hay prices went down enough that we could still afford to take in all the extra horses in need :-)