Last Friday we picked up Devon, a very cute 18 year-old Canadian Thoroughbred. Devon had hurt his suspensories earlier in the year, and was on stall rest, then ended up contracting EHV at his stable. He was very sick, but his owners were able to take him to the hospital, and after several weeks he looked like he was going to make it. Unfortunately the EHV prevented him from being able to urinate properly, and he was being cathetered twice a day. His owners were not in a position to be able to do that, but offered to sponsor Devon, and our veterinarian called us to see if we would be able to take him. Unfortunately, we were also hesitant about being able to perform that procedure twice a day, so we reached out to several different rescues to see if they could take him. We were in the process of trying to find him a home when Devon turned another corner, and began to urinate on his own. We spoke with the owner and veterinarian several times, and with both of their blessings, decided that Devon would be able to come to Hanaeleh to recover, and hopefully find a new home.
We met the owner and the vet on Friday to go through his rehab program, and to catheter him once again to make sure everything was still OK (it was!). His owner was very sad to see him go, but as she was going to college, and Devon needs a lot of work to faciliate his rehab, it is better that he has an organization like Hanaeleh that has more resources and multiple volunteers to work with him.
Devon is a very sweet boy, and got right into the trailer. I walked him up to his stall, and all of the horses had their ears pricked towards him, as if to see who the new guy was. He settled right in, and is now best buddies with Quixote, and will call incessantly for him if he is out of his stall (alas, Quixote doesn’t return the favor, but we’re sure he misses Devon while he’s gone).
We are currently handwalking Devon for 15 minutes everyday, and his exercise program will progress as he gets more fit and healthy. He has a long road to recovery, and he will always have the option of being sanctuaried at Hanaeleh, but we are very hopeful that he will completely recover and eventually find a new home. Please be sure to look for updates on Devon as he progresses!
Quick Quiz: How do you tell the difference between a Canadian Thoroughbred and an American Thoroughbred?
Answer: They whinny longer (neigh! eh?)
OK, so Elizabeth made that up and is very proud of that joke, which is why we have to post it, even though everyone who has ever heard it agrees it is dumb.
-
- Devon
-
- Devon in his stall at Hanaeleh
-
- Devon meets Quixote for the first time
-
- Devon and Quixote- fast friends!
-
- Devon and Quixote- hanging out
-
- Volunteers Brandye and Nikki work with Devon
-
- Devon being groomed by Brandye
