Horseluv5829's Kleeare Winter Rescue Challenge (DNP)

[horseluv5829]

This thread is for my Kleeare Rescue Promise. Please do not post on this thread. Thank you!

1. First Meeting
I knew that this morning would bring along new beginnings, especially when I knew that I could give a Kleeare a second chance. After scarfing down a quick breakfast of cereal, I drove my truck and trailer down to the rescue. I was approached by a man in a cowboy hat and a clipboard as I rolled down my window. "You here for the rescue," he asked. I nodded, and then he handed me the clipboard. "Sign your name here along with some information. We will try to find you a Kleeare that matches your answers," he said. It took me about 20 minutes to fill out all of the paperwork, and then I got out of my car and found the man. He ran his eyes over my work, and then replied, "I think we have the girl for you."

I walked down the lines of pens and felt so terrible for all of these poor Kleeares. I did not know how someone could possibly abuse or abandon all of these poor animals. I knew that the one I would get would be going to a great home, and would be happy. That was all I needed to know. We approached a round pen with dirtied black minimal tobiano mare who was neighing very loudly, despite the breed's naturally calm and quiet nature. She was very thin, and had no muscle or fat on her bones. However, she seemed very sweet and did not try to sprint away from the handler as they went to grab her from the pen.

"Got any ideas on a name for this beauty," the man said. I stood for a minute, watching her walk into my trailer. He tilted his head a little bit and set his hand on his hip. "Promise," I replied. He nodded in what I guess was his approval, and then said, "Well I hope that you and Promise have a wonderful friendship in the future. I think that you two will be good for each other." I got into the car and drove home. I knew that the road to recovery would be long and stressful, but in the end worth it. But that day, I could not agree with him more.

(374 words)

[horseluv5829]

2. Welcome Home
I opened the trailer and untied Promise. As I coaxed her backwards, she seemed to not know whether to trust me or to go backwards. I guess that she must have been trailered before, though, because she obeyed me. The minute I got her out of the trailer, I walked her down the aisle to the last stall on the left. Inside, a bin of grains and formula for gaining weight was being poured into her bucket by the stablehand. She already had lots of fresh water, a stall full of soft shavings, and a door in the back (which was closed for now) but led to a pasture.

I could already tell that she saw the food, because she immediately darted to the bucket. She stuck her nose in, and hearing the crunching of the food seemed satisfying. I closed the door and watched her for a little bit. She continued to eat until there was no food left, and then resorted to the water bowl where she slurped up some water. I stuck my hand through the bars and clicked to her with my tongue. Her head rose to attention and she walked over to me. I reached into my pocket and grabbed a treat, which she nearly bit me trying to get it from me (not on purpose of course. she was just hungry). I was joined along by my stablehand, Gretta, and she watched her as well.

"Wow! She's gonna be a beauty! I can't wait until she gets big and fat again," Gretta said. As a fellow Kleeare lover, I could tell that the poor sight of the mare saddened her. It was painful to think what this poor girl could have gone through. I nodded, but kept my view on the mare. Promise made gentle eye contact with me as she sighed in a resting state. "I think that it would be best if we leave her alone for a while, just to get used to her surroundings," I said quietly. Gretta agreed quietly, and together we walked off. I could tell that Promise was going to like this place. She just seemed to have a gleam in her eye that was not there when they left the center.

(378 words)

[horseluv5829]

3. A Spoonful of Sugar
It has been a few days, and Promise has started to warm up to us a little bit more. She is already starting to gain some weight, which is good, and has been getting regular visits by all of the barn members. Promise seems to love the attention and even though still a bit head shy, loves to get rubdowns over her sore bones. Her coat as well has begun to become more shiny and her bioluminescent lights are beginning to shine through. However, something still had to be done about her back pains. We have noticed that whenever we rub on her back, she winces or moves away.

We brought in the barn vet and she gave her a few x-rays. Nothing was broken, but she believed that a potential ill-fitting saddle was used at one point. Her old owner must not have been able to fit a saddle to her, and this caused her this pain. Her diagnosis was a new pill that had come out on the market, and had recently been approved by the health organizations. It was costly, so hopefully it would work. The pills came in a few days later, and we put two pills in each of her meals.

Within a few days, we noticed that she had not eaten the pills! She ate all around them, and must have spit the pills back out. We had to get creative, because it seems that Promise already had. It took some time, but in the end, I made special horse treats with the pills crushed up inside of them. Promise never knew the difference! She ate all of the pills this time, and we noticed her back pain slowly going away. There were minimal side effects, like excess thirst, but they were never really a big issue.

I was glad to see that her pain was leaving, because out of all the horses at the barn, she deserved a second chance. I knew that the road ahead was still long, but I had a feeling that this girl could hopefully make a full recovery. Now that she was starting to get fatter and more healthy, I believed that she deserved a chance to meet other friends and get out for some exercise.

(378 words)

[horseluv5829]

4. Making Friends
Promise, even though making progress, seemed to be getting lonely. The long days of recovery in her stall was good for her health, but her mental state was beginning to decline. I knew that even though we had been giving her attention, it was not the same as another Kleeare giving her attention. So, I did the only thing I could to make sure that she no longer felt alone.

Early the next morning, I haltered Promise and brought her into the cleared arena. Inside, stood Gretta's Kleeare gelding, Trojan, who happily trotted over to greet Promise. Her ears perked up and her bioluminescent lights flickered as she began communicating with Trojan. As soon as I released her, she and Trojan played around the arena as if they had met before and were finishing a maybe unfinished game. I had never seen her so happy in the short time we had been together.

Gretta and I watched the pair run laps, racing, around the arena. "I think that they are gonna be friends," I said to Gretta. This was a relief for me, because perhaps he can help her gain confidence on our future plans of riding training. "I agree. They look so cute playing together," Gretta replied. "Hey, you know what Trojan likes is his jolly ball! Maybe I should get it out so that Promise could play with it too! I am sure that Trojan would not mind," she said.

A few minutes later, Gretta returned with a big blue jolly ball in hand. She tossed it over the fence and into the arena where it landed with a thump. Trojan stopped running and instantly turned his direction to the jolly ball. He kicked it around, and eventually Promise realized that he was no longer playing with her. She, too, walked over to the jolly ball. At first, Promise was confused on what to do with it. Then, she nudged it around with her nose, and chased it wherever it rolled to.

"Thank you for getting that. Looks like I will need to be getting one soon, haha," I said. Gretta shook her head. "You can have it! I am getting Trojan a new one for Christmas. Consider it a present to Promise." I did not know what other to say than thank you. After around 30 minutes, Promise looked like she was starting to get tired, so I led her back to her stall where she was fed, watered, and bedded down for the night. It was important to not overwork her for her first time out with another Kleeare, and I believed that this was exactly what she needed. That night, she went to her stall a lot happier, and I figured for more play dates in the future.

(463 words)

[horseluv5829]

5. Exercise Routine
So, it has been a few weeks, and Promise is already looking like an almost normal Kleeare again. However, lately she has been restless. She has been keeping the barn up half of the night with her loud whinnies and pacing around her stall. So, I decided that she was ready to possibly get some saddle work and lunging done.

I walked into the tack room and grabbed my old beaten jumper saddle and light blue pad, along with an old halter with a lungeline. As soon as I returned, I sat the tack on the rack by the crossties and headed towards Promise's stall. I lead her out to the crossties where I groom her shiny black pelt and picked out her hooves. I let her sniff on the saddle and the pad before I took her, and the tack, into the arena for work. I rubbed the saddle pad along her side and let her sniff at it again before I centered it over her withers. The saddle was a little bit of a struggle, however, because she walked to the side whenever I attempted to put it on her. I stayed in close to her side so that she would realize that I was not going anywhere, and eventually stood still until I tightened the cinch.

I can understand why she feared the saddle, as it has caused her pain in the past. But she stood there, her ears perked and ready to listen. I encouraged her to walk forward in a circle going first to the right. This continued until she looked loose and natural, and then I stopped her and walked her on the other side. After she was good on that side, I pushed her to a trot, tapping the ground every once in a while when she would try to slow down. Finally, I asked her for her canter on both sides, and let her go in around six laps in her canter. I slowed her back to a walk and pulled her to the center.

She was slightly sweating, and looked happy, but worn down. I gave her a pat and unsaddled her. Then, she and I walked around the arena until her coat was normal temperature to the touch. Back to the crossties we went, where she was groomed and then released to the pasture. She trotted out with a big sigh and started to play around in the snow covered grass. I walked to the fence and leaned up against the wooden beam. Promise came over to me where I rubbed my cold hands along her furry, warm neck. I pulled away gently and went back into the barn to give her some time to play.

(456 words)

[horseluv5829]

6. Final Evaluation
It had finally reached the end of our few month trial. Promise had made amazing progress in gaining over 200 pounds, gaining muscle and fat, trusting humans again, and briefly beginning saddle training. Today was going to be the day when the association would come and check her out for the last time. I had no doubt that they would be impressed by what the Kleeare she had become, well, at least I know I am.

I got her groomed up all pretty early that morning and walked her to the entrance of the barn to greet the assessor. To our surprise, it was the man with the cowboy hat who had brought us together who came to check up on Promise. "Hello! I see that you and Promise seem to have gotten off to a good start, but the association required that I come give her her final examination. So, let's begin, shall we," he said with a smile. I nodded and showed him into our happy little barn. We walked into the arena and shut the gate. The barn's members nervously stood at the gate watching. I had her stand much like you would see a horse in a halter class, and the man walked around her, feeling her body to see how much fat she had gained and her skin's condition. He wrote some things down on his clipboard and then looked up. "You said that you have started her under saddle? I would like to see her progress and then we can see about your final report!"

A few minutes later, Promise was saddled and put onto a lunge line. I asked for all of her gaits and then allowed the man to try. He wrote down a final few notes and then went to his car. He came back out with nothing in hand and smiled. "Congratulations! Promise has made a full recovery. It seems that she really loves and trusts you, which she deserves nothing more. Nice job! Also, make sure that you get in contact with the association so that she can be registered," the man said. I was so overjoyed that I hugged him and then turned to Promise who was still standing quietly behind me. I reached my arms around her neck and gave her a hug while stroking her mane. The barn members went crazy, all of them happy about the report. Even though she still had a lot of retraining left, she was off to an AMAZING start and has made a full physical recovery. The hard part is over, and now, here is to a lifetime friendship......