Today I had the opportunity to see some new pictures and video of our baby Henry that was adopted just a few short weeks ago. Although I'm always happy to see pictures of the horses in their new homes this one really made my day. It makes the hard work day in and day out worth it. It makes you realize that you are making a difference. So here is the story of my little man Henry who I will forever be grateful for having the opportunity to rescue and help him find his forever home.
In the spring we headed to New Holland horse auction to rescue a few horses in need of help. The auction was packed with 500-600 due to a holiday weekend. They were literally tied in every spot possible. Everything from mini horses to draft horses were in this awful place waiting to be auctioned off. As I walked through the aisles of horses I spotted a small yearling tied in between a few taller horses. He looked to have great conformation, just a bit under weight. He turned and looked at me and he looked so confused as to what he was doing tied to a wall. I wrote down his number and started taking a closer look at him. I looked under to check if he was a colt or filly and that's when I saw the largest hernia I have ever seen on a horse. It was about the size of a soft ball. I kept his number on my paper and kept walking along.
Taking in a horse like this means huge vet bills, surgery, trailering to the hospital, rehab, and so much more. Many people would have walked away from rescuing this yearling just due to the fact of the intense rehab he would need but I found myself dialing my vets number and sending him pictures of the hernia. After a long conversation the phone call ended with the estimate of a $2000 surgery plus other smaller bills that would go along with rehab. With all the big costs being listed all I could think about was this yearlings face staring at me.
After being at the auction for 3 hours and having rescued 7 horses the yearling still had not run through. I had decided to take the risk and rescue him and waited for him to be run through. I tried to tell myself that it was a decision I had to make but it never was, I knew the second I saw him he would be coming home with me. Minutes later they ran him through and said "take a good look, you are buying him AS IS"...I was the only bidder and purchased him for $35. We named him Henry while we were loading him on the trailer. Out of 8 horses he loaded the best, lead the best, and was all around the sweetest little guy in the world.
A week later Henry had seen the vet and already had pictures being sent to the equine hospital to make a final appointment for him. Although the hernia was large our vet said he would be fine for surgery and could also be gelded at this time (ever more $$, yay!!). In this time we had fun giving Henry bathes and taking him for walks. He quickly became a barn favorite and stole my heart.
Some time later Henry was on his way to Mid Atlantic to have his hernia repaired. He loaded like a champ and hauled perfectly. Upon arrival at the hospital he walked into his stall and settled in. I on the other hand was a complete and utter train wreck. I was so nervous for his surgery that I had a hard time leaving him there. Eventually after a ton of pictures of kisses goodbye we left Henry in the best hands possible. Henry was scheduled for a 9 am surgery two days later and I checked my phone every five minutes for the whole afternoon and called to check with the hospital a handful of times. When my phone finally rang I was so happy to hear that Henry had come through perfectly and was doing great! All the nurses fell in love with him and the surgeon commented on how perfect he was walking into the operating room. Henry has a way of stealing every heart he comes in contact with!
Henry's post care included long walking to keep the swelling down so we walked around the ring while I read a book and every now and then he would give me a nudge in the back to tell me to walk faster. He slowly started to gain weight after surgery and soon we put him up for adoption.
I'm so thankful that Henry found such a wonderful home. He really is the real reason that I love to rescue. Horses and stories like him make it all worth it. It's hard work and can be very costly but in the end its worth every penny. Seeing him happy with a new mom who loves him so much makes me happy to have been there the day Henry was at New Holland. Consider making a donation to Project Sage to help other horses like Henry, I can't do it without the help from people like you!
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