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Some of our beloveds are with us for many, many years and some for what seems like too short of a time. How ever long they are with us they are loved. Ned came to the rescue July 3, 2020, at the request of Nature Jeffries, many months after his owner passed away. He had been loved by all at Nature's boarding facility for many years and being quite the character even at his 30 years of age he just needed a soft landing to live out his day. |
Arthritic on arrival and a little on the slender side, we started him on Previcox to help with any pain. We did his dentistry to find he had few molar teeth left to chew with (not unusual at age 30) so we transitioned him to a senior feed diet and he gained almost 50 pounds while here. Trimming his feet was a little tough because he was weak on his hind end so we were patient to not cause any stress. Ned was blanketed from the rain and snow and in the bad weather remained in an interior stall of the barn, warm and dry. Anything we could do to keep him comfortable. |
On February 17, 2021, Ned turned 31 years old and we celebrated with special treats. You can tell from this picture he had nicely put on weight. We added in several supplements donated by Absorbine Company to help with pain, his feet and his overall health. He loved his senior feed for breakfast and dinner and would sing to anyone in the barn while waiting for the food to be put in his feeder. Like I said, he was quite the character. |
Ten days after his birthday he was frolicking around the pasture feeling his Wheaties and took a tumble. We did not see what happened even though we were standing there in the pasture watching all the horses, but saw he was down and immediately rendered help. He scraped up his face and pulled many muscles when he fell on the ground. The vet said it was mostly soft tissue swelling, superficial scrapes and that he would be sore while he healed. |
We adjusted his pain management. Kelli from Animal Krackers came out immediately and we designed some body work that would help his muscles loosen up and heal and our volunteers all learned out to apply liniment in the various places needed. Ned was started on Summit Joint Performance which Kelli donated on his behalf. Slowly Ned started to recover and was back to singing at meal time, roaming around the pasture and seemingly back to normal. |
Sadly, last week he quickly declined. Ned no longer sang at meal time, took a long time to eat and just did not seem engaged at all. His hind end was dog-tracking so we felt that maybe he laid down and struggled to get back up, hurting himself while doing so. He would stand off by himself and lean up against a wall to sleep. All the signs were there that he was in great pain. On 5-28-21, Dr. Guss came out, confirmed our suspicions and we made the heartbreaking decision to let him go. I told him Poco, Dreamer, Autumn were waiting for him and there would be no pain in heaven. He is now Running In Paradise (RIP) pain free and happy to be with his old friends. |
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Said goodbye, turned around I can hear those echoes in the wind at night Sometimes I feel my heart is breaking Thank you to our volunteer Stevie McAdams for this beautiful horse-shoe sign in his memory. Ned you are so very loved! Registered name: Contenders Nieto |
Thank you to all who have supported, cared and loved him. |
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