Faith

She knew if she laid down, she would die. But, she had no strength left and the snow and ice were beating her down badly. Defeated, she let her legs fold underneath her and she lay there on the ground watching her breath...

On February 5th, 2008, Critteraid got a call from a lady named Maria Winser who needed some advice and help with a horse. The horse had appeared in her driveway in the Marron Valley between Penticton and Keremeos and had collapsed on the other side of the cattle guard.

The horse, a mare, was emaciated beyond belief. Her frail body was literally frozen to the ground with a thin sheet of ice. Maria’s husband, Darryl, an experienced horseman, would have been prepared to relieve the animal from this misery she was going through by shooting her if she were one of his own. I think we all would do that for our own animals. But, enter serendipity, and Maria gently worked this horse through that hell and with numerous trips back and forth for warm water, she got her to drink and managed to unfreeze her from the ground without causing any panic. Offered hay was taken and the connection that Maria made with this horse was fiercely strong.

The next day, they managed to get the mare up and walk onto their property because the cattle guard was plugged with snow. She seemed to take comfort in heading closer to other horses, separated in a corral. She wasn’t one of the native horses and over the next few days they did have somebody come by just to make certain of that. She had been seen in the valley at the end of summer but there was no way that this mare could keep up with the “wild” horses. They are hardy stock for the most part and would permit her company while they were traveling through. They probably weren’t unkind to her as they could have been but they weren’t too welcoming either. Soon, it was noticed that she was covered with burrs and foraging was taking a toll on her.

Then, like magic, her mane and tail were cleared of burrs and her tail had been brushed and cut. Still, no one realized she was a “stray” until that very cold night that she collapsed in the driveway. Who mysteriously groomed her?

Maria consulted with the B.C.S.P.C.A., local veterinarians, and a number of individuals and asked Critteraid to take this horse in. When asked her name, Maria said, “I call her Faith.”
On February 16th, Faith was trailered to the Critteraid Farm and set up her new home in Paddock 3, next to the donkey and the mini-horse. The three big boys in Paddock 1 were all excited about her arrival and even Ricky, the alpaca, stopped and watched her walk, ever so slowly to her loafing shed.

Laura unloads Faith at Critteraid and the pasture animals give her a warm welcome!

How many times had she given up and resigned herself to let go and die? Something kept stopping her, and volunteers encouraged her to just make it for the vet visit on February 19th with Dr. Teresa Jacobsen of Kelowna. Dr. Jacobsen is an amazing advocate for all animals but particularly for equines. If this horse was going to have a chance at all, it would be with Dr. Jacobsen and her staff alongside. Sometimes we thought that might be asking too much of Faith.

We had no idea what we were dealing with without that complete veterinary examination, and that proved to be horrendous. Faith had ruptured suspensory ligaments in her rear legs. She was emaciated to the point that her pelvis bones poked through her body in front of her hip bones. I had never seen anything like this previously. Her front feet had lateral ringbone or osteoarthritis. She was full of wormy parasites that literally dropped out of her when she had a bowel movement. Her feet looked as though she was walking on what would be our wrists. With all that, why would we even consider developing a wellness protocol for her? First of all, she needed to gain 350 lbs. By gaining that much, would she even hold her own weight?

The team of five individuals: Laura Dean, Deborah Silk, Gina Huber, Maria Winser and Dr. Teresa Jacobsen, decided to prepare for the worst case scenario, but to have faith. By taking each day, sometimes an hour at a time, we provided Faith with our very best. Volunteers joined the team and came forward to just sit with her, others are on morning carrot duty, massage treatments and, of course, inevitable fundraising. The Barking Parrot Bar and Magnums staff at the Penticton Lakeside Resort donated $400.00 from their small tips and recycling to pay the veterinary bill and miscellaneous food supplies. Two families donated money to sponsor one month of food each, one donation came in to honour somebody’s mother who would have been the first in line to help this horse. Dr. Jacobsen’s staff arranged with Bio-Medica Laboratories Inc. of Duncan, B.C. for a tub of “Recovery”, a glucosamine powder with vitamins and minerals. Bio-Medica have very generously donated this to help Faith. This process is going to take much money and Critteraid is hat in hand, asking for the public’s help with financial donations which will remain in a special fund just for Faith. Tax receipts will be issued.

We did give consideration to euthanasia. That is a realistic option for Faith. One of the factors we had to consider was that Faith’s owners had to have known about her condition. In fact, they would have overused Faith to the point of abuse in order for her to reach the condition she is in. We can only speculate, at that point, that they knew she was lame by definition under the law. That meant that they could not legally transport her to the auction for meat sales. To turn her out into a valley with no protection, no shelter, no strength to forage like wild horses, no human contact that she was obviously used to, and no ability to access water is one of the most despicable acts of abandonment that I have heard of in this day and age. Faith, at one time, had been a vibrant horse – probably a jumper and probably very active on the local circuit. I have never before seen a vet so incensed with the treatment of an animal as Dr. Jacobsen was as she gently examined this old girl. There wasn’t one of us who wasn’t ashamed to be a human being that day.

Dr. Jacobsen had us call out a farrier to start working on Faith's feet immediately. We engaged Erin McQueen to look after Faith and we were all happily surprised at the outcome. Faith actually liked Erin working on her feet and she was so much more comfortable afterward. She didn't hesitate to put her feet up and she was able to hold still and steady while Erin worked away. Faith has obviously had a lot of work done on her feet over the years because it was just old hat for her and she knew the routine well. After that, we set up regular visits for Erin and Dr. Jacobsen to come out.

Faith was very comfortable with Erin trimming her feet. She seemed to enjoy the procedure.

Faith slowly gained weight and Dr. Jacobsen asked us to keep her around the 980-pound range. She seemed to be able to handle that without it bothering her legs too much. Up to then she was getting a cooked bran mash every morning with molasses and carrots with her medicine hidden inside. Being careful to keep that weight under control, she was reduced from a pail every morning to two cups. We call it carrot soup. Since it got cold, we now add a small apple in there as well.

By May, Faith was looking like a horse. Dr. Jacobsen figures she's a Saddlebred. She has a Diva personality and she has no hesitation at all in letting you know what she likes and what she wants. She's developed a unique spiritual connection with some of our volunteers and has made a distinct bond with others. She loves to watch runners go by, especially on those race days that are frequent in Summerland. In fact, she's almost downright nosy. The first race that went by had us all worried because she was galloping in her pasture and greeting all the runners with her neighs. She is splendid.

She has also made friends with her pasture mates. One day when Hutch was out for a trail ride, Wildfire, the blind horse was quite distressed so we put Faith in his pasture to keep him company. He settled down immediately and she let him know from the get-go that she was in charge.

Picture left: Dr. Jacobsen loved seeing this horse feeling better!

When we had the Work Bee at the farm, Faith was moved to the round pen so that her loafing shed could be painted properly. She's used to laying down a few times throughout the day so that was a difficult day for her because she lost her routine. By nightfall her legs and her feet were quite sore. If she weren't so snoopy she would have kept her routine but she couldn't miss everything that was happening around her!

We estimate her age at being in her late 20's or older. Her tail is growing in long and beautiful and her mane is like golden flax, especially when the sun shines on it. I'm sure people stop when they are driving by because they are so taken with her beauty!

Like with most animals, routine is paramount in their care and Faith's routine is not very exciting. Lately, we've had some cold mornings and she's caused us a little bit of worry because she hasn't got up as soon as her breakfast was presented. I suppose, like us, it gets more difficult to get out of bed some mornings. We've tried before and we will try again to see if she will wear a coat just to take off that winter chill. Up to now she's been insistent that she won't wear one but once she sees Skippy and Meghan wearing theirs, perhaps she will see that it can actually make one feel more comfortable.

Wildfire gets some reassurance from Faith.

Last summer, sadly we lost King, the magnificent big boss appaloosa of our guest horses. He had a bad bout of colic one night and because of his age and the severity of the attack which probably would mean more, his mom, Kim, made the decision to let him go. With the help of Dr. Proudfoot, we had to say goodbye. In his honour we have planted a corkscrew willow in the garden.

Ricky, the alpaca, has deserted his usual post between the donkey/mini-horse paddock and the big boy paddock and now spends his meal time with Faith. He's very protective of all of them but he seems to enjoy his meal with her. She seems to enjoy his company, too.

So this team will continue to work hard for Faith. We have no idea what the winter has in store for us and how harsh the temperatures are going to get. The winds can get a fierce edge down in the pasture but with the help of volunteers, we have winterized her shed so that she is protected from those.

We've thought about moving her up top to the barn but she is a horse that needs to know what is happening around her so the isolation could be more harmful to her. We take one day at a time and enjoy her grumblings, her nickers, her snorts and her heavy sighs - every one of them. She has the spirit to want to try. It is now two and a half years later. While she has that, we will not let her down. We have Faith.

The above was an article from one of our Critteraid newsletters. Following is an update as of August 2010:

Faith continues to allow us to love her. She has become even more beautiful, if that is possible. We have heard from several individuals that Faith seems to possess a healing quality of her own.

For me, as her primary care giver, she brings me absolute joy. She forgives me when I sleep in and she hardly ever complains when her breakfast is too hot... or too cold. She needs more people to give her the attention that she deserves and I would welcome individuals who are horse savvy to become a part of her "team". She is worthy of a fleet of volunteers devoted just to her. In the meantime, I am blessed that she is one of the "Breakfast Club" at Critteraid.

Faith oversees the lunch break at the Work Bee and spends company with Mikaela.

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Fare Thee Well, Faith

On Saturday, June 25th, 2011, we said goodbye to our friend, Faith. Her old body failed her and her legs could no longer support her weight. We had so hoped that once she started gaining weight in the lower pasture, that she would be able to have "just one more summer". Sadly, that just wasn't meant to be.

With the help of Dr. Jacobson and her husband, Alan, Rose, Don and myself, Faith was laid to rest at Critteraid Farm. May her spirit grace us from time to time.