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True Innocents Equine Rescue
Be kind to the animals for they are the True Innocents!
Mailing Address: 17130 Van Buren Blvd., #45, Riverside, CA, 92504
Phone: 951-943-0627

 
Connie
October 2013, a lovely older Chestnut mare, was picked up by RCDAS due to neglect. She was extremely underweight, malnourished and her coat was in awful condition. Lots of hair loss. Over the next appx. 9 months she gained weight at the shelter, had her teeth floated (one extraction) and her coat improved. Shelter staff called her Connie.

Forward to 3/5/2015 Connie is once again in the same deplorable condition. RCDAS stepped up one more time to bring her to the shelter. Due to her age/condition (again starved, hair loss due to malnutrition and lack of care) it was unlikely that she would find a home any time soon.

TIER knew Connie from her first stay at the shelter in October 2013. At that time she was not available for placement due to legal issues. When she was rescued again in March 2015 by RCDAS, we were made aware that she was back and needed a soft place to land. Connie had been through so much!

TIER is still in the process of setting up our new facility in Perris, Ca., and it is time to order hay for our current residents. Fencing needs to be secured, 6 of the corrals need shelters, stalls need to be cleaned and the manure removed to the dump. Prices on feed, dump fees, labor, etc. are higher in our new area. We have spent quite a bit of our reserves establishing our new facility and are in need of contributions to help further our cause.

That said, we felt that this poor mare was in need of a forever home where she would be fed properly, have horsey friends and adoring volunteers to fawn over her. Thanks to our wonderful friend Cindy H. who transported Connie from the shelter for us. She arrived at TIER on 4/15/2015.

Welcome Home Connie!

Updates

10/13/2017 - Sweet Connie Has Left TIER

I took the above picture of Connie yesterday.  She was eating/drinking and seemed ok.


Connie has left TIER.  I noticed she was "off" this morning when I went to feed.  She was not interested in food or water and then she laid down.  No thrashing or pawing.  I administered 10 cc Banamine and called the vet.  She got back up, but it was obvious that something was just not right.

Vet indicated heart rate was 60 and there were gut sounds.  He  admistered a sedative, then did a rectal exam and was able to feel her liver lobe and the small bowel (not common to feel these via rectal exam).  As her head was lowered, there was an unusual amount of clear to greenish fluid coming from her nose.  Vet then tubed her and removed 1.5 gal of fluid off of her stomach.

Suspected small bowel impingement.  This could have been from a tumor, entrapment or...?  There was nothing else that could be done at the time.  Unfortunately, emergency surgery was an unrealistic solution  due to funding.  We made the difficult decision to help Connie cross the Rainbow Bridge.  She rubbed her head on me several times as if she was saying it was ok...or maybe I was hoping that was what she was telling me.

I cannot explain to you how difficult that decision was.  This has been a year of losses and I do not know if my heart can take any more. 

Happy Trails Sweet Connie.  Until We Meet Again.

12/12/2016 - The Tooth Fairy came!

We thought it was time for Connie to have a full dental treatment done and thanks to a grant from Ark Antiques, we were able to have Joe Yasinosky of Best Equine Dentistry out to help her.

Connie is a bit of a drama queen and is very buddy sour/herd bound.  It took some effort from Joe and some cooperation from Connie to get the job done!  Her teeth were not in really bad shape, but she did needed a few points and hooks smoothed out.  It is hoped that Joe's work will help her gain some proper weight and we will be adding a fat supplement (Cool Calories) when we can.


8/26/2015 - Summertime Blues

Connie managed to get a small cut/scrape on her jaw a month or so ago.  Despite using a wide variety of topical treatments, worming, etc. a Summer Sore or Habronema developed. It has been several years since TIER has had a horse with Summer Sores. The darn thing went from a small scratch to this huge sore the size of a silver dollar in no time.  We feel that the summer sore developed so quickly due to Connie's depleted immune system caused by her long term lack of being fed properly prior to her arrival at TIER.  So, we made the decision to have it frozen with liquid nitrogen (to kill the parasite) and took her to our vet in Chino. Thanks to Stephanie MacGregor for transporting Connie to/from the vet today.  Dr. Hoyme sedated her for the procedure.  She needed TWO injections of sedative.

Alex cleaned the wound and Dr. Hoyme clipped the hair prior to freezing.First application of liquid nitrogen.  The second application.  Headed Home. 

Since Connie has only been at TIER 4 1/2 months and her stomach/barrel area is so large, Dr. Hoyme examined her to see if she might be pregnant.  Thank goodness .... she is not in foal.  He attributes the "in foal" look to poor Connie not being fed properly for a long time.  Feed without adequate nutrition.  It is hoped that her system will balance out after several more months of good hay, probiotics and her daily ration of Supplements, Senior Feed.

4/29/2015 - The tooth fairy visits and she has HAIR!

Connie has been at TIER for 2 weeks.  The unhealthy coat (and subsequent loss of hair-she was pretty bald!) has improved greatly!  Her teeth were not in "horrible" shape, but she was really in need of a tune up, smoothing the sharp edges that were forming on her back teeth.

It is estimated that Connie is probably 15-17 yrs. old.  She was very good for the procedure.

If you look closely, you can see that she has new hair growth where she was previously almost bald along her topline, shoulders, neck.

Such a sweet, sweet girl!!  On her way to becoming healthy once again thanks to the support of our donors and grooming by our VolunTIERS.

4/15/2015 - Connie Arrives

Anxious and sweaty from the trailer ride, Connie is reassured by her new friend Moses.

Connie at the shelter

Photos

 

True Innocents Equine Rescue (T.I.E.R)
17130 Van Buren Blvd., #45
Riverside, CA, 92504
Tel: 951-943-0627
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