Donate to TIER
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

 
Princess Dot

Updates

11/22/2005

It is with great sadness that I bring news that Dottie has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I am still in shock at the suddenness of her passing.

On October 28th I walked out to do the morning feed. SueAnn & Dottie were there to greet me as usual as they had the run of the front of property the evening before. I mixed up Dottie's pellets, vitamins, MSM, etc., placed it in her pen and she began eating. Shortly after I noticed she was down. I checked her feet for heat (possible founder) and there was none. She had pooped shortly before she was served breakfast so I didn&rsquot think she was experiencing colic. I checked her gums and the color/response to pressure was good. I asked her to get up and she was unsteady on her feet and her breathing was labored. I administered Banamine in case it was colic. She seemed to be okay, began eating and I finished feeding the others.

When I was done feeding, I came back to Dot and she went down again. I got her up, walked out to the grassy area. She was very unsteady on her feet and went down again. I ran in to call the vet and as I was speaking to the vet, Dot's legs began kicking as she was lying there. Then she stopped moving. I told the vet to hang on and ran out to her. She was gone. I stood there in shock. When I got back on the phone with the vet and explained what had just happened, it was his thought that she might have experienced and aneurysm. I still can&rsquot believe that our precious little girl is gone. I am thankful that when it was her time to go that she went quickly and that I was here.

Princess Dot is now running the pastures, hills and streams on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. I am sure Pearl & Slim were there to meet her and that she is whole, pain free and her voice which sounded like a billy goat is ringing through the land! We miss you Dot! We miss you so very much! Thank you for the gift of your presence.

4/11/2005

The fur was flyin and Princess Dot was not pleased. DeBarnGoddess spent most of the afternoon trying to find a pony under all that hair. What a difference!! She looks like a different pony and there was enough hair to almost make a whole new pony!!

Slim will be the next victim of the Clipper Queen!

4/18/2004

Dottie is sporting a new and improved haircut. (Improved because I have gotten a very little bit better at using the clippers. It's not show quality, but it is much better than last time!!!) She is also doing wonderfully well on her feet after having had two trims performed by Mike LaGrone from Oklahoma. She's dancing out in the arena area and moving so much better! Although she came in very underweight, she managed to put on the pounds in a relatively short time. She is now a bit disgruntled with us as we have cut back on her feed. Pudgy is not pretty on a Princess Dot with owie feet! HA!

10/30/2003 - UPDOT: Oops! That should be "Princess Dot Update"!

True Innocents Equine Rescue - TIER wishes to express our heartfelt thanks to you wonderful people for coming to Princess Dot's aid. An announcement was made regarding the story of Princess Dot's arrival at TIER and her immediate need for extensive dental care, farrier care and plain old good food. Because of you, Princess Dot (aka: Dottie) received a manicure by our farrier who indicated that Dottie was not foundered, nor were there indications that she had foundered in the past. It was the farrier's opinion that although Dottie's front legs are rather straight, her main issues are some arthritis, lack of nutrition and, most probably, having been used or worked alot. With rest, a visit from the dentist, proper feed and supplements, he felt she would become comfortable and happy. He was right!!!

Our dentist was saddened to see the condition of Dottie's teeth. It appeared that at some time she had had some dental care, but that time was long, long ago. Dottie's teeth in the left rear portion of her mouth were only broken and missing teeth. The inside of her cheek was filled with scar tissue and wads of feed were found in the spaces where teeth once were. The right rear section of Dottie's mouth does have upper and lower teeth, but they were in terrible shape (compensating for the lack of good teeth on her left side) and the hooks on those teeth were shredding the inside of her jaw on that side. There was massive scar tissue and ulcers on this portion of Dottie's mouth. Her front teeth protruded beyond her lips. Due to the fact that the gum line grew forward as her teeth were pushed to the front, the dentist could not remove alot of this growth without causing Dottie more problems. He did use a drummel to cut these teeth down some, but they will still protrude a bit.

After approximately 2 hours of dental work, Dottie wanted to chow down on the softened pellets we provided. Because of the extensive work done on her mouth, we withheld food until she had come out of the anesthesia a little more. Bute and antibiotics were mixed with her feed and she was happy to gobble up the pellets and the medicine without too much trouble! It took awhile for her to adjust to her 'new mouth', but we are pleased to tell you that she has the hang of it now and is eating quite well! She was on antibiotics for 5 days due to the ulcerations in her mouth. We gave her Bute for 2 days to help ease the soreness and inflammation from the extensive dental procedure.

Prior to her visit with the dentist, The Barngoddess and her son Johnnie, came out and gave our little girl a beauty treatment. The poor girl had an awful stench which we have smelled before on horses that have almost given up. It is difficult to describe this odor other than it is a sickly, almost hopeless smell. She was washed and brushed thoroughly. Although Dottie seemed to be a bit concerned about this event at first, she really seemed to enjoy the attention Johnnie was lavishing on her. Her little ears were perked up and her eyes bright as she listened to Johnnie and The Barngoddess steadily talking while they scrubbed, rubbed, rinsed, combed, brushed & pampered her. She appeared to be very pleased to be treated as the Princess she is!!!

Dottie's Foster mom came out and clipped the Princess a bit. Basically, her underbelly, neck and part of her legs were clipped so that Dottie would be better able to regulate her temperature during the hot days and cooler nights. Once her system is better balanced and she begins to shed some of the unhealthy thick coat, this may no longer be necessary. Dottie was a bit frightened when the clippers were turned on, but once you gave her time to see them, smell them and understand she would not be harmed, she was a very good girl. Dottie is apprehensive when she is approached quickly. By taking the time to talk to her, letting her see that you mean no harm, she is quite willing to accept whatever you are doing. At first, putting a fly mask or halter on was scary for her. But now, she seems to have settled in quite well. Time and patience.........

We also have been giving the Princess ABC Plus to help her put on weight and help her tummy digest her food/supplements. She is receiving MSM to help with those tired joints and, of course, the Evergreen Insure Vitamins. We are very happy to tell you that she is putting on weight and seems to think her new look should be appreciated by her neighbor Pepper. Pepper likes Dottie alot....... especially when she moves her bowl of pellets close enough for him to go down on his knees, stretch his neck into her pen and grab the bowl to move it into his pen!! HAAA! We have remedied that situation by moving her feeding spot to the other side of the pen next to her other neighbor Pearl. Dottie is a quick learner and we have found that she can snatch Pearl's bowl of pellets and drag it into her pen for a little added dinner! Pearl doesn't seem to mind......too much.

We are so grateful to you for helping us to help Dottie. Times are difficult for everyone right now and we deeply appreciate your support and caring. For what you do, have done and continue to do to help TIER and the horses in its care....... THANK YOU!

When the heart speaks........the heart listens!


Here's what the dentist removed from Princess Dot's Teeth!

10/17/2003

It was late in the afternoon and that Gail person had come in the house to rinse off some of that dirt and maybe eat a sandwich. From outside came the sound of a truck pulling up. When she walked outside, there was a gentleman at her gate and parked behind him was a truck with a large stock trailer. As she walked toward the gate her eyes immediately went to the trailer to see if there were horses visible. None were seen and Gail assumed the gentleman was a) Inquiring about the horses in the pasture (Jake, Rio, Shilo & Slim) or b) asking directions to somewhere.

The gentleman informed Gail that someone had directed him to TIER because he had a pony he wanted to dispose of. He said that he had picked up the pony from a place where she hadn't been getting fed properly. Gail listened to the story and was about to tell him that due to funds being very tight and space she could not take in any horses at this time when he opened the trailer door. And there she was..........wide eyed, shaking, coat dirty and very smelly, feet in need of work, upper and lower teeth protruding slightly from her mouth and quite skinny. Gail took a big step up into the trailer and went to her. Poor little girl was shaking so badly that Gail was sure she was foundered and having a hard time standing. After trying to calm the wee girl as she tried to keep an eye on both Gail and the gentleman by nervously stepping to and fro, Gail locked on to her blue eye that was widened in fear. She talked to the little one, felt for heat in her feet (and found none), ran her hands over her protruding backbone/hips/shoulders, noticed her dental problem and once again met that fearful stare from the little paint's blue eye. Gail turned to the gentleman and said "What do you want for her?"

The gentleman replied he didn't want anything for her and that he could not keep her. Gail sighed, looked at the little girl standing there shaking and said "Well, let's get her out of here then." As the trailer was a step up and parked where the step down would require the little pony to jump down onto asphalt, Gail started to tell the gentleman where he could move the trailer to make it easier for this spotted lady to disembark when the man took the lead rope and led her to the back. She jumped out of the trailer in a flash, didn't slide on the asphalt (thank goodness), looked toward the TIER horses and loudly whinnied. Of course, there was a chorus of welcoming whinnies in return with Jake, Rio & Shilo hanging their heads over the pasture fence making goo-goo eyes and Slim heading toward the gate to get a better view of this potentially foxy lady.

Later that day during the regular visit from the children in our Youth Program, one of the girls picked several names for our new friend. The name that was chosen for this lovely mare is Princess Dot. She is now residing next to Pearl who does not seem to be upset by a new neighbor, even if she does smell bad, is skinny, her mane is a tangled mess, she has thrush, in need of farrier and dental work and is somewhat concerned by humans coming toward her. Dottie (short for Princess Dot) will get a thorough grooming once she has settled in. It was noted that she has saddle marks on the one spot on her back which is just behind her withers. The farrier has been called and will be out to give her a manicure the beginning of next week. The equine dentist that resides close by will come out to see what he can do to help those teeth. We will have to put off immediate dental work as we do not have the funds right now. She is eating wetted down pellets and orchard/alfalfa hay. Once she has the food in her mouth, she doesn?t seem to have a problem chewing, but watching her use those long front teeth to try to grab food is heartbreaking........she manages fairly well. And.....she IS hungry! She is receiving Evergreen Insure Vitamins, ABC Plus, fresh water, pellets and orchard/alfalfa hay. Calls have been made to approved Foster Care folks and once she has received farrier, dental and vet care she will go to foster care until we can horse fence the recently acquired property leased to us by the Jurupa Community Services District. That will take some time as the current fencing is barbed wire and we hope to put up fencing/cross fencing within a few months. Fund raisers for this project are in the making!!

At any rate, please join us in welcoming Princess Dot.

Photos

 

True Innocents Equine Rescue (T.I.E.R)
17130 Van Buren Blvd., #45
Riverside, CA, 92504
Tel: 951-943-0627
Copyright © 1998-2024