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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

 
Radar (Radar)
A call came in with the message: I think my horse is blind and I can no longer take care of him. We assumed the message was in regard to an older horse that needed a home. We went out to see the horse thinking that he might be a good horse for some youngster to learn on and we help the owners find him a home. That certainly was NOT the case.

Updates

9/4/2021 - Sleep Well

I received a phone call this morning from Sandy, who adopted Radar from TIER  10/9/2011.  She had gone to the market quite early and upon her return she found Radar lying in the turnout area. He had crossed the Rainbow Bridge on his own in the 30-45 minutes she was gone from home.  Such a shock!  She had fed/watered Radar and her other animals before she left and all had been well.

Sandy, Thank you for taking such good care of Radar for the past almost 10 years!  We are so sorry for the loss of this special boy.

10/21/2011 - A visit to Radar's New Home

We had a lovely visit with Radar at his new home with Sandy.  As you can see, the two of them get along quite well!

Radar seemed pretty sure of his abilities to get Sandy's attention!  He is looking great and has several new "other" friends to occupy is time too!

Volunteer Diana joined me for a visit to Radar's new home.  Of course, Hershey, the Sicilian Donkey wanted her share of attention too!

Wilbur the goat (Radar's new best buddy) looks on.  He is quite quick to jump into "Dennis the Menace" mode.  As a result of his boisterous antics, he was tethered.  He kept his eyes on us every minute looking for an opportunity to get into mischief.

We are so pleased that Radar has found such a wonderful home with Sandy. 

10/10/2011 - Radar has left us!

It's hard to believe that Radar is no longer at TIER.  This "special" boy arrived here in 2008 with a damaged body, yet his spirit/character was alive and well.  Despite the physical trauma he endured (Ulcerated left eye. Broken orbit on right eye & corneal scarring.  Broken ribs on both sides. Cut on right front ankle from foot going through trailer floor when transported to TIER by owner.) at only 18 months old, his willingness and intelligence glowed.

His ribs mended, yet they were misshapened and noticeable through his glowing red coat.  The broken orbit healed, but the damage to the eye was so severe that he was completely blind and the eyeball turned  a dense white.  The ulcer in his left eye ruptured even though our Veterinarian tried to keep that from happening.  The rupture resulted in corneal scarring which greatly impaired his vision.  Because his vision was damaged, he relied heavily on his other senses.  It was for this reason that we gave him the name RADAR!  We used to say his headlights are a little dim, he needed a little body work, but his engine is in top notch condition and the computer chips are faultless.


In the beginning, Moses was his babysitter.  He would run next Radar on the rails in the arena so that Radar would not crash into them.  Moses would keep a sharp eye on the little redhead while he visited over the fence with other horses, making sure nobody got pushy with the little guy.  Moses continued to be his best turnout buddy through the years.  Radar did not know he was any different from the other horses and as time went by he figured out his own way of figuring things out despite his impaired vision.  A horse with this type of condition was most likely not ever going to be adopted by anyone.  It didn't matter that Radar would live the rest of his life at TIER as a sanctuary horse because his shining personality made him a star!

Fast forward to October 2011 and enter Sandy!


Sandy C., long time TIER supporter, finally made it out to visit.  She met with each horse and heard all the stories.  She talked to all the TIER residents, offering a scratch here/a kind word there. 

At the end of her visit she shocked us by stating that she would like to give Radar a home!!  NOBODY had ever expressed an interest in adopting Radar and we were floored.  Sandy was willing to give Radar a home as a companion to her Sicilian Donkey - Hershey, her 32 year old mare - Ella that she rode endurance on until her retirement, a goat named Wilbur and a TWH/QH cross gelding named Gus.  Sandy came out on a regular basis to become familiar with Radar and establish their own brand of communication due to his vision issues.


It is with a glad heart that I share with you that Radar has been adopted!  Thanks to Ingrid L. he made the trip to Sandy's home and is now settling into his new digs!  Congratulations Sandy & Radar!

Farewell Radar!  We love you so and are over the moon with joy for you!



1/27/2010

Just thought I would send out an update on how Radar is doing.  Thank you to all who emailed their concern and positive thoughts!  We are VERY appreciative of the contributions toward his vet bill!!!!

We were worried through the night as we got more rain.  I had put a light blanket on Radar but it seemed to bother him quite a bit.  He was grouchy because he wasn't feeling well and because his vision is compromised, I guess he wasn't sure what the blanket was?  He kept biting at the blanket and took a couple nips at me.  We figured he'd eventually get himself tangled up because of his distress about this "thing" strapped to him, so I took the blanket off.  The vet had told me not to worry about it, but I did.

Although Radar hasn't passed a lot of oil so it's noticeable on his backside, he was perky and hungry this morning.  I checked the level of water in his water barrell to see if he had been drinking, and it appeared as he was drinking a bit more than usual.  There were no signs that he had been thrashing around or any depressions in the roundpen that indicated that he had been lying down a lot.  I checked him several times during the night (up until about 3:00 a.m.) and he was standing.....in the rain.  Thank goodness we didn't get the downpours we had earlier last week!!

After checking on him this morning, I called our Vet who asked if there was evidence of oil being passed (NO. other than some shiney manure, there wasn't any oil on his backside or legs).  He then asked if Radar was alert, showing signs of discomfort, etc.  I told him Radar was hungry and talking/complaining.  Vet said to go ahead and feed him and that the important part was that he is out of pain and is alert.  So...the boy gets to eat!! Yay!!  The vet told me to call him any time day/night if Radar starts to look like he's having trouble again. 

He finished up the limited amount of feed I gave him, didn't show any signs of trouble and was then fed a bit more.  He's been standing all day and doesn't look like he is uncomfortable other than having to slosh through wet sand in the round pen.  He comes to greet me when I walk out there and follows me as I walk past.  He's probably anxious to get back to his own pen and next to his buddies.

So, it looks as if we dodged a bullet and Radar is doing well thanks to your prayers, thoughts & support. 

1/26/2010

We need your positive thoughts for Radar.

Sunday afternoon I noticed Radar was uncomfortable. He would eat a mouthful of hay, walk off, stand for a minute and then start walking his enclosure. I took his temperature, which was normal, listened for gut sounds (there were some, but not normal) and administered Banamine. I contacted our vet who said to keep a close watch on him and let him know if there were any changes. After awhile Radar seemed to be okay and quit his pacing. I continued to check on him until about 10:30 pm.

Yesterday morning at 7:00 a.m. he was lying down and was reluctant to get up. Poor guy was covered in mud. It did not appear that he had been thrashing around, but he was not feeling well at all. I contacted the vet and he was out within the hour. Temperature was normal, but gut sounds were diminished. While the vet was checking him, he did pass some manure and I thought we were home safe! But, the Vet concluded that he has an impaction high up in his intestinal tract. He was given Banamine and tranquilized. The vet administered Mineral Oil and Radar was placed in the roundpen with no food but he does have clean water.

Our Vet instructed me to not give him ANY feed until he had passed the Mineral Oil which would take about 24 hrs.This would be obvious because he would have oil on his bottom. Radar did lie down again while in the roundpen, but he is standing and moving around this morning. There is no sign of oil on his bottom. I will continue to monitor him, and if there are no apparent changes, I will call the vet again. So far, Radar's vet bill is 175.00. We could use some assistance with paying this bill if possible. Donations can be made via this link: http://www.tierrescue.org/individual-donations/ Thank you so much!

2/1/2008

It was 115 degrees that day in sunny Southern California. I arrived at the caller's property and was escorted to a "round pen" made out of lightweight portable stall panels. Inside the roundpen was a stunted thoroughbred who definitely had gone through some sort of trauma. He had dried blood under one of his eyes, no fly mask, was thin and seemed somewhat lost. The owner jumped in the round pen stating that this horse was a good mover. He proceeded to make the horse run around the roundpen to show me his movement. I was horrified! I immediately told the man to stop what he was doing and said, "Why are you running this horse? Can't you see that he has broken ribs on BOTH sides and his vision is impaired!!" The man said he didn't know that the horse had any broken ribs and that he could see okay. I had to point out the obvious.

I approached this young horse cautiously as I did not know how he would react due to his obvious vision problems. The little guy was quiet and accepting. I realized that both eyes had been injured and the ribs on both sides were protruding in an unnatural way. I asked the owners (husband & wife) how he sustained these injuries and they said they didn't know. They had purchased him at an auction for 60 and were hoping to fatten him up for resale. They stated that they had bought him 1 month ago. I asked what their vet had said about his injuries and they told me that a vet had not seen him. I asked them what treatment they were giving him for his injuries/trauma and was informed that they were feeding him good quality hay. Period. Nothing else. I just about lost it!

This horse was so obviously in need of help. I told the owners I would call my vet and see when he could come out. They stated that they would not pay for a vet visit!! I was thinking that this poor little guy would most likely need to be euthanized due to the severity of the injuries (I wasn't sure how bad the rib damage was) and lack of care so I told the owners we would pay for the vet visit. I called my vet, told him what was going on and he indicated he would be there within 30 minutes. I just couldn't walk away and leave him in that situation with no relief.

When our vet arrived we haltered the little guy with no problem and the vet began his examination. The vet checked his ribs and said, "Yup, they're broken. Both sides. The breaks are healing, but he is in pain. He's had trauma to his whole body and probably needs chiropractic work." Upon examination of his eyes the vet indicated that &ampampampldquoThe orbit over the Left eye is broken and there is corneal scarring. He has vision in the eye, but it is compromised. Right eye is ulcerated and without medication, the ulcer will most likely break open. Hopefully we aren't too late for that." The vet asked the owners about what medications they had been using and when he was informed that they had not treated this poor little guy the vet turned to me, stared for a minute, and then told me to follow him.

We walked to the vet's truck and I could tell he was fuming. I said something to the effect that "at least these idiots weren't responsible for the initial injuries and that it was a case of another ignorant horse owner." The vet spun around, looked at me and said "They may not have done anything TO him, but they sure didn't do anything FOR him." He grabbed some eyewash and optical ointment from his truck and we headed back to the little red gelding.

We again haltered the little guy so the vet and I could show the owners how to apply the eye ointment. This little red horse was understandably put off about anything near his head/eyes and it took a little while before we could apply the medication. The vet explained to the owners how to treat the eye twice a day and administer the painkillers. They were told to put a fly mask on him, that he would get better about being treated as he got used to it and that despite his injuries this was a good natured little guy. He told the owners that this horse and their other horses needed to be fed a little more and gave them information on proper feeding. The wife immediately jumped in and said "My husband works all day and I cannot do the treatment." I stood there stunned! We were paying for the vet to help this horse, we would pay for the medication...all she had to do was put some ointment in his eyes and give him a couple Bute tabs in the recommended feed! Once again the vet looked at me and said, "Let's go to my truck".

Once we got to the vet's truck, he proceeded to pull ointments & medication out of his truck and started handing them to me saying...."When you get him home you need to put this ointment in his eyes twice a day, give him some Bute twice a day for two days and then once a day..." I was dumfounded! I thought he would recommend euthanasia! The vet said that the ribs would heal and if the ulceration in the right eye wasn't too far-gone we could possibly save this boys sight in that eye with some scarring. The broken orbit would heal, but there would be scarring in the other eye due to the scarring already present.

By this time the owners had approached and started telling us that they had bought the horse for resale. They hadn't planned on having these kinds of expenses and could not afford to spend any more money on this horse. (What??? We were paying the vet bill, not them!). They thanked us for coming out and said they would just take the horse back to the auction. The vet told them they wouldn&ampampamprsquot even get their 60 back on the horse and that they should just donate him to TIER. Sigh. After a few moments the owners agreed to donate the horse and said they would bring him over the next day, as I needed to get a stall ready for this boy.

The next day the owner trailered the little red horse over to TIER. I explained to the owner that he needed to go to the end of the road where there was a turnaround and then pull up next to the pasture gate. The guy drove down to the turnaround really fast. As he made the turn I could hear the horse hitting the sides of the trailer and I could see the trailer rocking. I could only imagine the pain this boy was going through with those broken ribs and hitting the sides of the trailer. I don't know how, but I kept my mouth shut. I just needed to get the youngster off the trailer and into a stall. The owner pulled up and swung the trailer doors open. The floor of the trailer was rotted and the horse's hoof had gone through. He now had an injury to his right fetlock that was deep and bleeding all over the place. The owner's comment was "Stupid horse. Can't even stand up in a trailer." I swallowed real hard, grabbed the lead rope and started walking our new friend back to his stall. The owner zoomed off.

I immediately treated the new injury, applied the ointments to his eyes and gave him some pellets with the Bute in it along with a good helping of Orchard hay. He is such a good boy. No problem whatsoever. I was surprised that he allowed me to handle his feet without any issues. He is really a good-natured young boy! Vet estimated his age at a little

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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