12/24/09 - We made an Xmas eve morning trip to help this boy!

With the collaboration of four different people/rescue groups, an emaciated Thoroughbred gelding was rescued today. The horse was first brought to our attention by Deborah J. of Huntington Beach, CA. TIER & Deborah made contact with the owner who had fallen on hard times and was not able to feed this horse properly for an extenteded period of time.  TIER, Deborah J.,  FalconRidge Rescue and Blue Apple worked together to make arrangements to get the horse to safety quickly. 

 This older boy really needed a soft place to land and TIER picked him up this morning, gave him a stall, provided fresh water, soaked pellets combined with Equine Advantage and some alfalfa.

Not to worry......he's only getting small amounts of feed to begin with. I am soaking pellets & adding Equine Advantage. He is cleaning it up. He is also able to eat alfalfa. He does leave the stems behind, but there are other residents who will clean that up. He doesn't appear to be quidding his hay, so that's good!

He is an aged TB and we will TRY to read his tattoo. His upper front teeth are gone from cribbing and his backbone is showing badly. Blue Apple agreed to take him in and he will be transported within the next few day where he will live out his life and never experience an empty stomach again!

He is an extremely kind old man.  Bright eyed and interested despite the fact that he is soooooo thin.  He leads well, stands well, hopped right in the trailer and was smart about unloading once we arrived.  He is very personable and loves attention.  We placed him next to Tsan Tsant and the two old timers have been conversing back and forth.  Such a sweet boy.  We are so pleased that he has a forever home at Blue Apple.  They have decided to name him Prancer! 

12/28/09 - We are pleased to announce that Prancer went to his forever home this morning!  Before he left he ate a big bucket of soaked pellets w/equine senior and 2 flakes of hay. 

I had a one sided conversation with him in which I told him that he was going to his Forever HOME!  I told him he would have his own stall, large fields to roam about and many new friends.  This place would perhaps remind him of his younger days before he started racing.  Days of sun and fun with friends in pastures, eating fresh grass, running and playing.

We put a halter on him, led him to the fancy trailer.  He stepped right in and buried his nose in the Orchard hay provided! 

I was informed he still has his head in the feed bin at his new home!  HA!  He has received a brand new blanket for those chilly nights/mornings and his neighbors right now are all geldings.  He will be sure to make new friends quickly as he is one of those horses who hooks up with other horses right away. 

We are so pleased for Prancer!  My hat is off to those who worked quickly to get him to a safe place.  Thank you all!

12/31/09 - We received the update below from the sanctuary where Prancer will live out the rest of his life with plenty of food, shelter, friends, treats and care.  We cannot thank Blue Apple Ranch enough for making it possible for Prance to have a FOREVER home!

1/12/10 - We received an update on Prancer. He is such a lucky guy to be able to live the rest of his life at a wonderful Sanctuary. After his arrival he was given a huge stall all to himself, a brand new blanket for those chilly nights and is being fed nutritious feed.

He’s been kept in the stall to give his system time to adjust to being fed properly and to monitor his food consumption, water intake and to make sure that his overall health is progressing.

All the attention and wonderful care seems to be doing the trick! He is steadily improving and has become a little pushy in that spacious stall. Since he is doing so well, he was turned out yesterday to get him moving around a bit. He really seemed to be having fun! He does tire easily, just totally out of shape and flabby, but it was good to watch him run and play. Another attempt was made to read his tattoo, but it seems to have bled into his skin and it couldn't be deciphered at all!

Although the tattoo cannot be read and his racing identity cannot be discovered, we know who he is. He is Prancer, the horse that was saved from starvation & neglect on Christmas Eve morning. An awesome Christmas present for Prancer......the gift of life!!

1/30/10 - Update from Blue Apple Ranch:
Prancer is doing very well, and turning out to be a real charmer.  He's an expert at opening gates and his fun personality is finding its way back into his life.  Prancer now spends a good part of each day grazing in a pasture with a large OTTB gelding named Harvey.  As Prancer turned out to be a little 'pushy' we had to find a buddy for him that could stand up to that, and we did.  He's gaining weight nicely, and loves to run and play.  It was a delight to witness some full blown bucks yesterday as they raced and played in the pasture together.  Yee Haw!

Update 3-7-10 - Prancer is at Blue Apple Ranch
Here is the latest info they have shared with us:
Prancer is doing just fine, he's a really nice boy - always friendly and engaging.  I wish we knew more about him - just curious.  He's the one whose tattoo bled into his lip and he's cribbed his teeth down to nubs.  I guess he is who he is now!  He's on the list actually to be assessed by David, in the near future.  He's put on some weight, and easily made friends with the big boys.  He's a little pushy and holds his own very nicely in the herd.