I am in the process of building a photo page for India.
Please check back soon to see her!
India is my Bay Quarter Horse Filly. She is also a PMU Foal. She has some special needs and requirements to help her become a sound and healthy horse... and that is my goal. This is her story and the reason I bring you these clay creations.
India is my first adopted PMU foal. I had been considering adopting a PMU foal for quite some time, knowing that it was the right thing to do… to save a life. I finally had the opportunity to adopt and chose a cute little filly, a light red dun to be exact. She was coming from a farm in Lexington, Minnesota and I could not wait for her arrival. I chose her in August, a few days after my birthday, but didn’t receive her until November 2nd...
The days leading up to the delivery of India were full of excitement. I spoke with the haulers almost daily. The first time I asked about my little red dun, the hauler paused momentarily and then told me that she didn’t have a red dun on board. The foal that she had for me was a bay… a blood bay. I told her at that time that I didn’t adopt a bay and that there was some mistake. She told me that they only picked up 3 foals from that farm for delivery and that she was specifically told that the bay was coming to me. Uh oh……
So India was delivered on a Saturday morning. Actually it was a Friday night around 3 a.m. and she was delivered to another adopter’s home about 25 minutes away. Because they were the last 2 foals on board and the hour in which delivery was taking place was so late, we decided to leave them together in her round pen for the evening to keep their stress levels down. I arrived at her house at 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning to pick up India only to find a blood bay filly, not a light red dun, just as the hauler had informed me. But what was most disturbing was the condition of her legs. I could see from a distance that something was amiss…..
As I approached the round pen, I found India, my precious filly, totally exhausted and appearing quite sick. She moved slowly, almost on tiptoes, round and round, looking for relief somewhere. When she finally tried to stand still, she just couldn’t help herself; she had to move, switching her weight from one leg to another. And then she was down, totally exhausted. My heart went out to her and I started to cry…..
We loaded her onto the trailer without much resistance. She had none to offer. Her only concern was that she was leaving her friend behind and she whinnied most of the way home. I called my vet from the truck on the way home, asking her to meet me right away at the barn. Once home, we put her from the trailer right into a stall. Again, no resistance… she was just so tired, so sick. Initially I stood on the outside of the stall door and as she circled past me I touched her, ran my hand from her neck to her rump, talked to her, told her she was home and help was coming. Relax baby… help is on the way! By the time my vet arrived, I was in her stall, stroking her, reassuring her, loving her already……
My vet arrived and looked into the stall and I saw in her eyes sorrow. This poor baby, so sick, so stressed, and her legs not those of a healthy foal. She entered the stall with me and began to examine India, head to toe. Temperature - too high; lung sounds - too raspy; facial hair - missing, eyes with no sparkle, overall listless behavior. When she got to the legs she grimaced. All of India’s joints were huge… epiphysitis was the diagnosis. Her front legs were toed in, the right one extremely so and both cannon bones offset to the outside… angular leg deformities. Her hind legs were knuckled over so much that she didn’t want to place weight on either of them for any length of time… flexural leg deformities. She stood for all of this; amazingly quiet other than an occasional, half-hearted kick. Was she too tired and sick to put up a fight or did she know that we were there to help? I believe it was the latter. She knew. She still does…..
We started her on so many medicines that I think they made her sicker, her body not used to the deluge of medications. It began with ulcer medicine, antibiotics, fungal medicine and Osteo-Form, which provided calcium for her bones. She was put on stall rest for a month, although I was allowed to turn her out for 15 minutes a day. Fifteen minutes is far too short a time when she can see the other horses in the field. She called to them over and over, pleading for them to come meet her, come save her from her prison. Funny thing about the stall rest too – it was to help with the angular leg deformities but flexural leg deformities calls for minimal exercise. I handled her constantly during this time, running my hands all over her, talking to her, telling her that everything would be great given time. I started working on picking up her feet, teaching her to lead, even if it was only round and round in her stall. She was groomed daily – a chore that soon became associated with having her temperature taken. I was to record her temperature daily as she continued to spike fevers for what seemed like every other day. She quickly got used to my handling her, even taking her temperature but during that entire month she never did get a sparkle in her eyes. It was heartbreaking to see her daily and not see any improvement in her health. Her legs were a concern, of course, but I had to get her healthy first and then we could progress from there. The problem was that her health issues lingered far too long…
God and I had long discussions about India. I talked and He listened. I cried and He listened. I even pleaded for her, for a chance for her. It no longer mattered if she would ever be sound or not, it only mattered that she would one day be healthy and happy. She could stand in my pasture for the rest of her life if that was all she could do. I would be happy with that. That’s when I began to realize that she had come to me for a reason. She needed someone who would care for her no matter what and who would love her no matter what. I was that person. I remain that person…..
At this point I really must admit that I was not alone in my quest to heal India. My husband was there every step of the way and I must say that he fell for her as quickly as I did. He did not grow up with horses as I did and had never really spent any time with them until we met but he jumped right in, began doing research through books and the Internet. He was as concerned as I and he remains one of India’s strongest allies. He’s a believer and just knows – he just knows – that it will all work out in the end….
After 6 weeks of medicines given daily, there was still no sense of recovery. She remained listless with no sparkle whatsoever in her eyes and her legs remained the same. I was always up around her, positive thoughts always when I was with her, trying desperately to pass along energy. The moment I’d leave her I’d cry, talk to God and cry some more. I worried when I wasn’t with her about what to do. What was I missing? We needed to try whatever we could, so we went natural…..
We took India off stall rest and began turning her out to graze, to move around and be a horse. We pulled her off of her medicines and put her on natural supplements. We searched for a higher quality grain than what we were feeding. Began adding supplements like Dolomite and Seaweed Meal; Vitamin C, Cod Liver Oil and Apple Cider Vinegar. Everyone around us remained skeptical, even our vets, even while they agreed it was all worth a try. And then one day a glint in her eye, maybe even a sparkle…..
On January 25, 2004 India will turn 9 months young. Her overall health has improved dramatically. She now has a sparkle in her eye, her fungus has cleared up and her hair has grown back in and she even acts like a young horse more times than not. Her legs are getting better but we still remain cautiously optimistic. We are working with a Farrier, finding the best way to trim her feet to help straighten her legs, and ultimately, corrective shoes. We continue to search for answers to her legs and have left open the options of surgery. We will do everything within our power to help her become a healthy, sound horse….
One thing has remained a constant with us when it comes to India. She is a part of us and always will be. She is a beautiful filly with a great disposition and a huge heart. She’s inquisitive, curious, obliging, loving, willing and friendly. She came to us for a reason and we are blessed.
