Gentleman

WELCOME BACK GENTLEMAN! Photos and text not to be copied without written permission from Beauty's Haven.
He's been back since late November. He's gained weight and is doing great. He's holding his head high, his eyes are bright, and he's just as gentle and lovable as ever. His appetite is good - no problem there! He even runs (it's slow but it's still a run!) around the paddock with Chloe at times! Scroll down for updates. Gentleman - the day he left in March 2007. Gentleman - a few days before returning to Beauty's Haven on Thanksgiving Day, 2008 Do we have the pasture, help, knowledge, and money to care for this horse? You bet! But we couldn't do what we do without public support - that is why we are a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization! Pasture: We have over 17 acres of grassy paddocks - not sand - but grass. It's dormant right now but the horses still graze on it. That's what horses like to do! We planted over 30 bags of winter rye to help get us through the cold season. It recently has started to flourish. Help: We have 8 volunteers now. We also have folks that stop in when they can to lend a hand. These people are a real blessing to our organization. They have their hearts into what they do and the horses just love them - so do we! Knowledge: We don’t know everything but we are blessed to have a team of people, including traditional vets, a holistic vet, an equine dentist, a great farrier, and an equine community of friends (including the FOB's) with experience to help us make the right decisions about what is in the best interest of each horse. Money: Like other rescues, we can’t help horses without support from the public - we are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We’ve incurred hundreds of dollars of unexpected vet and related rehab bills in the last few weeks which took a big chunk out of our hay budget. Gentleman, being a draft horse that needs to gain weight in a healthy way, eats a lot. He's currently getting four smaller than average portion meals a day in addition to hay 24/7. Also, we have the rest of the horses to provide for. If you'd like to help us to help the horses - any and all support is greatly appreciated.
After Gentleman arrived we gave him a few hours to settle in. We then treated a couple of open wounds that could have got infected. After giving him a couple of days to settle in we started working on a few things. He got a good warm bath which he seemed to truly appreciate. We removed ticks and bots. The below picture was taken at the location he had been living - you can tell by the background - we don't have any palm trees but we could sure use some! Once he got back to the rescue we were able to untangle several knots in his tail - Cowboy Magic works great! We had a lot to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day 2007.
Here's Gentleman a few days after he returned to our rescue. He always did love to graze. It is nice to see him hold his head up high and carry himself with confidence and pride. He still likes to lay down and curls up like a big dog for nap time.
We had been told "Gentleman is suffering form EPSM." In order to determine if, in fact, he had EPSM GMan underwent a painful muscle biopsy procedure. A 1" square chunk was cut out of his butt. When people, especially kids, come to visit they seem attracted to GMan. We certainly didn't want GMan with visitors if he could potentially fall and hurt someone or himself. To our relief, EPSM was ruled out! Working with our vet we came up with a "get well" plan and so far, GMan is doing great. The vet looked at him again yesterday and is very pleased with what he saw. GMan has gained quite a bit of weight and added muscle. We were told to keep doing what we're doing. It's obviously working quite well.
His hooves were long and misshapen. After a trim he was much better balanced - his posture was better.	We were also told "he has locking stifles." Not the case. His feet were shaped such that excessive weight was being placed on his hind end, causing excessive pressure on the stifles. After the trim, he walked like a new horse.
This picture was taken the first week of January 2008. He's put on some weight and has settled right back in with the herd. It's almost like he never left. Here he is with Chloe - can you believe how big she's grown?
January 12th, 2008 - he was being doted on by visitors – loving the attention!
January 17th, 2007: Gentleman running with some of the herd. GMan had a great time with "his" mares! He ran and kicked up his heels and just had a blast!
January 18th: Looking good!
January 29th: Gelding Games GMan and Jake were great buds before GMan left last spring. It's really a good sight to see them feeling good and having fun together!
February 15th: A Wellness Day First a manicure and a pedicure - with each trim we see improvement. The farrier is very pleased. With each trim his body has to adjust to the corrections being done - it changes pressure on joints, etc. After his trim he got a wonderful treatment by the holistic vet which included chiropractic and acupuncture. He truly enjoyed it. Just look at that face! And those big sparkling eyes are beautiful! The vet thinks that one more treatment should do it - she's also very pleased. AAAAAHHHHHH! I feel GOOD!
February 16th: A Day of Visitors and Pampering Gentleman has always been wonderful with kids. A true gentleman and gentle giant. One of his best friends, Jake, got lots of attention too. It was truly a beautiful day full of blessings.
We had a special visitor in February 2008 and she captured on video Gentleman loving life. Click here to watch this magnificant horse move.
April 20, 2008 Gentleman got body clipped today. He looks just awesome! He's healthy and happy and it shows. Thanks Anne, Bernel, Katie, and Jenny for his makeover!
05/18/08: Gentleman giving two of our volunteers, Jenny and Barbara, a ride. They all had a great time!
We are very blessed to have Gentleman back with us again. He's a very special horse with a huge heart of gold. He deserves to live out the rest of his life with lots of TLC and dignity. We can help make sure that happens with support from the public. He worked hard for humans for many years only to end up in a lot where he would have been loaded on a truck to go to slaughter. With the help of AC4H and many caring individuals, we paid his ransom at a kill buyers price in late 2006. He went to a new home in March 2007 and came back to us in late November 2007. Now, with the help of others we want to make sure he lives a comfortable and loving life of retirement. He loves kids and kids love him back - he is just a big teddy bear with them. Please help us to help not only Gentleman - but others like him. Donations are tax deductible. Hay has gone up in price - we are now paying $415 per ton! To get the horses through the end of February we need to raise $2,520. We know this is a lot of money but it is what it is. And believe me, we are praying for an early spring. We have horses here with different needs and not all horses can have the same type of hay others can have - we buy alfalpha and T&A or O&A. Learn more about our hay drive by clicking here. A very kind and caring person has offered a matching game of $1000 in order to help provide hay for the horses! For every dollar donated by others this person will match it - up to $1000! Donate $10 and this person will also donate $10. Donate $100 and this person will also donate $100. All the way up to $1000! Donations can be made via PayPal to theresa@beautysequinerescue.org or via Google via our website. Donations can also be sent snail mail to P.O. Box 53, Morriston, FL 32668. Also, you can call in a credit to the hay and/or feed stores. Hay: Larson's Hay at 352-867-8333 or Quality Hay at 352-529-0888 Grain: Berrettini Feed: 352-629-1447 We could also use donations of Cocosoya Oil™ Oil and monetary donations to help with holistic and related vet care.
GMan the day he left in March 2007.
A True Gentleman