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WELCOME SILVER
BELLE!
Warning - some
pictures are graphic.
*Photos not to be
copied without permission.
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October 18th, 2008: We received a phone call today about a filly
that had sustained severe injuries to her chest. The owners said
she had run into a fence many days before and that they treated her with
icthemal (a drawing salve) and a pain medication but she wasn't getting
any better. They could not afford vet care and if we couldn't
help, the filly would likely die of infection.
One of our volunteers, Jenny, rode with me to look at the filly to see
how bad it was. We were shocked to find this darling little girl
with not only deep chest wounds but a huge wound on her left front knee,
a cyst on her left side, and an umbilical hernia. The chest and
knee wounds were oozing and looked horrible. We didn't know if the
filly would make it or not but we knew we had to get her to the rescue -
if her prognosis was poor at least we could give her a few days of TLC.
We asked about her mom and we were told she had died a couple of months
ago for no apparent reason.
We went back to the rescue and picked up the trailer and went right back
to pickup the filly. We had to load her by backing her in.
She was a bit nervous but when we got to the rescue she unloaded fine.
Before leading her into a stall in the barn, we let her stand outside
for a few minutes so she could see some of the other horses here,
including Momma Sue and Aaleyah.
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This filly came from the
same farm as Momma Sue and Aaleyah - they have the same sire. We
don't know if they recognized each other or not when the we got to the
rescue but there were lots of whinnies.
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Horses always get a welcome hug and kiss when they arrive along with a
promise of love and care.
The filly settled into
her stall and started munching on hay right away.
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Once she was settled in we took her temperature and were relived that it
was normal. The vet had been called before we even arrived back at
the rescue.
Dr. Jeremy arrived and did a quick look at her wounds and we gave him
what little history about her that we were given. He cleaned up
both the chest and leg wounds, flushed them out and treated them.
He had to lance the cyst that was on her side which contained a lot of
puss. This seemed to hurt her more then anything.
X-rays were taken to see if there was any foreign matter or bone chips.
We learned later, after the films were developed that nothing major in
her leg was injured! The hole in her chest was deep and stopped
just before the sternum. This baby must have had an angel with her
the day of the injury.
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After thinking about it for a bit - we
decided on a name. Silver Belle. Aaleyah Belle is a couple
of months younger but Silver Belle is noticeably smaller.
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We tried to think of a good name for the
filly but decided to give it some time so we could learn more about her
disposition. She came at a time when we were still trying to move
past the loss of Tiny Tim, Sparky, Susa, My Girl, and Tinkerbelle.
The first time I saw her, her eyes reminded me of Tinkerbelle. She
is the same color that My Girl would have been when she was a young
filly. And her leg injury was to the same leg that Tiny Tim's
injury was on. Coincidence?
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It was a beautiful day here today. It was a
bit cold in the morning but by noon it was warm.
Here are Aaleyah Belle and Silver Belle talking over the fence. I
wonder what they are saying?
"Silver Belle! Oh gosh - PLEASE don't let
Buttercup
see you with her halter on! That's her special
halter - it's just like mine!"
"Hay - it's not my fault - the humans put it on me!
I don't have my own halter yet Aaleyah."
"Oh crappers Silver - here comes Buttercup!
If she sees you with her halter she's going to
get upset! Try to hide behind Auntie
Jenny or something, ok?"
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"Hay, Aaleyah - doesn't that look like my pink
halter that Silver Belle is wearing?"
"Silver Belle - come closer - I want to see that
pretty pink halter you are wearing. Where
did you get that from?"
"AUNT JENNY!!!! Silver Belle is wearing
MY pink halter! This isn't fair! Nobody asked me
first! I would have shared it but you should've
asked me first! Does Mom know about this?"
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"Hi everyone! Look at me! I'm in a nice and cozy stall in a
barn that is full of love.
I have soft clean shavings to lay down on and a little ball to play
with. The view from my window is really
nice - I get to watch the other horses. Oh! And I always have hay
to eat - I'll never go hungry here!
My new human "mom" tells me that there are many other humans that care
about me
and want to help - that makes me feel loved and very special!
Thank you all!"
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Sorry - it's a blurry picture - but Silver Belle got the taste of
carrots today and decided she likes them!
I had to take little bites and put them in the palm of my hand for her
to eat
from and I couldn't do it fast enough for her.
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October 22nd, 2008
"I took my Auntie Blodwyn for a walk today. I can't wait until I
can run and play with the others!"
"Ola trimmed my feet - I'd never had that done before. It was a
bit scary at first.
But after she was done I felt much better. I was a good girl."
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October 25th, 2008 - Silver Belle sporting her new and beautiful halter
from Auntie Mel...
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"Now I really feel special - look at how pretty I am!
Thanks Auntie Mel!"
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Her wounds are better each day. She feels good and she lets us
know it - she's going to be a handful!
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"Ok, I'm going to lick you this time - the girls
said you're supposed to
taste good!
Now please - don't move!!!"
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"UGGHH!!! How am I supposed to lick this thing
if I can't even get my tongue on it? It must be alive
or something! Help!!! Hay - wait a minute - the
other girls don't even have one - they're
playing a trick on me!" |
October 27th, 2008
Dr. Jeremy looked at Silver Belle today when he came to x-ray Jake.
Both chest and leg wounds
appear to be healing. However; he is concerned about how swollen
her knee is.
There is a possibility of infection. She is now back on
antibiotics for a week.
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October 29th, 2008
The swelling seems to be about the same.
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November 3rd, 2008: Dr. Ryan
examined Silver Belle today. Her knee is still swollen more then
it should be. He wants to keep her on the antibiotics for 3 more
days and then reassess her. She was really good for him. He
gave us some really great news - she can be turned out now in a small
area - like around the barn!
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Does this pose remind you of another filly? Yep, it's that Aaleyah
Belle "I'm a big girl!" pose!
We're wondering if she's going to do the cricket dance too once she's
all healed!
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MERRY CHRISTMAS
EVERYONE!!!!
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Click
here to read an
awesome article about Silver Belle that was
written by Vonda Sines and published on Associated Content.
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January 9th, 2009: Silver Belle meeting a special visitor, Jen,
from Pennsylvania!
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January 28th, 2009: Silver waking up from sleeping after having
her hernia banded.
She was back up and out with the others a
couple of hours later. She's doing great.
As for her old chest and knee injuries - they are completely healed.
She is sound and there are no scars!
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