05/20/2024
Moving right along to our 4th sanctuary resident. He's made many appearances on our page previously and most of you will recognize this charming gentleman.
Say hello to Denali ❤️
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Denali became a resident of Phoenix Animal Rescue & Rehabilitation LLC on December 7, 2020 and prior to, was a temporary resident at a ship to slaughter facility in Oklahoma. They say everything happens for a reason and at the time, most always, we don't know the reasoning and sometime we never will. I was contacted by a dear friend a she shared with me photos of a group of horses that come into the lot that were emergency medical cases and in very poor condition. A community of rescuers rallied together to assist in getting these horses to a safe place so their needs and conditions could be addressed and tended to. I was scrolling through the photos after the dust settled and noticed a gray horse in the background. I asked a friend about the horse and was informed that he was sitting in the direct ship pen and part of a load going out the next morning. Nothing was known about him other than he was just a number that fills the trailer heading south. Through some connections the friend was able to reach out to the lot owner and long story short, we were able to send someone to pick up Denali the very next morning and take him to a quarentine facility to reprieve before coming to Wisconsin. ❤️
Upon his evaluation, Denali was estimated to be about 6 or 7 years old. Calm, quiet, and well manbered but his physical condition made it very clear as to why he was marked for direct ship. He was underweight but still made the weight requirement to ship. But he had injuries to him, some new and some old, that had not been addressed leaving his appearance and mobility far from ideal or visually appealing. His hooves were crumbling and had the appearance of sun baked mud. A huge quarter crack on his front righy hoof extending from his toe up to and past the soft tissue of the coronet bad. It resembled the hoof structure of a cow. And yes, it was infected and he was very lame. Even after extensive farrier work Denali's prognosis was not good and as we all know, if a horses hooves are poor and damages, the long term outlook for any quality of life is poor as that is their lifeline and lively hood. He also had an overwhelming amount of scar tissue built up in his left rear leg between the cannon bone and fetlock causing the joint to not flex as it should and most likely never would. Lame on 2 of his 4 legs with irreversible damage was a tough pill to swollow but a promise was made to Denali that he'd be given every opertunity available to have a second chance at a normal life for as long as he was physically able to.
Well.... Here we are just shy of 4 years later. He runs, he plays with the babies, and bounces around the pastures without a care in the world. His trimming schedule is more frequent than most horses but if too much prussure is put on his toe the hoof will flex causing the crack to again separate. With his high energy and flying around the pasture this happens often even being on a strict trim routine. We have explored the option of adding clips to his hoof, putting him in boots, and even reconstructing the hoof. Unfortunately none of the options would be a permanent fix because of the extensive damage to the tissues around the coronet band. The scar tissue buildup in his rear fetlock joint have not posed an issue so far. Surgery was an option but that was not a guarenteed fix and the vet suggested if it's not causing him pain, lameness, and limited mobility then to let it be. He is able to now flex at the joint and after his rehabilitation therapies he's not been lame on the leg since. Someday yes, this will pose an issue, mobility and soundness will be compromised but if we continue being proactive and provide cares and therapy that help to maintain the quality of life he has now we expect that Denali will continue to live his best life for many many years to come.
I've been blessed with his farrier and his skills and by having to treat and maintain Denali physical condition I've educated myself on alternative, holistic, and integrative forms of treatment to better care for Denali's unique needs.
Throughout my years of providing rehabilitation to the once at risk equine, I've learned how to incorporate alternative forms of treatment that fall within the realm of natural and holistic. Most often these treatments prove to be more effective and less costly but most importantly by understanding and treating the equine body as a whole has helped greatly in treating the root cause of most issues. I'm not saying that there's not a need to use traditional vet medicine and this is sometimes used in combination with alternative treatments. With each horse, based on the issue at hand, receives specific cares that address their individual needs and unique situation. The time and physical efforts involved are never an issue here. The horse's needs and cares are addressed before our needs and often my dinner comes well after the sun goes down. And that's quite alright. In addition to the time and effort, financial needs for the horses must be met. Even with taking a more natural approach in treatment and maintaining the health and wellbeing of the horses, it does still cost money. Luckily, there is no need at this time to to have staff member on hand to assist in the daily cares and in turn more financials are directed towards the needs of the horses. I think when I say this though, and most rescues and sanctuaries will agree, we are often faced with an overwhelming number of requests to take in animals but our space is limited and donations, gift, and resources are limited. We know our limits physically and financially and we can't compromise the needs of the animals that are currently under our care, especially the sanctuary animals that need special care for the duration of their life.
Without assistance from our community, friends, family, and individuals that are the voices of the voiceless, rescues can not continue their efforts and must decrease the number of intakes they can accept. And we can all agree that there has been an increase for the need of facilities accepting intakes due to the overwhelming issue of over breeding and neglect, whether its unintentional or intentional.
We can all play a small part in helping at risk animals and by putting together all the small pieces the end result makes a big difference.
It does truly take a village to keep rescue efforts rolling in a forward direction. There is no such thing as too little of help or too small of a monetary gift. Not in the world of rescue. I can personally tell you the smallest bit of help makes a world of difference.
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