Let’s Talk Quarantine!
Anytime we bring new horses home from auction, or horses travel to us in commercial trailers, they go straight to our quarantine facility! Our founder and executive director, Christine Hajek, explains why quarantine is so important, while introducing some of our newest arrivals!
Breakfast for the BAF1 crew!
How cute is everyone lined up for breakfast! The horses in this herd were all rescued during our ‘New Year, New Life’ rescue mission that happens on or as close to New Year’s Eve each year.
These horses all live together in a field we call BAF1. Each field gets a unique name…for example, ‘Driveway Field’ is - you guessed it! - the field along the driveway! Any guesses what this name stands for?
Behind the Scenes of Gentle Giants Records and Systems!
We love answering all of your questions about our mission, the horses we save, and how they’re doing…today, we’re answering some new and different questions about the administrative and operational side of the rescue! We’ve been asked some great questions about how we keep records for every horse in our care (past and present), and how we keep track of all of their unique needs so we can provide them the best standard of care possible.
Our Founder and Executive Director, Christine, is sharing those details with real time data and views of our internal records and herd management systems - enjoy!
If you have a question for any member of our team, leave it in the comments below, contact us at [email protected], or submit your question via our online form:
https://tinyurl.com/57293hkv
Meet FLIRT!
I could spend all day, every day with Flirt - she’s just so sweet and fun!
Ollie Update! Day 10
Ollie Update! Ollie is still hanging in there. The past couple of days have been rough, and we’re still nowhere near out of the woods. Ollie has been in his stall where he’s allowed to rest for up to 3 hours before we need to flip him to his other side or pick him up so that he can move around. It takes a huge amount of manpower to drag him out of the stall and all members of our team from administration, to animal care, to maintenance have been working around the clock to be there for Ollie.
We have some new information regarding Ollie’s health and updates on the next steps in his care plan to share with everyone.
>We’ve received additional test results back and as our vet anticipated, he also has salmonella and very low vitamin E levels. We’ve already started treatment for both of these and are continuing with his supportive care. We are also diligently continuing our biosecurity and quarantine protocols.
>We have ordered a mobile gantry crane that will allow us to leave him in the sling for longer periods of time and it’s being delivered tomorrow! We are balancing the need for adequate rest with the need for movement, lymphatic circulation, and mental health stimulation.
>He is still in good spirits, bright, eating and drinking well, and enthusiastic about being up and grazing…his body just needs time to get through this and we’re taking it one day at a time! Thank you all so much for the continued support, encouragement, and well wishes for Ollie! Stay tuned for updates on the arrival of the gantry crane tomorrow!
Ollie One Week Update
Today was a rollercoaster of emotions, ups and downs and ups again.
Ollie was down again, and the way he looked laying in that grass took the air out of my lungs. In 25 minutes we had him back up on his feet and the relief was just overwhelming.
Today we did receive more of his bloodwork and fecal sample results and though we’re still waiting on more important tests, we have some answers. His bloodwork was as expected for a horse in his condition, not great, but nothing overly significant or concerning. The bloodwork also shows no sign on organ deterioration! He is also negative for Potomac Horse Fever but we now know he does have betacoronovirus. In horses this presents as gastrointestinal issues and is the likely culprit for his diarrhea. Supportive care is the only treatment option and we’re doing everything we can for him. He was tubed with biosponge, an anti diarrhea treatment and he’s getting probiotics, high fiber beet pulp, and purina outlast for gastric support.
Every day, really every minute, is touch and go but we’re staying positive, we’re fighting hard and so is he.
Just went out to check on Ollie and give him some snuggles 🥰 He’s doing well but he does now have an infection with some discharge coming out of an abscess on the side of his face, just above his mouth. He’s already on antibiotics and he’ll be seeing our dentist soon so we can get a closer look inside his mouth.
He’s just so incredibly sweet and affectionate, and every day he continues to stay on his feet and fill that tiny belly of his is one more day closer to recovery ♥️
Ollie’s first weigh in!
Ollie stayed up all through the night and is doing well! We put him on the scale today to get his starting weight so we can track his progress over the next several weeks and he weighed in at 797 lbs. 😔 Definitely nowhere near what a healthy 2 year old Belgian draft horse should weigh. We’ll be weighing him every week and will continue to share updates! Later today he’ll be getting a bath and rinsing away all of the filth and dirt, taking one more step towards his bright new future!
Ollie’s a Fighter!
Ollie has had a rough start to his young life, and he may still have a few bumps on the road ahead, but he is a fighter and we’re going to do everything we can to give him the best life possible!
