ADOPTED – Saleena – Peruvian Paso mare

DSaleena, a beautiful palomino Peruvian Paso mare, was left by her owners to starve as they fed the horse next to her each day two flakes of hay, but only gave her a half a flake of musty, black alfalfa stems. The lady’s daughter fell off of Saleena on a trail ride and the lady told us that they didn’t like her. She stated that they only got her because they wanted the horse that came with her. That horse they buried under a tree just two months before after it died of colic. Now they were simply starving Saleena.

We looked around and saw a trailer with jet skis on it, a trailer with desert vehicles on it and a big closed in toy trailer with a big 4 wheel drive attached to it. Their home was big and beautiful. What can anyone say about this? How can people sleep at night?

Dear Saleena was given up willingly by the lady after a caring person convinced her to allow us to come and get her. This person was ready to call the authorities instantly if she did not.

We were called and asked to come right away. We jumped in the truck and were there within a half hour. Saleena walked straight into the trailer and never looked back.

The veterinarian gave Saleena another few days to a couple of weeks to live. She was filled with worms and was very weak. Her internal organs had begun to shut down. We looked at her manure in her stall when we picked her up and it was coming out the same way it was going in. Black and full of huge stems. Her body was not able to digest the miserable and tiny amount of food she was being given.

Her hip bones were protruding through her skin, as was several of her vertebrae on her croup. The skin had sloughed away and there were just open wounds.

It was around the clock with Saleena, as it is with so many of the animals we rescue. Every half hour Saleena was given a tiny handful of easily digested feed, so that she had 48 handfuls by the end of 24 hours. If she had been given any more, she would have gorged, and likely died. Her organs would not have been able to handle any great amount of food suddenly, as they had to begin working again as she stabilized.

After a few days, she was given a controlled amount of feed to enjoy. After two weeks, she was on free feed, and had good grass hay in front of her 24/7.

Saleena was saved by Hearts & Hands Animal Rescue and the wonderful people who volunteered to watch over her and care for her day and night.

Please donate today so that we may continue to rescue and rehabilitate horses like Saleena !

Saleena, Peruvian Paso mare, starving. Her winter coat belies the incredible emaciation of her body.

Saleena's ribs were showing badly, even through a dense coat. We rescued her in August. She should not have had any winter coat, but should have been slick throughout the summer. Her health was so poor that she could not even shed her coat from the previous winter. We could stick our fingers through almost to the second joint between her ribs.