A Gem called RUBY

I purchased Ruby as a rescue horse in September 2008.                           

Ruby was in a very emaciated way, a condition score of 1. 14.2hh .Her problems included- neglected teeth, which made eating painful, difficult and slow and she was very dirty with a harsh stark coat, she also had bad conjunctivitis and was scouring.

Ruby was quite anemic,with pale gums & tounge , sunken orbital eye sockets  and anus ,her hooves overgrown  with sand cracks. It was easy to see all her bones ,even the neck vertabrae.

A pitiful sight.

  My heart was saddened and I got her home as soon as I could.

 The vet came to attend to her teeth and a tetanus needle was given as well. Ruby was found to have a slight heart murmur which probably would not affect her.

Ointment for the conjunctivitis ,twice daily until cleared up,and an allwormer for internal parasites ,followed 2 weeks later with another.

    To get the body condition improving I started with lots of hay, oaten and barley and ,soon with no more scouring ,Lucerne as well- as much of the three as she would eat and I began special feeds using Speedi Beet at an amount of  3cups (which is fed after soaking in water as it expands a lot)  and I added Lucerne/oaten charff 6cups & 1cup steam flaked barley & 1cup pellets PLUS 1 tablespoon of Superior vitamin & mineral powder. (total of 80grams powder a day)                                               

This was fed 4 times a day for 6 weeks,  then 3 times a day for 4 weeks,   then 2 times a day for 3 weeks then once a day as maintenance feed. I also used seaweed meal , cod liver oil, apple cider vinegar and garlic.

Ruby was rugged each night with a light combo rug ,and unrugged through the day and a fly veil fitted and groomed daily vigorously to remove the old long ,harsh hair.Ruby had her first bath after about 3 weeks .Her hooves were trimmed and dressed twice a week with Stockholm tar +oil.                                                                                                                                Ruby didn’t worry about any thing at all that I did with her, she just trusted me.

The improvements were almost instant and her progress was amazing, I had notified the RSPCA  to protect myself and I also kept  photo records.

   I found a brand on her near side flank ,which was registered and I was able to track her original owners, she had been a station mare ,doing lots of cattle work and was about 18 years old.

Ruby is now a new horse, the difference is amazing and it wasn’t difficult to achieve. I loved rescuing her and so glad I had found her.

Amazing what some TLC can do.   Above-       Ruby after just 12 weeks!

Ruby May 2009 Healthy and happy now. 

And Most recent pics, below

Ruby August 2009 .Can't get much healthier, a very satisfying result.