| Field of Dreams Horse Rescue and Adoption |
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| ............Field of Dreams ...Horse Rescue .....& Adoption |
Ginger and Duke came to FOD on 9/16/09. They had been living together for eight years at a private home where
their young riders had gone off to college. The parents were looking to sell both horses when a horrific tragedy struck
at home. On 9/14 the Mom was in the back yard with their five big Shepard dogs when one slipped under the fence to
go check out the horses. This had never happened in all the years the horses had been there. Ginger, the 25 year
old Morgan Mare was spooked and took off. The dog took this as a game of chase and the other dogs joined in. The
five dogs turned into a pack and tried to kill Ginger. She was ripped severely and had holes, teeth marks and claw
marks all over her body. The worst hole was on the right side of her belly near her back leg. It was nothing but open
meat the size of a football. They had the vet out and knew this was a serious situation. There was no one home who
could take care of the enormity of this ordeal. All of the wounds would have to be cleaned and treated twice daily and
adding to this was fly season. A friend of theirs called us the next evening to see if we could take both horses. We just
had two horses adopted out which opened up two stalls. We always have the dedication and time to take care of a
horse in need, but this was huge and we did not have the finances to pay for the vet bills and medical supplies it would
take for these kinds of injuries – we knew this was going to be very expensive and we were already over-budgeted on
horses. We explained our situation and the owners agreed to make a generous donation to help their equine friends.
We picked up both horses the next morning. Ginger - a 25 year old Morgan mare and Duke - a 20 year old
Thoroughbred gelding. Both horses were show horses and had taught their owners how to ride and show. We brought
them both in and Duke was right by Ginger's side all the way – making sure she was OK. We then started the long
recovery treatment for Ginger. The day after she arrived we had our vet out to debris the wounds again because they
had not been treated since the first visit. After that, Jody, Addie and Sue worked together spending five hours a day
treating the wounds. Two and a half hours in the morning and two and a half hours in the evening – Ginger was a real
trooper. She had just gone through a horrific experience, been removed from the home she had spent eight years at
and total strangers were now washing all her wounds. We were as gentle as possible but there was no doubt this was
painful. She was afraid and nervous, but she understood we were there to help her. Although we do not turn mares
and geldings out together in the pastures, Ginger and Duke were stalled side by side and turned out with each other.
We did not want to add any stress to the situation. Both horses settled in after a day or two and were completely
comfortable with their new surroundings. At the beginning we always had Duke next to Ginger when she was being
treated. Eventually they both relaxed and knew they were in a safe place. Ginger's wounds healed well. Little by little,
day by day the wounds all healed and she is her feisty self again. She is now completely sound and is separated from
Duke and turned out with the mares. We have not been able to ride her yet due to inclement weather, but she has
enough energy to go to 35 years old. She is a healthy and hearty survivor of a tragedy due to the dedication,
patience, and love of our wonderful volunteers.
Duke is a beautiful 16.1 hand black Thoroughbred gelding. His personality is that of a kind and charming gentleman.
When we arrived to pick Ginger and Duke up, the owners gave us all the medicine for Ginger and informed us neither
horse has had any grain for a year. They were told if you don't ride them then they don't need any grain. I have never
seen a thoroughbred do well without grain. Duke needed a little weight and vitamins to build his “top line” back up. But
even with the nice shoeing job he had received, his hooves were in terrible condition. It was apparent he had three
abscess holes in one front hoof and two in the other front hoof. His feet were completely dried out and cracked from
top to bottom. We had our vet out right away to take x-rays to make sure nothing had gone wrong with the bones in
his hooves. The vet said that everything looked OK and we would just have to watch how they grew out. We
purchased the necessary hoof supplements and moisturizers to get his feet on the mend. This was going to be a long
recovery - it would take six months to a year for all the holes to fully grow out. Shortly after that, Duke went completely
lame. We had the vet out again and within a couple of days – another enormous abscess broke open. In my 35 years
of owning horses – I had never seen anything this bad. It was four inches across the coronet band. After a few days of
cleaning and soaking, you could look almost two inches down into the hole – right into his hoof. Through all of this –
Duke was a complete gentleman. With another vet visit we were told he was doing OK. That was two months ago and
the enormous hole is healing and his feet are no longer dry and cracked.
Duke has been adopted by one of our wonderful volunteers who has already adopted a horse from us – Zack. So now
Duke and Zack are brothers in their forever home with Cindy, Frank, Sean, and Ryan. Congratulations to all!!!
their young riders had gone off to college. The parents were looking to sell both horses when a horrific tragedy struck
at home. On 9/14 the Mom was in the back yard with their five big Shepard dogs when one slipped under the fence to
go check out the horses. This had never happened in all the years the horses had been there. Ginger, the 25 year
old Morgan Mare was spooked and took off. The dog took this as a game of chase and the other dogs joined in. The
five dogs turned into a pack and tried to kill Ginger. She was ripped severely and had holes, teeth marks and claw
marks all over her body. The worst hole was on the right side of her belly near her back leg. It was nothing but open
meat the size of a football. They had the vet out and knew this was a serious situation. There was no one home who
could take care of the enormity of this ordeal. All of the wounds would have to be cleaned and treated twice daily and
adding to this was fly season. A friend of theirs called us the next evening to see if we could take both horses. We just
had two horses adopted out which opened up two stalls. We always have the dedication and time to take care of a
horse in need, but this was huge and we did not have the finances to pay for the vet bills and medical supplies it would
take for these kinds of injuries – we knew this was going to be very expensive and we were already over-budgeted on
horses. We explained our situation and the owners agreed to make a generous donation to help their equine friends.
We picked up both horses the next morning. Ginger - a 25 year old Morgan mare and Duke - a 20 year old
Thoroughbred gelding. Both horses were show horses and had taught their owners how to ride and show. We brought
them both in and Duke was right by Ginger's side all the way – making sure she was OK. We then started the long
recovery treatment for Ginger. The day after she arrived we had our vet out to debris the wounds again because they
had not been treated since the first visit. After that, Jody, Addie and Sue worked together spending five hours a day
treating the wounds. Two and a half hours in the morning and two and a half hours in the evening – Ginger was a real
trooper. She had just gone through a horrific experience, been removed from the home she had spent eight years at
and total strangers were now washing all her wounds. We were as gentle as possible but there was no doubt this was
painful. She was afraid and nervous, but she understood we were there to help her. Although we do not turn mares
and geldings out together in the pastures, Ginger and Duke were stalled side by side and turned out with each other.
We did not want to add any stress to the situation. Both horses settled in after a day or two and were completely
comfortable with their new surroundings. At the beginning we always had Duke next to Ginger when she was being
treated. Eventually they both relaxed and knew they were in a safe place. Ginger's wounds healed well. Little by little,
day by day the wounds all healed and she is her feisty self again. She is now completely sound and is separated from
Duke and turned out with the mares. We have not been able to ride her yet due to inclement weather, but she has
enough energy to go to 35 years old. She is a healthy and hearty survivor of a tragedy due to the dedication,
patience, and love of our wonderful volunteers.
Duke is a beautiful 16.1 hand black Thoroughbred gelding. His personality is that of a kind and charming gentleman.
When we arrived to pick Ginger and Duke up, the owners gave us all the medicine for Ginger and informed us neither
horse has had any grain for a year. They were told if you don't ride them then they don't need any grain. I have never
seen a thoroughbred do well without grain. Duke needed a little weight and vitamins to build his “top line” back up. But
even with the nice shoeing job he had received, his hooves were in terrible condition. It was apparent he had three
abscess holes in one front hoof and two in the other front hoof. His feet were completely dried out and cracked from
top to bottom. We had our vet out right away to take x-rays to make sure nothing had gone wrong with the bones in
his hooves. The vet said that everything looked OK and we would just have to watch how they grew out. We
purchased the necessary hoof supplements and moisturizers to get his feet on the mend. This was going to be a long
recovery - it would take six months to a year for all the holes to fully grow out. Shortly after that, Duke went completely
lame. We had the vet out again and within a couple of days – another enormous abscess broke open. In my 35 years
of owning horses – I had never seen anything this bad. It was four inches across the coronet band. After a few days of
cleaning and soaking, you could look almost two inches down into the hole – right into his hoof. Through all of this –
Duke was a complete gentleman. With another vet visit we were told he was doing OK. That was two months ago and
the enormous hole is healing and his feet are no longer dry and cracked.
Duke has been adopted by one of our wonderful volunteers who has already adopted a horse from us – Zack. So now
Duke and Zack are brothers in their forever home with Cindy, Frank, Sean, and Ryan. Congratulations to all!!!
| The Story of Duke and Ginger |
