Teddy’s Triumph “Teddy”

Around the end of March of 2023, we received a phone call from a woman that we personally knew, and she had a friend, that had a daughter, that was in a bind with a few horses. That was just the tip of the iceberg.

As the story unfolded, I was informed that there were 5 emaciated horses that had been starved for months by a barn owner located in New Egypt, N.J. There were stories back and forth about the prior owner being behind on her board and even if that was the truth, as a barn owner who boards horses, they have an obligation to continue to provide basic care (feeding and freshwater) to that horse legally. As the story unfolded, it turns out there were originally 7 horses and two of them had died from unknown causes but most likely starvation. The owner who was living in Florida claimed she didn’t have the means to rehabilitate any of her horses in their critical conditions and she needed to surrender them. Due to Teddy having Navicular Syndrome, she wanted him to come to our rescue, as we do not ride our horses for pleasure. The other four living horses stayed at another local animal sanctuary that assisted in this rescue.

What we do know about Teddy is at one point in his life he was a ranch horse and ended up in Freehold N.J. with a woman who sold horses. We know this because his prior owner to the one that surrendered him to us, reached out to us and she was devastated to see his condition. We asked why she had let him go, it was due to his injections being too costly because of his navicular syndrome and he couldn’t be ridden anymore without them. In rescue we understand that most people want horses to ride and typically once a horse is deemed unrideable most owners will sell them to a “good home”, but unfortunately Teddys story is not the first of his kind. We cannot stress enough; to PLEASE keep your horses till the very end, they deserve it. These horses give their all and responsible ownership should be reciprocated.

Teddy came to us extremely underweight and had a body score of a 2/3, he was actually in the best condition of all the other horses. His teeth were years overdue, and his feet had been neglected for about a year. His hooves were the worst I have seen out of all our horses. His ribs and hip bones were showing, but his spirit was strong and determined to rise. Teddy went on a regimented feeding program; he had proper medical treatment and bloodwork, dental and farrier care. We are happy to let you know he is thriving and gaining weight and he improves every day. Teddy is the sweetest boy, despite the way other humans had failed him. We are so glad he is in our herd.