PLEASANT VALLEY RESCUE RANCH

A Pony Name Petite (R.I.P.)

 

This past winter, when the temperature was in the negative range at night, one of our rescues, a 23 year old pony named Petite developed a case of the colic.  By way of history, Petite was rescued from a medical research laboratory where she was used for equine cancer research.

 

She was suspended for long hours to keep the weight off her rear legs as part of the program.

When the laboratory program was completed, she was slated for euthanasia as they had no further use for her and could not justify the upkeep expense.  Petite was rescued from the laboratory upon which she developed into Seeing Eye horse for an older blind horse.

 

After that horse passed, again Petite was slated for euthanasia.  But rescued again, she became a companion horse for a traumatized Arabian endurance racer named Skipper with his own set of problems - both now live at our Rescue Ranch in peace; doing what they want to do-run as fast they can, eat sweet grain and hay and sleep!!!

 

Petite's (pictured) case of the colic developed at night when the temperature was - 6° F. Colic is a form of constipation for horses and if not treated quickly and aggressively, can be fatal.

Treatment involved a stomach tube inserted through her nose to pump mineral oil into her digestive tract.  We had to do this on two separate nights, each followed by an enema-you can imagine giving an enema to a pony or horse at night with the temperature at - 6° F!  Of course, treatment included the usual shots of pain killers and antibiotics.

 

The total out of pocket cost of this single treatment approached $2000.  Petite recovered in about two weeks, minus about 90 pounds but as healthy as ever and now can run again with our fastest horses.

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On Sunday April 30, 2017 we had a very sad day at the Pleasant Valley Rescue Ranch.  Our beloved Petite, (Petie Girl as I fondly called her) became colic due to a fatty tumor pressing on her small intestine.  It was obvious to us all that she was in a great deal of pain and we couldn’t let this brave animal continue to suffer, as she had endured so much pain throughout her life before we were blessed with her presence.  With a heavy heart, we had to make the decision to stop the pain and send her off to a place where there is no pain and she could be the loving pony she was always intended to be.

 

We have to keep telling ourselves that we made the right decision, a decision that was not made lightly.  It would have only been a selfish decision (a human’s decision) to make Petie Girl push through the pain.  Although, Petite suffered a great deal of abuse throughout her life, the latter years were happy ones as she definitely ruled the roost at the “Ranch”.

 

This is the fundamental reason why we started the Pleasant Valley Rescue Ranch.  Our mission is to provide a sanctuary for rescued horses to live out the rest of the days of their lives.  We will always remember our Petie Girl and the joy she brought to so many people.  She may have been a small pony, but in every other way, she was larger than life.