July 24,  2008

Thursday, July 24th - TBAR (Melanie and Dale) went out to meet the vet and check out this horse  after a lady called TBAR and told us he was losing weight and she couldn't afford to feed him anymore. TBAR ended up making an emergency decision and taking Tuscany into our rescue on the spot. He is beyond skinny. He is a walking skeleton. He is a 0.5 on the Henneke Body Scoring.  We named him Tuscany. We named him that because we know he will live up to the name when he fills out and becomes the beautiful horse he once was. He's in his early 20's which means he is not extremely old for a horse. Today horses live well into their 30's. There is no reason for this guy to be this thin except that he didn't have enough food. 

When Dale and I went out to see him after a phone call from the owner telling us that she can't afford to feed him and begging us to take him we were stunned by what we saw. There was some poor quality grain but no hay for this guy to eat but his eyes were bright and he looked at us with hope. Enough said, so we went back and picked up the trailer and took him home. He's eating senior feed four times a day with plenty of hay so we expect him to come around and start gaining weight quickly.

August 13th - Sadly, Tuscany lost his battle to recover from severe starvation; and passed away this morning, unable to rise. In the end, he was ready to go and we helped him cross over. Our hearts are broken, not being able to save this magnificent Soul. He is not suffering any more. 

THANK YOU to all Tuscany's supporters!! 

For the last 3 weeks, Tuscany knew love and care from humans. He was honored as the brave, courageous Spirit that he was. And had plenty of food (in small, frequent quantities), shelter, warmth and tender loving care. Please light a candle for Tuscany. Say hello to Chief, Toot, Chai and the other TBar horses in heaven, Tuscany.  Tell them we miss them and look forward to seeing them again some day.