Starved Belgian Draft Horse rescued from slaughter 1 year later. Update on Anna living her best life

thank you foreigner hello everyone and welcome to Fletcher Farms Amarillo I'm Julie Fletcher. I can't believe I'm making this video right now. It doesn't feel like a

year

has passed since we

rescued

Anna. It's been crazy that she's been here for over a

year

now. We

rescued

her last August. If you don't know Anna's story, here's a little bit of Anna's backstory. I found Anna on a Facebook post from

horse

s sent directly last time. Shayna, who runs the program, rescues these

horse

s from Kaufman's

slaughter

pen and brings them home who she believes can be adopted. This was the video of Anna that was posted on Facebook that went along with the photos they were showing. here that she didn't have money to ride, however, Anna had problems with her left rear leg and you can see in this video how bad it really was and the problems she was having with her legs.

You can see right here that she limps a lot on that back left leg after we decided to rescue her and Shayna helped her back. At her farm, I asked for a better video to see how Anna was walking on that back leg and as you can see in this video, she limps quite a bit on that back left leg, but she looked defeated, completely sad and very underweight, we were excited to see her. have it return her to our farm and get her on the road to recovery. Corey took the six-hour drive to Kemp Texas to pick her up by himself.

I stayed behind to take care of the rest of the animals, but Anna was in a very bad condition when he I went to look for her foreigner, 350 400 pounds for her, it's okay, luckily, she will go to the house that knows how to do this, come on moms , come on, come on, there we go, he has her at home and she is in a difficult time. Shape this poor baby, she is so thin you can see every rib, she is super sweet, but you can see every rib and very very thin, poor thing, I know the baby can see every bone in her body, she actually has a lump here on the side. she I don't know what that is but we'll take a look at her but she's all skin and bones she's the beautiful beautiful girl and we're going to take care of you darling yes we are as Anna's condition was much worse than we thought.

I consulted with our veterinarian, Dr. Wagner, and she told me to only feed her coastal hay for the first few days and see how she reacts to a horse that has been

starved

. You don't want to feed him too quickly. because it can cause problems in her digestive system and that was something we didn't want to do for this poor girl who had been through so much in her first days on the farm, it was very confusing for her, she wasn't entirely sure what was going on. where he was or who all these other animals were, but he was decompressing and de-stressing like all the other horses do when they come here to the farm, he discovered water, which was a good thing, but we also put extra water in because when Anna came For the first time we had a cold snap and she didn't have any muscles on her body, so we put extra water inside so she would have a place to get water and stay away from the cold.

Since she was so thin, we installed a cow glow infrared heater so she would have a place to come in and stay warm. We hadn't had a chance to install them so there's no time like the present and I definitely appreciated her heater because it's her. Standing under her about a week after Anna arrived at the farm, her legs began to swell and a lump developed under her abdomen. We weren't really sure what was going on, but we definitely needed that to get her out and take a look, so she made an appointment with Dr. Wagner, as you can see in this picture, her legs were very swollen.

Dr. Wagner came to the farm that week to give Anna a complete wellness check, checking her heart and lungs and making sure she had good bowel sounds. Everything was fine. Well, then we did blood tests. She wanted to know what was going on with that lump under her belly and why she had swelling in her legs. There were no signs of injuries on Anna's legs causing the swelling and Anna's blood labs came back. Back saying that she was healthy, there was nothing wrong with her liver or kidneys and that everything was working fine. She didn't have any infections or anything, so Dr.

Wagner believes the swelling in her legs was due to being transported. Anna was transported from Ohio to Dallas. her and then from Dallas to Amarillo, so she had traveled a lot and, at her age, that was probably very hard on her joints. Dr. Wagner wanted us to keep her moving and active to help with the swelling and inflammation to get her lump down. under her stomach was because she Anna still had milk in her stomach at some point, she probably filled up not long ago and that contributed to the bloating she had in her stomach which eventually went away and the lump she had in the other. side that was on his ribcage, Dr.

Wagner believed that had to do with an old injury, so we were just going to watch him and make sure he wasn't growing or changing in any way and the status of the coastal hay diet. for a while longer and then we slowly started adding Alpha Pro to her diet. We started with two pounds of alpha Pro per day and then increased it by one pound every three days, so we worked up to Anna eating 30 pounds of alpha Pro. per day to gain weight since Anna was weak and underweight, even So we didn't want to leave her with the rest of the pack, but Dr.

Wagner recommended that we take her for walks every day because we needed to keep her legs moving to get rid of the swelling that had built up in those back legs, so Anna and I walked for three to four hours every day and that helped with the swelling in his legs. Anna shows off her beautiful new halter that someone sent her as a gift. gift, we really appreciate it. Take a short walk through this grassy area here next to the barn. She has a lot of green grass that she can eat, do whatever she wants and get some exercise.

We finally managed to move a manger to Anna's stall. so she doesn't have to eat off the ground so we put her Alpha Pro here in the big tub and then she put her hay in there so she doesn't have to eat it off the ground and then she won't. she wasted so much and was still very underweight, but she was making progress every day, she was getting a little stronger and by September she was already starting to look much healthier from the outside, as winter was quickly approaching, as it was September . Cory and I needed to come up with another plan because I wasn't going to take Anna walking in the dead of winter, so we took some temporary panels and fenced off part of the paddock area so Anna could go out into the pasture and graze alone, obviously. some hay here, but he was able to get out into this fenced area from the other horses, but he was able to have contact with them, but not to the point where they could interact and he could get hurt from the swelling in Anna.

Her legs weren't getting better, so Dr. Wagner returned to the farm to do more blood work and just check her again. Her lower legs seemed to be more swollen from the hawk or knee to the end. Her hoof was very swollen, that was the part that Dr. Wagner was examining, so he thought that possibly she was developing some arthritis and if she continued to swell, we would have to take her for some x-rays to find out what was going on. those legs and she was starting to limp on her back left leg and that's why Dr.

Wagner suspected that maybe she was developing some arthritis. The reason we didn't take Anna to the vet's office and just had Dr. Wagner come to the farm. because we thought that a trailer ride would be too uncomfortable for Anna and would cause more pain and inflammation in those legs, so if the swelling and inflammation continued even after the blood tests returned to normal, we would probably have to bring to Anna for in her legs, so we were going to try it and see if it helped her. We had to bribe Anna to get into stock for farrier day, she desperately needed a trim, however as Anna was still very weak in those back legs, they were swollen and it hurt, she didn't want to lift her feet. so we had to come up with Plan B, we took her out of stock and Kimmy rounded her toes with a Sawzall and cut off the parts that needed to be cut, it worked pretty well and to this day we still do the same thing. for Anna she uses the Sawzall and cuts off her toes when they get a little longer, it works well and they may not be pretty but it makes Anna functional every day.

Anna continued to get stronger, it seemed like she had a new will to live and she actually looked a little happier when she first got here she looked so defeated and sad that we were glad she was starting to get used to it and enjoy her

life

here in the farm, is your tummy itchy good darling, oh my gosh? I know you have an itchy spot, like Cami has in November. Anna looked like a completely different horse than she did when she arrived here in August. She seemed happy to be healthy and on the road to recovery she enjoyed her time in the paddock area. and knowing all the other horses on the farm when winter came and she got her winter coat she was extremely fluffy as you can see here in the winter when the horses grow out their winter coats we make sure to keep them brushed y If they are groomed regularly their coats are designed to retain heat and if there is dirt or debris on their coat they may not retain heat properly so we make sure to keep them groomed at all times during the winter and no one seems To account for the extra attention and I love that Anna is having lunch with Charlie today.

I'm trying to get her used to eating closer to the other horses so Charlie hasn't tried to kick her or anything like that, so I have her eating. Freya's Stall, so today we are trying a new adventure just as Anna was on the road to recovery and stronger, now we took her out with the other horses and released her into the pasture area so she could exercise on her own . She did very well the first day. However, she got a little lost and confused about how to get back to the barn area, so I had to go out with a halter and bring her back, but now she figured it out and does it.

She enjoyed her pasture time when Paisley arrived at the farm. Anna seemed to like it right away, they stayed together and ate hay together, however, Anna has her moments where she just doesn't want anyone to bother her since Anna was integrated into the herd and we no longer needed to divide the paddock area, we reused those panels and made some feeders for the horses, so we put Anna and Paisley in these little pens so they couldn't try to hurt each other. Another, however, Anna was still going to try to hurt Paisley. Everyone really enjoys the Alpha Pro and no one wants to miss dinner or breakfast, so the separation is definitely necessary because once all the horses see the Alpha Pro, they all start to get a little nervous, so the separation.

He is essential around here at dinner time and he takes meal times very seriously, sometimes he likes to share and other times he doesn't, most days he doesn't like to share and this is an example of what happens with her and Paisley. Place hay in several different places so we don't have all the horses piled up in one area to cause fights. With the addition of all the new horses, we will definitely have to add more feeders this winter in January. We took Anna to MVP because she was still limping quite a bit on her back left leg and we wanted to get her checked out and make sure there was nothing wrong with her leg.

What we did find out was that Anna has a bone spur. knee joint which you can see right here on her x-ray, so Dr. Wagner was on maternity leave, so Dr. Barclay gave her a steroid injection in her knee joint since she received the injection into the knee joint. Anna seems to move much better. So what will we do when Finn gets to the farm? Anna liked it immediately. I was very happy to see her make a real friend of her. She did like Paisley though, but most days she didn't like Paisley, so I was really excited to see her with Finn, she followed him everywhere, they did everything together, as you can see, they are standing outside the rain along with the donkeys and they were just

best

friends and I was very happy to see her make a friend and have a companion to hang out with in the winter the other mares get a little aggressive with Anna just because she is a little weak and He's lower on the totem pole so we brought Anna and Finn in the evenings to get an extra flake of hay when First we got Finn, he was a bit of a problem kid but he was always sweet to Annaand I love that they had that connection right away.

My favorite part was watching them groom themselves when their friends come to visit and they never go out. from the brushing, this is Larry, one of our friends who was visiting from out of town grooming Anna and these are just some photos of Anna from her time here at the farm. I didn't want to post a ton of photos, but these are just a few. couple that were my favorites thank you thank you you are the only smart one who uses the shadow you are the only smart one I know banana we are going to make a video about you today don't you want to make a video well we have to make a video do you want to have breakfast first okay, let's prepare the breakfast for breakfast Anna still eats 30 pounds of alpha Pro a day, gaining 15 pounds in the morning and 15 at night Alpha Pro is a granulated alfalfa blended with vitamins and minerals. and it gets pureed so we soak it in water and it's easier for them to eat so that's what he eats here and he loves his Alpha Pro for breakfast and dinner.

Thanks for a dinner. Maybe a year

later

, Anna has made a complete transformation and all thanks to the last chance dark horses. If it weren't for them and connecting these horses that are in the

slaughter

pens, Anna's fate would have been very different, but that's what Anna has been doing and pretty much everything that's happened since she came here to our farm. She was probably the horse that scared me the most because I honestly didn't think she was going to survive the night she was in such horrible condition when she got here, but we got her on the road to recovery and we got her back and now she's

living

her

best

life

and that's simply incredible. to us and we are very happy that we were able to do that for her and give her the retirement that she deserves, so I am crossing the 43 Acres right now to go find Anna and of course she is all very down in the other side of the pasture, so I'm walking to that side now, well, we've made it clear across the pasture, this is the back fence, right there, if you can see where the donkeys are, that's our back corner of the property then, but this is the back of our property, they usually come here during the day to graze, that's Freya and that's our girl Anna, are you on a banana and she hates the stick, the camera on a stick, so we'll see how she? tolerates this since the addition of all the geldings they have divided them into two different groups and a thin Freya Lena usually they all stick together and then the donkeys stick to the donkeys, but this is Miss Anna, she had a bacterial infection on her back . of her hoof, that's why she has her foot wrapped, which she never keeps it wrapped for more than five minutes, but she stays out here and grazes all day and she's doing much better.

Her hair has grown out and she looks very different than when we did. first i took her to what she looks like now there is a long way you are such a beautiful girl yes you are the swelling in her legs has also completely disappeared which she had since we first got her and that lump that was under her belly is gone also , what Dr. Wagner said is exactly what they were, but now that he's getting the exercise he needs, he's doing great and just

living

his best life and enjoying his retirement and spending time with the other horses he usually hangs out with. go out.

Finn, but thin these days hanging out with Freya, so I don't know what's going on with that drama. You know she's a pretty girl. She is a foreigner, obviously because of the suffocation problems in her joints, but she still manages to get ahead and she gets to where she needs to go. and obviously she can cross the 40 acres and she does it very well, so we are very happy that she is here and that she is enjoying her retirement life, as you can see, her back has filled out a bit. I know I'm being rude. I'm sorry she still has the lump on her side here.

Dr. Wagner thinks it's an old injury that never gets bigger or smaller, so we're not too worried about it, but we're definitely keeping an eye on it. We hope you enjoyed this video and we wanted to thank everyone who sent us our gifts from our Amazon wish list and alphapro and donations and everyone who participated in the bonfire t-shirt fundraiser. Thank you all so much, we ended up selling 200 t-shirts, which is absolutely incredible, so we're so happy that everyone participated in that and that they were supporting our foundation and we're so happy and it warms my heart because there will be 200 people there. outside. with grandpa's face on his t-shirt, that's really exciting for us, thank you to everyone who participated in that fundraiser and for everything you've done for us, we're really grateful for it and we can't thank you enough.

You are enough for all your support. Ways to support our farm. You can buy goat milk soap which is available on our website. I'll put a link in the description below. Misha bars are made with ingredients you can pronounce pure, high quality, food grade and natural organic ingredients. Plant oils are blended with therapeutic grade essential oils along with goat milk directly from our goat Misha. All of our soaps are handmade in small batches using the cold process method. All of our soaps are available at Fletcher Farms yellow.com, head there now and check them all out. we have our soaps available, we always need feed, we consume about 175 pounds a day or so of alpha pro to feed all the horses here on the farm, so we definitely always need alpha pro feed, our local hfnc feed store has us supported from the beginning. and has helped us with people who want to send us alpha pro gifts here is their contact information, even to purchase an alpha pro gift to send to the horses, you can contact them and tell them you want to add Alpha Pro 2 to our account. and they will put those bags in our account and you can also make a tax-deductible donation to the Big Hoof Foundation.

We still have a temporary website. I am getting close to almost finishing the website for the Big Hoof Foundation, but I still have a temporary website at Fletcher Farms Amarillo for the Big Hoof Foundation. If you would like to make a donation, the donations go to support the horses, all their medical care and anything the horses need, so that's where your donations will go to all these horses here. on the farm, so if you want to make a tax-deductible donation, I'll leave a link in the description below on where you can do that. Dr. Hardy, who came in a couple of weeks ago to do acupuncture around the horses, if you haven't. watch that video, check it out for sure, it was definitely interesting.

She gave me some supplements that we should give to horses that have arthritis, so like Anna with her arthritis, we started giving her beautless, which is devil's claw with vitamin B and yucca. It seems to be helping, we've been giving it to them for about two weeks so it seems to be helping them a little bit with their joint discomfort, so all the horses get it along with MSM and that's included in their feed along with the electrolytes. . and things like that are all on our Amazon wish list, so if you would like to support us in that way, I'll put a link in the description below to our Amazon wish list again.

Thank you all so much for watching, we really appreciate her support. And there will be more

update

s, so stay tuned, see you soon, thanks again for watching, goodbye, foreigner.