Angel

2 yr. old TB. Bowed Tendon. Rescued 10/16/98

Picture of Angel NOW! May 1999

6-21-99 Update on Angel from her new Mom.

Angel came to us after spending a month  recovering from a bout with  Strangles. She was very thin, but not as thin as the day Gail arranged to get   her out of the feedlot for us! We made the trip down to Southern California   (we live near Sacramento) during the Thanksgiving Holiday. We were able to combine picking up Angel with visiting my sister and the family for  Thanksgiving! We hauled Angel home through terrible weather over the Grapevine, but she handled the trip like a trooper and by the time we got  home we had begun to bond already!

Angel had a bowed tendon that needed attention, so the first thing we did once we got home was to take her to our vet to have the leg ultra-sounded in  order to determine the extent of damage and approximate healing time. Although the bow was pretty bad, the vet assured us that it was 80% filled in  and she needed two months of hand-walking and stall rest. I walked her  carefully and she began to blossom from the attention, good food and a wonderful warm stall all to herself. She became quite loving, and would lick  me like a dog!

We started Angel's retraining program in March, very slowly. Our trainer started her at the beginning again, this time in the round pen and with only  positive experiences and lots of patience! Angel wasn't quite sure she could  trust humans in a training environment. After several weeks of just getting  on and getting off again, Angel began to build the trust in her trainer.  Gradually she developed a lot more trust and went on to walk, trot and even  lope with the trainer on her back in the round pen. We really celebrated the  day she was able to open the gate and ride out into the big arena! By May,  Angel was handling the whole big arena and then made the biggest step of all,  riding outside of the arena, around our property. She has continued to  improve in her confidence as well as her physical and mental wellness!

Angel is ready to find a permanent home with a kind, caring, sympathetic person who will love her and take her out on long trail rides, spend hours grooming her and braiding her long, thick tail. She is very, very sweet and  wants to please!