Jesse

8/27/00 - Picture of Jesse in his new home.

Jesse, Dynasty & Luna - all feedlot rescues!

Update 9/10/00 - Jesse is just a love to be around! He loves everyone and everything..... This guy has been so "used" by humans......yet, his spirit is so pure and innocent that the trust is still there! He has made a wonderful adjustment into his forever home! Just to look in his eyes and you can tell that he KNOWS he is home! While spending his days out in the pasture with the girls........and coming in to his stall for the night, he is truly content (yep, I have another ground sleeper!)! He is very talkative and will be the first one to come running to greet you when you go into the pasture (and I thought that Luna had the speed for attention!)

He is doing GREAT! He has been vetted and is healthy and happy. His teeth were floated and after a close going over, it is determined that there is a really good chance that he could once again be sound. He is so patient and understanding that he just takes any treatments in stride!

The farrier was out to get him trimmed up and comfortable. They were amazed at how cooperative he was considering how sore he was! So, after taking off about 3 inches of foot and removing his paper thin shoes, he is walking and standing better than ever. His over-at-the-knees have improved with just this one trim. They will be out again at the end of the month to do everyone.......and Jesse will get his corrective shoes (if needed). We needed to get him to a "ground zero" point so that we can evaluate his actual condition. The farriers believe that he will be able to be sound again after his several months of R & R and TLC. Maybe, we will be able to do some light trails with him at some point! This is wonderful news! However, he has a forever home here with his girls, Dynasty, Luna, and McKayla either way!

Thanks again Gail for all of the effort that you put forth in saving these True Innocents! If it weren't for you and your website, my "kids" here may have had a much more terrible plight AND we would be missing these GREAT rewards of growing with the horses!

Update 10/10/00 - Well, the GREAT news is that he is a doll! Everyone.....horses. goats, chickens, dogs, people just love him and of course, he loves them, too! HE is such a love and has brought a sense of calmness and security to his surroundings.

Today the farriers were out to fit him with his new corrective shoes! IT WAS A MIRACLE! If I hadn't been there for the whole thing, I would not have believed the changes in him! They are assessing that his "over-at-the-knees" is a man-made problem and that his ACTUAL conformation is wonderful! We put on shoes that have a "ski" in the front so that he HAS to learn to pick up his feet and bear weight on his heels (no we did not cut his heels down low). He will be sore for a few days, as the tendons and muscles learn to walk in a more correct manner, but with the sudden success of "looking normal", we feel that with 2 or 3 more shoeings, along with adjustments.........we may be able to correct this problem for good!

It took him a few minutes to adjust to the new shoes and he will be monitored very closely for any potential problems........as this technique is generally used on yearlings that grow so fast and go over and just need a "splint" to help them go back to a normal stance! Considering Jesse is only 10 years old, we decided to use this for him. I will keep you posted on his progress and will be sending new pictures to show just how this works!

Thanks Gail for helping us to find this "True Innocent" and for the lessons that he has taught us all about patience and acceptance. I truly believe that if his personality was different, man would never have been able to do such an injustice to this guy! He will never be faced with the greedy and uncaring humans that had put him in that condition again!

Dynasty, McKayla and Luna are very happy to be a part of his future as well!

Update 6/21/01 - This is a good representation of where Jesse's legs are today!

He is still on the mend! Pretty good so far..........he was a tad bit tired after running and showing off for Chablis this morning!

Update 2/10/02 - Friday was a GIANT breakthrough for us!
After being here for just about a year and a half, Jesse is now deemed fit to go barefoot! His shoes have been pulled and his feet are all trimmed up. I just can't believe it......he has made so much progress in his recuperation! No more corrective shoeings, his legs are the best that they can be. His knees are strong and able to carry him with the grace that he sure possesses. We still and always will ride him with shin splints to be sure that he does not overwork those legs when there is weight on his back. He will revert to going over at his knees when he is really tired.....it is just a stance that has been his habit for so long and he will always be prone to.

He is truly blessed to have such friends here, he touches everyone whom he comes in contact. The next door neighbors have deemed my horses, goats, and chickens as their foster kids and will send any and all treats their way. They have even opened their pasture up for these "groundskeepers" to keep up for them.

As he is the herd leader of his mares, Dynasty, Luna, and McKayla are very content to have him here watching over them! It is a glorious sight to behold as they will all take off and run, playing up and down the 2 acres of pasture that is all theirs. To think that all of these "true innocents" destiny would have been much different if it weren't for this site.

So, Gail you can pat yourself on the back (as my arm does not reach that far from AZ) as you "truly" saved this almost un-adoptable guy from a horrible fate. Had it not been for you and all of your hard work.........we would have never known about this sweet and dedicated soul known as my Jesse.

New photo 9/22/02

Update 11/1/02 - Jesse is doing great!!! He loves his trail rides and now that the weather has finally gotten cooler, we are able to go out more and he really seems to enjoy that nice pace! However, the girls (back in the barn) are not so happy about his leaving!!!!!! You see, he is the man, in charge of his girls!!!!!

Update 7/26/03 - Here is a picture of Jesse...yep...that is Munchee in the background!

Update 8/4/03 - Just thought you might like to see how Jesse and Luna like to play in the water as it is coming into the property for flood irrigation! This is one way to cool off!

Update 11/13/03 - Thought that you might want to see how much Jesse has developed!!!!!!
Yes that is Munchee in the other yard behind us!!!!

Update 3/1/04 - Well, you can see that he is doing great! We are trying a new joint supplement to aid him with his arthritis issues and he is just thriving. He can still be the bully in the pasture, but he has calmed this down a notch. He just wants everybody to know that he is "the man"! Actually, he just has to get pushy so that they all know he is there!

He really seems to thrive when we go out on some light trail riding, as he is alone with me doing the thing that he loves! He always has a calm head and works through anything that appears out of the ordinary. We keep our walks short as he gets sore with too much work!

When we come back from our rides, he gets to go out in the pasture and show off to all of the others........it is like he is saying "Nah, Nah, Nah-Nah-Nah, I got to go out with Mom and you didn't......see I told you I was special!"

He is such a great natured horse, I am so glad that you found him and we were able to bring him home.

Update 12/2009 - Where has the time gone? I can hardly believe that it has been almost 10 years ago when Jess came into our lives. Just a quick note to let you know how wonderful he is doing. He has now settled in to being a fully retired horse and is loving it. Jesse is still trying to run the pasture, but has some physical limitations to how much running that he can do. He keeps a very close eye on the daily activities and is one of the first to "speak up" if things are not to his routine. He loves to play with the other horses. You can find him playing nibbling face games and at times can even get up a good game of chase with the boys. The girls will keep him at bay and he is very respectful. At night, he is very happy to be the first in his stall for dinner and a good night's sleep. We have Jesse on supplements for his joints and gets a legend combo injection in each of his front coffin joints every year to help his comfort level. Jesse is a love-bug and continues to entertain us with his antics.You know the old saying "Boys will be boys"....well this is Jesse's motto!
There are not enough words to Thank You for helping us to bring him into our lives and family.
Dan and Debbie & all of the "kids" in AZ