Joe ~ Thoroughbred Gelding
Sadly Joe passed away in the summer of 2018. We estimated his age to be 31. We saved his life in 2013 and he had five good years with us.
He was at a rescue in South Florida along with dozens of other horses that were being neglected by the rescue owners. They were allegedly taking donations and not taking care of the horses.
Joe was horribly underweight, had abscesses in 3 of his hooves and an infection in his withers. Upon arrival we started the rehab process. He was put on antibiotics for the infection. We cleaned it out with betadine twice a day. The vet said if this didn’t work he’d have to have surgery on the area because there might be a bone chip in there. The surgery would have to wait until we got his weight up to a place where he was at least stable.
Joe was a very quiet, mild-mannered gentleman but got very excited when it was meal time. Unfortunately he would eat with gusto and then at the next meal would turn his nose up at the feed. We’d change the feed and he’d do the same thing: eat it with gusto and then the next time it was presented to him he’d walk away! His blood work came back showing alarmingly high liver enzymes. It didn’t look good for Joe. He was put on antibiotics again. Meanwhile one of our volunteers found a veterinarian that had an herbal supplement called Liver Happy. We started Joe on the Liver Happy and within several months his enzymes had dropped significantly. Success!
Considering the condition he was in when we rescued him, Joe did quite well for an old man. He had several pasture mates, but he was particularly bonded with two who passed away before he did. His final friend was one of our older girls, a beautiful horse who was orphaned as a foal and didn’t really know how to interact with other horses. Joe’s mild-mannered way was just perfect for her. He and Billie fell in love at first sight!
Joe was well loved by all who met him.
Billie and Joe
