Welcome back to the farm everyone. Today is an exciting day for us. Today we picked up Classy Fred who is a rescue horse that Delisa is going to be working with on his ground work and handling as well as monitoring his continued recovery.
A little back story on Fred first. Classy Fred is a twelve-month-old Buckskin Appaloosa gelding that was a rescue in pretty poor condition. He was a case of abandonment and neglect that had left him starving. Our best guess is he tried to jump a fence to get away from where he was and find better grazing. Being young and not in great health, it is believed that he didn’t land well and ended up with a dislocated hip.
He was noticed outside of fences on the roadside and was reported to law enforcement who attempted to find the owners. While the owners were suspected everyone questioned denied ownership likely due to the charges and fines for neglect and abuse of an animal in the state of Mississippi.
Lucky for Classy Fred though, because he got a new lease on life that day. He was rescued by Mississippi Horses a local non-profit horse rescue that focuses on rescuing, rehabilitating, retraining, and rehoming horses. They are completely donation funded and do great work to save horses and rehome them responsibly.
Delisa has fostered and trained for them in the past and now that she is in a better place health-wise, she is looking forward to putting her training knowledge to good use again. Classy Fred will stay with us for about ninety days as Delisa works on his halter work, following ground commands, trailering and a myriad of other skills he will need to be an adoptable horse. Being that he is so young there is no plan to begin the riding skills. That will come when he is older.
The rescue took him in and had a vet check him over really well. They were able to relocate his hip into the correct place and provide shots to help with the pain and inflammation. It was then that they found out he was still a stud so they had him gelded as well. He then spent a month and a half recuperating and healing at one of the farms used by the rescue. He was fed a special diet to increase his weight and bring his nutrition into balance as well as treated for worms and any other parasites. He has had his hooves trimmed and is almost due for another one. Handling his feet will one of the first things Delisa will get to work on after they get better acquainted.
In preparation for Fred, we had to do some work around the farm. We needed a space to put Fred for a sort of quarantine and adjustment period while he gets used to the farm, us, and the rest of the animals. The stall we have in the barn is reserved for Peewee because the hot days we have been having aggravate his COPD. So we needed somewhere else for him to go where there was plenty of grass for him to eat over a week’s time and shade from this heat. With that in mind, we decided to put him behind the barn in the little fenced area back there. The only problem is there is only one small to medium sized pine tree on the east end of the paddock and nearly zero shade all afternoon.
I ordered a sunshade tarp and gathered a few odds and ends to make the install easier. The sunshade is a 16’X16’X16’ triangle that I attached to the corner of the barn at the eave and anchored into the pine tree. The third leg is lower and connects to a crosstie post set in the ground a fence corner. In hind sight, I should have gone with a bigger sunshade tarp, and may still. If I do, this one can be added to our porch creating some much-needed shade in the back yard.
With the shade fixed up, we added a new chain to the gate to ensure that it could be securely latched, placed a water bucket and food bowl and brought Classy Fred into his new temporary home.
Peewee was already in the stall and got very excited and vocal when he saw his momma walking another horse in his pasture. We allowed them to meet through the stall door and then put Fred in his paddock to adjust. While they can’t see each other, they are close enough to hear each other and smell each other and get used to one another. The cows were uninterested in Fred but Fred was curious of them and I am sure they will meet this evening when we go check on him.
We are excited for all of the adventure this addition offers us in spite of the hard work and hot temperatures that we face in the coming weeks. Most of the training will be done in the evenings and even at night when it is much cooler as we have a light over our round pen. Be sure to come check for updates on his training and follow us on the social media accounts we have! Also if you feel led to donate, here is a link to the Mississippi Horses horse rescue where they accept donations which is how they are completely funded and you can follow them on all the socials too! Y’all have a Sunflowery day!
Sunflower Farms MS 