Eleanor and Franklin the Abandoned Horses

 

(Warning! Long Post, Lots of Photos!)

I must admit that the plight of these two very special horses have touched my heart and spurred me to action. What bothers me the most is that their situation was totally preventable. No horses, especially domesticated horses, should ever have to suffer such a terrible fate.

Since I am on the Public Relations/Advertising Team I was asked if I would contact the local TV Stations to have them report on these two abandoned horses and let the public know this doesn’t need to happen. We, of course, are also hoping that the exposure will help bring in some much needed donations.

Providing food, vet care, hoof and dental care, training, along with the maintenance of vehicles and facilities for 68 horses is very expensive, especially since all bills are paid solely through donations. Donations are the horse rescue’s lifeblood and are deeply appreciated.

I spent most of Monday on the phone and computer contacting and communicating with the local TV Stations, setting up appointments. Tuesday morning, after breakfast I was contacted by my contact at Channel 13 telling me they could be at the Horse Rescue in an hour……would I meet them there?

I said “sure” and then called my friend, Colleen, the Ranch Manager and Founder of Walkin N Circles Ranch Horse Rescue to make sure she would be there to be interviewed. She was already at the ranch and was ready for Channel 13 to arrive. I got there before the news crew showed up and spent some time grooming and loving on sweet Eleanor.

Once Channel 13 showed up I stayed busy taking photos, not only for this blog post, but also for posting on the horse rescue website, too.

Here are some of the photos of the Channel 13 Interview with Colleen, and Eleanor and Franklin.

 

I left the horse rescue around noon, drove home, prepared lunch for my kidlets, horse, llamas and goats and then drove into Albuquerque to take my daughter bowling with her Girl Scout Troop.

 

After two hours of bowling, which was lots of fun (and I didn’t do too bad….if you don’t consider that I was playing against kids under the age of 9. hah!)……….

We left the bowling alley and spent about an hour at Mickey Dees Play Land with my daughter’s girlfriend, while I enjoyed visiting with her Oma. Halfway through I received a phone call from my contact at Channel 7 saying they wanted to do an interview at the horse rescue at 5pm. Then I had to make a few phone calls to find someone at the ranch to be interviewed because Colleen already had another appointment. Colleen was able to talk Christine, another friend, and hard working volunteer at the horse rescue to do the interview with Channel 7, and I left Mickey Dees to drop Jen off at home and drive over to Walkin N Circles Ranch Horse Rescue to arrive before 5pm.

I spent a little time grooming and loving on Eleanor and helping Christine mix organic oatmeal and organic cooked chopped carrot mush into the alfalfa pellet/senior feed porridge inside Eleanor’s feed bucket.

Because Eleanor is probably between 35-40 years old, she has no back teeth and her front teeth are worn down so short that she’s not able to graze, which is why she became so emaciated after someone abandoned her to fend for herself.

Anytime anyone visits Eleanor, or walks by her stall, we are supposed to use a wooden spoon to stir her mush because it gets compacted as she eats, and then she’s not able to use her mouth to lift the food out of her bucket.

 

This is a video I took of Eleanor eating her porridge. It’s wonderful to see that she has the will to live.

Because of how sunken in she is, volunteers have to clean her perineum several times a day after she defecates, or else the manure is captured in the natural ‘bowl’ beneath her tail.

The Channel 7 News Team arrived and got busy taking video and interviewing Christine, while I kept busy taking photos of the entire process.

Here are some of the photos I took of the Channel 7 coverage.

(Cute little Franklin is in his mid 20’s and suffers from severe arthritis in his left knee)

Not long after the News Crew left, Christine and I left, too. I stopped by the grocery store on the way home, and finally got home around 7pm. Fed all the animals, fed my kidlets, and then watched both of the TV Interviews on the news. (More on that soon!)

Whew! What a long day!

But 100% worth it.