QUEST EQUINE WELFARE INC.

IN CARE

(You may click on the images to enlarge them)

4.09.10

Joy was found by the neighbours of a property upon which a group of animals have been abandoned by their owner for approximately three years. We are told that she was foaled the day before, (3.09.10),  and was found lying in the mud alone the following day, (4.09.10), having been there all night in the driving rain and cold.

 

Joy spent most of the day she was discovered at the home of the very well meaning people who had found her, receiving no Veterinary attention. Upon contacting Quest, and following a phone call from the RSPCA to Joy's rescuers, recommending the surrender of Joy into care, Quest's Vet and Vice President, Dr. Jude Mulholland took the little one in and spent a sleepless 24 hours providing her with intensive Veterinary care, cat-napping on the clinic floor next to Joy when she could.

In Jude's opinion, Joy was no more than an hour from death when Jude took charge of her. Her veins were flat, and Jude had great difficulty inserting the needles required to get plasma into her. However, by the following morning, Jude had done an incredible job of turning Joy's dire condition around to a fairly stable one.

 

5.09.10 

Due to Jude needing to attend to Veterinary call-outs, and the fact that Joy needed 24 hour hands-on care, Joy was collected by Bec to be taken back to Carinya Park for continued care and treatment. Our heart-felt gratitude to Jude, who no doubt whatsoever, saved Joy's life.

Jude and Joy, 24 hours after surrender:

 

Joy's trip home:

 

These are photos taken on the way home with Joy, which would give you an idea of the extreme weather conditions that Joy had endured during her first night. Yes, we did break down driving through a flooded stretch of road! What was to be a four hour round trip, became an eight hour one, but little Joy was perfectly happy in the back seat, and we fed her en-route :)

 

Joy safely home at Carinya Park:

 

Joy has shown improvement with every hour that goes by, and after 12 hours at home, she is looking like a little pony who has every intention of living :) Poor baby is having penicillin shots twice daily, and I don't know who hates them the most, her or us. She has a severely ulcerated cornea in the right eye and is receiving treatment for that also. Joy is living in our kitchen, which we are keeping warm, and seems quite happy to curl up on soft towels for her naps. She is feeding approximately every 30 minutes around the clock, and taking only around 45 mls at a time at this point.

 

6.09.10

What a difference a day makes. Joy is stronger, and feeding really well at around 45 minute intervals. Like every baby, she does not differentiate between night and day! Everything and everyone around her is a mess, but Joy's little world is going wonderfully :)

 

We have been taking Joy out for some sun and exercise throughout the day between sleeps and feeds, and I think this has really helped. She is passing manure really well now and doing everything right.

 

Thank you so much to Jude's Vet Nurse Denise, who has been attending Joy twice daily to do her obs. We are still treating Joy's right eye, which is extremely cloudy, and Joy is still on her twice daily penicillin shots. Denise has weighed her in at 14kg.

 

7.09.10

Joy appears to be going from strength to strength. She is enthusiastically taking around 300mls per feed now! Denise weighed her in at 14kg today, and all other obs were good, aside from her cloudy eye. Joy's eye is not deteriorating, but at the same time, it is not responding to treatment.

Joy meeting Fanta today :)

 

 

8.09.10

 

Poor little girl has been having trouble passing manure for a little while, so enema was the order of the day.

Here's Joy a couple of hours after our enema experience, feeling pretty good!

 

9.09.10

Not a great day for little Joy. Jude paid a visit to check up on the corneal ulcer in Joy's right eye. If you notice the green shape in the below photos, that is the area of the ulcer, being shown up with dye that Jude put in Joy's eye. Joy also has extensive bruising to that entire eye, and the surrounding sclera is blazing red in colour. It's safe to assume that the damage to this eye was caused during the time that Joy spent lying on the ground prior to rescue. Repeated attempts to raise her head, and letting it drop would account for the wearing away of her cornea and the bruising.

 

We have been so touched by the kind offers of help and encouragement that we have received for Joy. It really is great to be reminded of just how many good people are actually 'out there', when so much of what we deal with through our work can't help but make a person question the virtue of the human race as a whole at times. We hope that the interest that Joy has inspired in so many may serve to draw some attention to the equine welfare issues that have prevailed for a long time in this country.

We have had many emails from people asking how they can help. If you would like to help us to care for Joy, we would certainly welcome that, and you can do so in a few ways. You can use the PayPal button on the left of Joy's page to make a financial donation towards her care and treatment. You could also visit the You Can Help page, and purchase some of our Quest merchandise, the proceeds of which go towards supporting the horses we have in Quest care. We will also provide the details of our Vet on that page, in case you'd prefer to contribute directly to Joy's Veterinary account. Joy is drinking Biolac - for Foals which at the moment, is her most significant expense.

 

11.09.10

 

13.09.10

Wow! Joy really has touched some hearts. She had a visit today from the Herald Sun, who took some absolutely stunning photos of her. You can view Bruce Magilton's Joy photos here in the Herald Sun Gallery, and Kelly's article here. Thank you so much to Kelly Ryan and Bruce Magilton, who took the time to come and visit Joy and produce such a wonderful article.

Here is Bruce trying to capture those wonderful pics of our little minx!

 

14.09.10

A visit today for Joy from her wonderful Dr. Jude. Jude dropped in to give Joy a slight corrective trim, as Joy was born with hind hooves that are less than ideal. However, Jude assures me that this is very common, and she does not hold concerns for the long term health of Joy's feet if monitored and tended when necessary. Jude checked Joy's ulcerated cornea, and feels it is improving thank goodness, and I will be worming Joy over the next three days. Joy has developed a very snotty nose, but does not have a temperature and continues to seem very happy and healthy in herself at the moment.

 

Joy is seeming very secure in her routine now. The back door is propped open all day, and she comes and goes as she chooses. She is not backwards in coming forwards in asking for her bottle, and always comes inside for her naps when tired.

I have brought a little Pony I have here, Ivory, into the garden where Joy feels secure, and for the past three days, I've been working on buddying Joy up with her. It's very important that Joy learns to be a horse, as there is no doubt that at the moment she feels more affinity with me than she does the other horses. A very confusing dilemma for a little foal, who until meeting Ivory, had only ever seen humans, and has all her needs provided for by humans. She is however making tentative steps towards interacting with Ivory, and Ivory has been just excellent. I knew she would be perfect for the job, as she is the most obliging and sweet natured little Pony.

It's very obvious that Ivory understands the delicacy of Joy, and she is being very gentle and understanding. She has also taken to walking around the house whinnying for Joy when Joy disappears inside for her sleeps. I was thrilled today to spy Joy showing off to Ivory. Joy was displaying all of her best acrobatics and fast running for Ivory's benefit :) Joy is always supervised when outside, but for her to acknowledge Ivory, I have to hide. If I don't, Joy will just stay close to me and not venture out to explore. It takes me back to the days when I used to leave my children at day care, and then spy on them for some time before actually leaving, to be sure that they were ok!

This is precious Ivory supervising Joy's hoof trim:

 

15.09.10

Well little girl is now consuming 10 litres of formula milk over a 24 hour period! She is becoming more and more robust, and has taken to trashing the kitchen now if I'm not quick enough with her bottle! She is still having pretty frequent feeds, around every 45 mins to an hour now, but that's fine. I would prefer to feed her on demand right now than instigate a more 'sleep friendly' schedule, considering her rough start to life. It's not forever, and she needs all the security, reassurance, and nutrition that she can get.

So many people to thank for their good wishes and donations towards Joy's care. Really, the gestures of these contacts mean just as much as any financial support she receives. If only she knew how many people are thinking of her and wishing her well. We've really enjoyed sharing Joy's progress on our Facebook page as well. Lovely to be able to chat with her fans and share this journey. Our heart-felt thanks to all who care so much about this special girl and who keep her in their thoughts.

 

16.09.10

 

20.09.10

There's no telling what you might be called upon to do when visiting around here ..
a happy visitor feeds Joy :)

 

Joy is settling into a great relationship with her buddy 'Ivory'. Ivory has been promoted to 'garden living' for a time, to enable Joy to become familiar with her in an environment where Joy feels secure. Ivory has been doing an incredible job of showing Joy tolerance, patience, and leadership. She is teaching Joy invaluable lessons about 'being a horse', that only a fellow horse can. Joy still prefers to sleep in the kitchen, but now spends most of her waking time outside with Ivory. When the hunger pains kick in, Joy scoots inside and makes it known very clearly that she's keen for a feed! Joy is growing like a weed, has lost the 'fragility' that she had when she first arrived, and her eye is showing signs of slowly healing.

 

Go to Joy's Diary ~ pg. 2 >