So far, PARR has rescued 5 horses directly
from Kill-Pens, waiting to load on slaughter trucks
in the last year. We have networked well over 100+ retiring-from-racing
horses coming off the track, and many OTTB's that needed rehab before being adoptable. Learn more about some of our Kill-Pen Rescues below:
We hope you will read more about them and their journey below.
We have some great pictures of their progress along the way!
A starved gelding ("Popcorn") went from kill-pen on February 22nd 2015 to looking fabulous and going to his first show in January 2016! The starved little mare we saved with Popcorn, "Shelby" surprised us by somehow having a foal inside her frail body and giving birth 2 weeks after we saved her. Her baby, Sandy, is doing well but has racked up vet clinic bills close to $10k for her medical treatment early on and corrective tendon surgery she needed on both front feet in order to walk.
In April 2015 we saved two more mares, a yearly TB filly and a 3 yo TB filly, Sadie and Katrina.
They were so sick they had to be in quarantine, receive months of antibiotics and treatment for respiratory infections, and secondary infections. We are pretty sure the color and amount of snot in their noses was enough for us to see in a lifetime. Both girls are doing great and ready for adoption! Shelby just weaned her foal and she is also ready for adoption!
**February 2016** We pulled another kill pen horse! This time a 20 year old Mule we named Ruth!
We have over $10,000 in bills just for medical treatment we are still trying to pay off
(for what seems like will be eternity!) and are SO appreciative of donations! We can't
save any more kill-pen horses until we get these bills under control, the three mares adopted out (Popcorn was JUST adopted!!), and some more funds in our account for the next group we help!
Read their stories below....donate if you can, every penny helps!
February 5th, 2016 Kill-Pen Rescue
"Ruth" the 20 yo Molly Mule!
*Now Adopted!*
Ruth, a 20 year old Molly Mule was pulled from a kill-pen line waiting to load on the truck for slaughter, by a bunch of wonderful people who donated to cover her "bail" cost, and PARR who pulled her and had her transported to our foster farm for quarantine under the care of our veterinarian. Ruth was named by the family of last year's kill-pen rescue "Popcorn". Ruth is a wonderful sweet kind mule with good manners and a nice disposition. She will be available for adoption after she finished quarantine and is assessed further to make sure she is in good health and soundess! If you would like to contribute to the cost of her care, we would be so appreciative of your donation! You can click on any of the yellow Donate Now buttons to donate through paypal. No paypal account is needed. Please include a note with your donation that it is "for Ruth" if you have a specific place you want the donation used for. Thank you so much! Ruth thanks you all for saving her life!
Our February 22, 2015 Kill-Pen Rescues
Pregnant Mare "Shelby"
Shelby's foal, "Sandy"
and TB Gelding "Popcorn" (ADOPTED!)
(click any photo to enlarge - hold cursor over photo for caption)
On February 22nd, 2015 PARR pulled 2 (now 3) horses from the kill-pen at a local auction. They were slaughter bound and in need of immediate veterinary care. They were starved, sick, covered in rain rot and skin infections, and may not have survived long if they continued to stay where they lived....but were guaranteed to die at slaughter if we didn't save them. "Popcorn" a tall, very skinny & sick, TB gelding and "Shelby" a sick underweight mare that we later learned was pregnant! Popcorn is now healthy and pending-adoption with his fabulous new owner who lives right here in our area. Shelby safely foaled a little filly on March 6th, named "Sandy", at a foster farm in New Jersey where she was a short drive from the medical clinic we work with, New Jersey Equine and Dr. Jen Smith.
We have poured endless funds into their care and would not have been able to do it without our foster (a veterinarian) who has donated all of her time and care (aside from the actual cost of some more expensive medications which we need to cover), or without the donations from so many people. The pregnant mare and foal have cost close to $6,000 so far due to some complications the foal had (as expected) with her health and need of numerous plasma treatments and hospitalization care. Things escalated when it was discovered Shelby would need corrective surgery on her front legs to be able to walk or live any type of a somewhat normal life. (She will have bilateral check ligament desmotomies.) She had surgery in June 2015 by Dr. Jen Smith of New Jersey Equine (our beloved veterinarian and surgeon who has worked on little Sandy from day one, did all her Plasma treatments and saved her life!). Mom and foal are doing wonderfully but the bills sure are adding up. Once mom and baby are weaned, the mare will be assessed and up for adoption. Sandy will be with us a bit longer before she is available for adoption due to her constant need of care for her corrective surgery/shoeing of her front feet.
The medical bills for Sandy and Shelby have exceeded $10,000....
Shelby & Sandy
Photo's taken the day we pulled her from the kill pen. She foaled 2 weeks later! By looking at the picture it makes it obvious just how skinny this poor mare was that this is her at 2 weeks from foaling! We were so worried her foal would not survived, we had to prepare for the worst case scenario and make the decision early on if we wanted to save the Mare or the Foal. It was nothing short of a miracle that this young mare had her foal safely without any major complications during birth and they both survived. Little Sandy did need immediate medical attention at New Jersey Equine Clinic by Dr. Smith, including Plasma, but she survived and continued to grow, eat, and play like a healthy normal foal! momma did very well although she was unable to produce enough milk. We supplemented the mare and had nurse mares ready and waiting for the foal.
Mom and baby pulled through and both look just wonderful now after a lot of effort from our
team of volunteers and veterinarians!
Click any photo to enlarge.
Pictured Below: Shelby, Pregnant Mare, Pic Taken Day We Saved Her From Kill Pen. She Foaled 2 Weeks Later!
Status Update March 16, 2015:
"So far in the past 24 hours we have had to order $750 in plasma/antibiotics from Rood & Riddle and $250 today (proviable paste, electrolyte paste, gastrogard, Sucralfate). That is $1,000 in medications alone (thankfully at a discounted rate!) and we only have $225 in donations so far. Thank you to everyone who has donated and to anyone who can spare even just a few bucks - it all adds up!! This doesn't come close to what the expenses of this mare/foal costs. Don't forget we still have the big tb gelding we pulled from kill pen who needs our help. He is eating, happy, and doing just fine right now while we focus on saving the mare and foal, but just know that the cost of saving these horses from the kill pen is going to be close to the $3k mark pretty soon. We can't do this without donations and support from all of you, so please know that these horses are being saved because all of you have been helping! We would have never been able to pull them If donations didn't come in that day to buy them from the kill buyer. This foal would not have seen the light of day if it wasn't for all of you...
Status Update March 25, 2015:
"Sandy's (foal) fever broke and she broke with mild diarrhea but is getting supportive care and is now nursing better off of mom! Vet came out and did the plasma/other care yesterday. We've ordered more nutrition products from progressive nutrtition based on Dr. Clara Fengers recommendation. Foal also got another liter of plasma yesterday and is on lActaid and biosponge. Sandy is bright and alert. Mom has no fever today, but sent out nasal swab for resp. panel testing. At this moment we are putting the nurse mare search on hold as we have a few connections on standby. Fingers crossed both continue to improve!"
"So far in the past 24 hours we have had to order $750 in plasma/antibiotics from Rood & Riddle and $250 today (proviable paste, electrolyte paste, gastrogard, Sucralfate). That is $1,000 in medications alone (thankfully at a discounted rate!) and we only have $225 in donations so far. Thank you to everyone who has donated and to anyone who can spare even just a few bucks - it all adds up!! This doesn't come close to what the expenses of this mare/foal costs. Don't forget we still have the big tb gelding we pulled from kill pen who needs our help. He is eating, happy, and doing just fine right now while we focus on saving the mare and foal, but just know that the cost of saving these horses from the kill pen is going to be close to the $3k mark pretty soon. We can't do this without donations and support from all of you, so please know that these horses are being saved because all of you have been helping! We would have never been able to pull them If donations didn't come in that day to buy them from the kill buyer. This foal would not have seen the light of day if it wasn't for all of you...
Status Update March 25, 2015:
"Sandy's (foal) fever broke and she broke with mild diarrhea but is getting supportive care and is now nursing better off of mom! Vet came out and did the plasma/other care yesterday. We've ordered more nutrition products from progressive nutrtition based on Dr. Clara Fengers recommendation. Foal also got another liter of plasma yesterday and is on lActaid and biosponge. Sandy is bright and alert. Mom has no fever today, but sent out nasal swab for resp. panel testing. At this moment we are putting the nurse mare search on hold as we have a few connections on standby. Fingers crossed both continue to improve!"
Photo's from March 2015 - July 2015. Click any photo to enlarge.
Current photos (July 2015) of Sandy's front legs, x-rays, and corrective veterinary care
(surgery, special shoeing, etc) done by New Jersey Equine Hospital, Dr. Jen Smith:
click any photo to enlarge
Shelby at the 2017 Horse World Expo in Harrisburg, PA and Sandy at the PARR farm April 2017
"Popcorn" - TB Gelding Rescue (adopted!)
Day we brought him home, one month later, and now current! Click any photo to enlarge.
Popcorn learning how to be a riding horse!
Kill Pen Mares April 29, 2015
Katrina and Sadie
These two mares were saved from the Kill Pen at a local PA auction before they shipped to slaughter.
Both had terrible upper respiratory infections with the greenest, yuckiest snot you can even imagine.....for weeks upon weeks. The amount of antibiotics these girls needed to fight this off just showed that their life of neglect took a real toll on their young bodies. Katrina is 3+ years old, Sadie was around a year or so old. They have been gaining weight nicely and enjoying being turned out with a group of the other PARR mares at a foster farm in PA. Katrina won the heart of one of our volunteers (and a new board member who helps do all of the application processing), Sydney. Sydney offered to work with Katrina (the 3 year old) and start training her to help ensure that she will be able to go onto a wonderful home. Sydney has started training her from the ground up, was the first to ride her, and has even started teaching her to jump small cross rails this winter. Sadie is now available for adoption and Katrina will be available for adoption after her lease ends with Sydney.
Both had terrible upper respiratory infections with the greenest, yuckiest snot you can even imagine.....for weeks upon weeks. The amount of antibiotics these girls needed to fight this off just showed that their life of neglect took a real toll on their young bodies. Katrina is 3+ years old, Sadie was around a year or so old. They have been gaining weight nicely and enjoying being turned out with a group of the other PARR mares at a foster farm in PA. Katrina won the heart of one of our volunteers (and a new board member who helps do all of the application processing), Sydney. Sydney offered to work with Katrina (the 3 year old) and start training her to help ensure that she will be able to go onto a wonderful home. Sydney has started training her from the ground up, was the first to ride her, and has even started teaching her to jump small cross rails this winter. Sadie is now available for adoption and Katrina will be available for adoption after her lease ends with Sydney.
Donations Needed & Greatly Appreciated!
