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Habitat for Horses, Inc.
P.O. Box 213
Hitchcock, TX 77563Contact us > > |
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Naysa would like
to thank
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her sponsors: |
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Deb P. (Foster
Mom)
Rebecca W.
Julie C.
Allison A.
Jean
B.
Marilyn H.
Bug and Pickle |
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Click here to view
video of Naysa's story.
Update: May 2008
Naysa Goes Home.
Throughout the winter
and spring, Naysa was
pretty much left alone,
except the ever gentle
kisses and hugs from her
foster mom. She became
attached to the small
herd of horses,
following a routine of
waking up early, eating,
being turned out, called
in for supper and
snuggling through the
night in her warm stall.
From out of nowhere
came another lady, this
one all the way from
Florida, who spent all
weekend in the pasture
with her, no petting,
just talking, and who
started working on the
human trust issues.
Jolee turned in her
adoption application
after that first weekend
and flew in almost every
weekend after that,
slowly gaining Naysa's
shattered trust. Before
long we started seeing
pictures of Jolee
sitting in the pasture,
Naysa inches away,
listening, or Jolee and
Naysa sleeping together
in the stall. The final
touch was a picture of
Jolee holding up Naysa's
hind leg while cleaning
her hoof - and no halter
on Naysa. That was the
ultimate "give," the end
of the trust issue.
These two had melded
together. Naysa was
finally going home.
The visits continued
through March while
Jolee finished her barn,
bought a trailer and
drove to Texas to pick
up her horses. She also
adopted two others. The
visit did not go well.
The other loaded without
a problem, but Naysa
would have no part in a
trailer ride,
particularly when other
horses were involved. It
took several more trips,
several weekends working
with Naysa in a pasture
with the trailer before
she finally gave in and
walked into the box
stall and out the side
door. The day that
happened, we all
celebrated. Naysa almost
lost her life after
refusing to load in
Louisiana. In all her
years, there is no
telling how roughly she
was handled, how many
times she had been
beaten, whipped, kicked
and shoved into
submission. For the
first time, without
heavy sedation, she
walked in, stood, and
walked out again. I
could hear the neighing
of the horse gods that
day. She finally knew
she was safe, that she
would not be betrayed
again.
 Naysa
made it to her home in
Florida in late April.
Trailering will never be
a problem again. Perhaps
a trip to the vet,
perhaps a trail ride,
but home for Naysa is a
perfect barn, a clean
stall and a pasture that
seems endless, filled
with grass - and yes,
that one final
ingredient that makes
life perfect - a human
to love. Three times
we've been prepared to
go to court with the
State of Louisiana
against the former owner
of Naysa. Three times it
has been postponed. I'm
ready to testify, the
vet who operated on her
is ready to go, the DA
is wanting to get it
done, but his lawyer is
effective in getting
delays in place. Last I
heard, it might be in
August of 2008. Check
back here and I'll tell
you the rest of that
story.
For Naysa, her
nightmare is over. She
found safety in the arms
of an Animal Control
Officer in Louisiana, a
vet who decided that she
might live through it,
Rebecca and Julie,
volunteers with Habitat
for Horses, who drove
over, picked her up and
drove all the way back,
ever so slowly and
gently, in the loving
arms and giant heart of
Debbie, the foster mom,
who took on the job of
daily medications,
gentle washings,
cleaning, feeding,
almost to the point of
total exhaustion, in Dr.
Dennis Jenkins, who
operated four times to
remove bone fragments
caused by a bullet
through her skull, in
the panicked arms of a
crazed old cowboy that
refused to give up when
she needed sedation and
in the thoughts of
literally hundreds of
folks who read the
story, gave their
dollars, made the calls
and prayed. And finally
in Jolee, who saw beauty
behind the blood and
shattered face, who gave
of her heart and soul to
win the heart and soul
of a desperate and lost
horse.
Naysa, the child of
God, the horse that
refused to die.
Update: July 23, 2007
Naysa Well On Her Way to
Recovery.
As the days and weeks
progress, Naysa
continues to grow
stronger and more
spirited. Her physical
wounds are healing
quickly and she is well
out of harms way. She
been integrated in
with her foster mom's
small herd, and the
strength and will that
allowed her to battle
through her abuse are
quickly becoming
evident. For those of
you reading between the
lines, yes, that means
she's stubborn. Below is a
first hand account from
HfH President, Jerry
Finch, in charge of
administering Naysa's
sedative pre-surgery
today:
"Several things I can
guarantee about Naysa -
1) she is a hundred
times stronger that when
she came in 2) she hates
needles and 3) she
seriously does not like
people with needles
being anywhere around
her.
My first job this
morning was an
in-the-neck shot to
attempt to bring her
down a little. The first
attempt led to a broken
syringe when she went
flying across the stall.
The second attempt was
successful, but only
because I was hanging on
for dear life and
decided that I might as
well push the plunger
while I'm flying through
the air.
IM sedation did
absolutely nothing. I
spent 30 minutes in the
stall with her, asking
everyone else to leave
us alone, while I calmed
her down and tried to
communicate. I don't
know if many of you are
of the opinion that
horses talk with us, but
I can tell you in no
uncertain terms that
Naysa was not a happy
camper and had plenty to
say both to and about
me. There's just not a
whole lot of "horse
whispering" going on
when the horse is
jabbering a mile a
minute.
But then it was time for
the second shot. The vet
arrived, took one look
at Naysa and handed me
the syringe, which is
fine. It's not his job
to be injured while
sedating a horse. Not
really mine, either, but
since I work for free
and Naysa already has my
number, I knew that it
was show time.
There was quite a lot of
dancing, but I hit the
vein on the first try
with the needle, then
hung on for dear life
while she went ballistic
for a few minutes. I
handed Debbie the
syringe and through some
form of magic, the
sleepy time liquid
poured into the blood
system.
Two minutes later,
Naysa's nose was
touching the floor.
There was not a bit of
reaction to hands being
placed everywhere. One
would think that, as
sedated as she was, the
final shot would be a
breeze. It was not to be
so easy. She actually
reared up on that shot,
but she finally,
thankfully, plopped down
for a nap.
Doc removed about 10
more bone fragments from
the sinus cavity and can
now confirm that it was
indeed a bullet that
caused the problem as we
initially thought. Both
holes joined together
(yes, we are letting the
DA know) and the
fragments were in that
space between the holes.
She was cleaned,
drained, patched up and
sleeping peacefully at
last, waking up about 20
minutes later and walked
over to hang out in
front of the fan. I
won't tell you about the
words that came out of
that poor lady, but they
were by no means proper
for mixed company. Naysa
has, shall we say, an
attitude, which is well
understood from all
she's been through. Our
goal right now is simply
to get her well, and
personally, I am
thrilled that she has so
much spirit. I've seen
far too many horses that
have given up after only
a small part of what
Naysa has been through.
Naysa is not going
gently into any dark
night. She's going to
fight and that is no
doubt the spirit that
has kept her alive.
A few hours later,
Debbie said Naysa is out
in the pasture, grazing
peacefully. I'll see her
again tomorrow and no
doubt she have a few
words to say that will
not be pleasant, but
Debbie and I will listen
and tell her that she is
loved and try to explain
and I'm betting that she
will stop complaining
long enough to listen,
and she'll lay her head
against my chest and
just want to be held for
a little bit.
Because horses, if given
a chance, will forgive
humans for everything we
do. "
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Update: June 12, 2007
The Miracle Mare Gets a
Name.
The Louisiana Mare
now has a name! After
many suggestions the
Louisiana Mare now has
an official name, Naysa
(pronounced nay-ee-sa),
a Hebrew name meaning
"miracle of God".
Naysa was given extra
loving attention by her
foster mom after her arrival. All of her
wounds were extensively
cleaned and treated. She
also received a visit
from our local vet. An
assessment, and later
x-ray, showed that the
hole in her sinus cavity
has several small
bone fragments within it. A surgery is
planned to remove some
of these fragments
pending a further
reduction in the
swelling of her face.
Damage to her hooves
appears to be limited to
the left rear and should
heal with time. There
also appears to be
trauma to her left eye
that may be
irreversible.
But throughout it all
Naysa still remains
strong. She has moments
of spirit and others where
she obviously is in need
of rest. She has a long
road ahead of her. Her
full physical recovery
will take many months,
but as long as she is
willing to fight we will
continue to support her.
She will continue to
receive care under
watchful eyes from
loving hands. Check back
soon for more updates on
her progress.
June 10, 2007
The Louisiana Mare
Arrives at Habitat for
Horses.
Habitat for Horses
received the call from
Louisiana on Thursday
about an injured mare in
desperate need of
special care. She had
been dragged behind a
trailer and badly hurt.
She had spent 7 days in
intensive care. That’s
all we knew at that
point, and by Saturday
morning we were on our
way. Arrangements for
her new home had been
made and the transport
team left not knowing
what would lay ahead.
As the trip started
Saturday further details
came trickling in. When
found the mare was
wearing a halter wrapped
in barbed wire. She also
had a hole than ran
straight through her
nose all the way through
her sinus cavity
presumably from impact
with the trailer and of
course her hooves had
been worn down by the
road.
We all began to marvel
at the fact that this
little mare had made it
this far…we had no idea
how far she’d really
come.
Saturday afternoon our
transport team arrived
at the vet clinic. More
news. The mare had not
only been dragged but
the trailer had been
backed over her and had
to be moved before she
was rescued. There was
virtually no heel left
on the mare’s back hoof.
The hole in her
nose…appeared to be the
entrance and exit wounds
of a bullet.
There stood a little
mare with so much spirit
who simply refused to
give in.
The Louisiana Mare
arrived at her new home
late Saturday evening.
As the trailer door
opened she stood
timidly, unsure of what
would happen next.
Trembling as she was
touched by human hands
which in the past had
brought her so much
pain, but at the same
time comforted by the
gentle voices coaxing
her on. She was not
forced but allowed to
slowly take her time
emerging from the
trailer. Her small
audience watched in
marvel. How had this
little mare made it
through?
She slowly made her way
to the barn. Noticeably
stiff, sore, and
limping, but walking
just the same. Refusing
to give up.
She settled into her
stall greedily munching
her hay as hushed voices
surrounded her. Bits and
pieces of her story
floating up through the
rafters of the barn. He
had paid 35 dollars for
her and sold her for
100. Obviously she was
worth much less than
that to him. The reason
for her punishment…she
balked when he attempted
to load her into the
trailer. The photos of
her rescue day were
passed around. Everyone
looking from photos to
the mare and the mare to
the photos. So hard to
believe that she was
standing there in front
of us. The still
lifeless in body in the
photos had made her way
to this stall.
The Louisiana Mare has a
long road of recovery
ahead of her. Most of
the flesh from her face
is missing because of
the halter, the dragging
and the bullet wound.
Her hooves will have to
regrow, but even more
needed is the
restoration of trust. It
will take many hours to
restore what one
individual so quickly
tore apart. But there
was one thing that he
couldn’t take away from
this little mare. Try as
he may he couldn’t break
her spirit. He couldn’t
destroy her will to
live. He couldn’t
convince her she was
worthless and unneeded.
Try as he might he
didn’t win…couldn’t win.
Despite being beaten,
tortured, dragged, run
over and shot, this
little mare follows HER
will; the will to live.
Now it’s our turn. This
little mare has fought
longer and harder than
should have ever been
asked of her. It’s our
turn to shoulder some of
the burden for her and
help her through. This
wasn’t an accident. This
wasn’t one of those
things that “just
happens”. This is an
innocent animal who has
suffered needlessly. She
needs the love of many
good hearts to offset
the damage of one bad
one. Please keep her in
your thoughts or
consider sponsoring her
on her road to recovery.
Click here for
sponsorship information.
The Louisiana Mare, June
9, 2007, upon arrival at
her new foster home.
Click here to view
more images of The
Louisiana Mare. Be
advised that these
images are very graphic
and may not be suitable
for everyone.
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