Shortly before Christmas we received a call about a horse and donkey that were abandoned after their owner's death. The caller informed us that the horse was older and a little thin, but once we received the photos of the horse we knew we didn't have much time so we jumped into action and drove to pick them up the next morning.

What we discovered when we arrived was horrible. The horse, a mare named Alley, was completely emaciated. Her body score was 1, with no fat or muscle on her body. You could see every bone and her coat was falling out in clumps due to lice. Her hooves were overgrown, and she was so weak we worried about her ability to stand in the trailer on the way back to the sanctuary. Her little buddy, a darling donkey named Daisy, was in pretty good health other than overgrown hooves.

Alley jumped right in our trailer, she knew she was going somewhere better. Daisy was a little more reluctant, but with some gentle encouragement and Alley whinnying to her from inside the trailer, she finally loaded into the trailer. We drove slowly and cautiously on the ride back to Redwings, Alley was weak and we couldn't risk her falling in the trailer.

Once we arrived at the sanctuary both Alley and Daisy were unloaded and moved into our quarantine pens. We made an appointment for our vet to come out the next business day, but Alley would need veterinary attention much sooner. Alley barely touched her feed that first night and by the next morning she was showing signs of colic. Our vet came out and treated her which kept her comfortable for a few hours, but later that afternoon Alley needed emergency care again. The next day we tried to encourage Alley to eat a little bit of soaked feed, but she showed little interest, so the vet returned again. We started Alley on multiple medications to support her digestive system and treat stomach ulcers. Finally after 4 long days of worrying and trying to encourage Alley to eat she turned a corner and started to improve.

As soon as Alley was eating better, we got her feet trimmed and she received a much-needed bath to help free her of the lice infestation, but she still had an extremely long road ahead of her. She was on a very strict refeeding program designed to help her gain weight slowly but steadily. We needed to get her strong enough to handle being sedated for some much-needed dental work, but that was too risky in the first few months since Alley has a very significant heart murmur.

Alley's medical bills alone in her two weeks at Redwings were thousands of dollars but with the love and support of our dedicated team Alley beat all the odds and is now thriving at Redwings. The vet determined that Alley is around 30 years of age so she will remain at Redwings as a permanent resident for the rest of her years.

Daisy has now joined our burro herd and is happy and loving life at Redwings.