THE GIRLS
In 2018, our vet randomly commented to us, “I’m surprised you don’t have the new minis that are at Longmeadow.” Hmmm, off to investigate....
Longmeadow Rescue Ranch, located in Union, MO, rescued three miniature horses who, at the time were labeled as “the worst case of animal neglect, for horses, in the state of Missouri.”
With hooves so overgrown they were curled, not just up like an elf slipper, but, curled all the way around, like a rams horn.
When we adopted all three girls, we changed their names, as we always do, to Poppy (the leader), Molly (her presumed baby) and Toasty (a name we “borrowed” from the Peeps Foundation without asking and would later give us the bad karma we deserved with her.) However, collectively, they were called The Girls.
The Girls lived in my garage in a temporary 10x20 stall, for two months. Since they released them to us with upper respiratory infections, we had to keep them isolated until they were cleared.
Quarantining them for this extended period of time was not the worst thing in the world though. It gave us a chance to figure out where we were going to put them. The barn was full.
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​We ended up custom making and expediting a small barn, made from one of the local shed dealers. It comfortably fits all three girls and has electricity and an automatic fly sprayer inside.
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The Girls, who were totally hands off to touch, upon arrival, have taken time to socialize. One of the biggest problems we had with them is that there was no one brave, in their small little herd of three. Therefore, if you tried to work with one, their fear intensified the fear in the others.
After nearly a year of working with our farrier on their feet, the Girls feet became not only normal with their hooves and walking, but, also no longer needed oral sedation for their trims.
Fast forward to today, and each of the Girls is well mannered, gets turned out with our entire herd of horses, and behaves socially, and continues on their road a worry free life with us.