Winston

A look into the export of American horses to slaughter houses in Canada (where Winston was headed) and Mexico. This video may be too upsetting for some people to watch.

This is what Winston was saved from.

Thank you, again to Maggie Bloom for continuing to be Winston's fairy godmother! Thank you so much Maggie!

A big thank you goes out to Tommy Boylan for his donation. Thanks, Tommy! Thanks to Jen Tully for her much appreciated donation! Thanks a bunch Jena! And last, but not least, a special thanks to Richard Bretan for his generous donation to Winston!

Thanks to the recent donations we have enough money in Winston's account to get him new x-rays in a few weeks. We're going to wait until his round of antibiotics is complete before we schedule anything, but we'd like another look at that left foot/leg as he still has a shortened stride on that side. I know it's a waiting game with injured horses, and we are waiting, although we are far from patient because we really want this boy out of pain once and for all! We want to make sure we are doing everything we need to for Winston.

News of the week. . . Winston's quarantine period is almost over. We will be slowly working him into a smaller herd consisting of two gelded ponies and one gelded horse. We'll be starting this week by letting Winston meet everyone over a fence in his own paddock and we'll slowly try to work towards having him join a herd. Horses do so much better when they have other horses around and I am hopeful that this will be a positive change for Winston.

It looks like we have a sunny weekend ahead so I'll make sure I get some more pictures of Win to share.

Thank you to everyone for their continued support and concern for Win.

Hugs & horse kisses,
Melissa & Winston

Thank you to Winston's latest angel, Becky Knauer! Thank you, Becky!

Here is a mid-week update on Winston from Gretchen:

I guess the antibiotics are kicking in because Winston is way more horsey like today. He actually cantered across the paddock for his dinner last night--in the dark! I just brought him indoors for his breakfast and he didn't stub his toes once on the walk to the garage. I'm so relieved and excited. I'm going to tack him up again today and make him stand around fully tacked just so he gets used to it again.

Great, great news for this dreary Thursday morning! Yay, Winston!

On the funds end of things, I just wrote checks for the outstanding bills for Winston. This week the farrier and the vet were paid. Last week board for the month was paid which was $180.

Hugs & horse kisses,
Melissa & Winston

We just got antibiotics for Win. Cross your fingers and toes and anything else you can cross and hope these help him!! He will start taking them today and we'll see what happens from there.

One day at a time, I know, but I am so anxious to see this boy better and able to run around more!

I'd like to thank Glenn Gilbert for his donation to help Winston! Thank you, Glenn, and thank you for passing Winston's story on to your contacts!

I spent a lot of time with Win this weekend. He's starting to show some personality, which is really good to see. We turned him out in a larger area to let him stretch his legs and he broke into a canter, tail held high, and looking very happy. This is the first time we've seen him actually run and it's a wonderful thing to see.

That said, Winston is still rather lame on his front left. With his new shoes we were hoping the soreness would subside, but so far it hasn't. Win is showing signs of feeling better and is in a much better mood over all, so we know he is getting better, but the lameness still lingers. He hasn't been with us for too long so we are hoping all he needs is so time to heal. Please think happy thoughts for Win's recovery.

I put a saddle and bridle on Win this weekend just to see how he would react to being tacked up. He was a good boy! No one got on him as he's still too lame to be ridden, but he took the tack pretty well, he even accepted the bit quickly and without any fight. He's such a good guy.

I inspected Winston's new shoes and corrective pads and the farrier did a good job. Winston is still trying to adjust to his new shoes though. It's been a while since his feet have been at the right angle and he's having a hard time figuring out how to use his correctly angled hooves! Hopefully by next weekend he'll be done adjusting and we can start trying to figure out what else might be making this poor guy lame. I'm praying it's nothing serious.

Thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with Winston's story and passing it along. I really appreciate your help. Thank you to everyone who has donated money to help Winston! He may have a few months before he's any where near ready for us to figure out if he can be ridden so fund are going to be needed to help pay his board.

Hugs and horse kisses,
Melissa & Winston

Thank you to Barbara Reilly for her donation to Winston's fund!

Today was a big day for Winston! He got his first pair of corrective shoes! Thanks to Farrier Dave for finding Winston a farrier close by who was capable of working on his terrible toes. Farrier Joe came today and shod Win and although Win is sore from all the work on his feet, he should be feeling some relief soon. We'll need another set of x-rays in a few weeks to make sure everything is back in proper alignment now that the shoes are on, but this is surely an improvement for him!

The total cost of today's farrier visit was $190. THANK YOU to all of you who have donated!! Thanks to your donations Winston now has his front leg bones back in the proper position thanks to his new shoes.

Here is the most current list of expenses for Winston's rescue:


As you can see, the money spent to buy Winston from the kill pen is only the beginning of the costs of rescuing a horse. Horses are expensive creatures to maintain and care for properly and this is one of the reasons so many horses end up at auctions like Unadilla, New Holland, and Camelot.

Sadly, unwanted horses in this country find themselves in an even worse state than our unwanted cats and dogs, many (but not all) of which are humanely euthanized in shelters. Unwanted horses in this country end up having to endure long trailer rides to either Canada or Mexico for slaughter. The process is cruel and barbaric.

Winston is just one of the many horses who find themselves facing a horrible end. Let's not forget the countless other's that aren't as lucky. Tonight was another auction at Unadilla and I'm sure there many other 'Winstons' who did not end up with someone who cared about them.

Thank you for caring for Winston and please, please keep passing his story on to others. Winston's expenses will continue to raise as time passes and your kind and generous donations are greatly appreciated.

A special thank you to Jennifer Parrucci for getting Winston's story posted on the Best Friends site. THANK YOU!

Hugs & horse kisses,
Melissa & Winston

A great big huge thank you to Maggie Bloom for her generous donation to Winston! THANK YOU!! Also, a big thank you to Jessica Boehm for her donation as well! THANK YOU!!

In other Winston news, Win has made it onto the front page of the New York Best Friends page! Here's a link to see for yourself. . .http://network.bestfriends.org/golocal/newyork/default.aspx He's the very first story on the rotating feed on the FRONT PAGE!

As you continue to read about Winston please remember that the auction Winston came from happens in Unadilla NY every other Friday. Tomorrow it happens again. And while Win is safe and sound and getting the care he needs there are many horses that won't be so lucky at tomorrow's auction. Please consider donating to Equine Rescue Resource. Here is a link to their sight. . . http://www.equinerescueresource.com/. I went to the auction were I found Winston to help ERR. They are a great group of dedicated horse loving people who are often at the Unadilla auction trying to save a few lucky souls.

Winston is currently in the midst of another foot soaking and he's stuck in a stall for a few hours (not his favorite place to be). His shipment of CleanTrax and bandages should arrives tomorrow and I'll be bringing them up this weekend. I'll try to snap a few new pictures too.

As always, if you can pass along a link to this site to anyone who might want to read about Win that would be wonderful and greatly appreciated.

Hugs & horse kisses,
Melissa & Winston

Thank you to Paul Sarkis and Kathy & Pat McCarthy for their generous donations to help Winston! Thank you also to Janet Bullock who has offered to send Winston a new halter and lead rope!

As of this morning Winston's angels have donated a total of $605! This includes checks mailed to me and the $270 currently showing on this page! Way to go everyone! THANK YOU!! Please keep reposting and circulating Winston's story! If anyone would like a detailed list of the money that has come in and the money that has gone out towards Winston's rescue please let me know and I will provide.

Winston is still really sore on his left front foot. While the vets originally wanted to see if he could fight off the infection caused by his abscess on his own, we're getting in touch with the vets to see if we've waited long enough.

Farrier Dave, who donated a consult and a trim for Winston, is helping me find a farrier in the area who could handle the amount of work Winston needs done without during any further harm. Sadly, Dave lives in Maine and can't be Winston's regular farrier.

Today I placed an order for more supplies for Winston's foot soaks and wraps. On the advise of Farrier Dave we're going to try CleanTrax to help heal the thrush that has taken over all four feet and eaten away much of Winston's frogs.

Keep checking my Winston set on Flickr! I uploaded a few new images today and last night. There is even one of Farrier Dave giving Winston a kiss!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/misaf/sets/72157623384230655/

Hugs & horse kisses,
Melissa & Winston

I would like to thank the following people who have donated to help Winston either through this site or by checks sent or given directly to me.

Heather Bath
Michael Abdallah
Jon Boylan
Karin Roth
Jim LoCodo
Kierra Bloom
David Rick
Christy Mahon
Jeri Swan
Kristi Reilly
Corrine Szalay
Gerald Gregor
Lynne Breitfeller

THANK YOU to each and every one of you! I remain amazed at the generosity you have shown. Thank you!!

If anyone would like to get in touch with me directly, my e-mail address is: melissa.feimer@gmail.com

Hugs,
Melissa & Winston