BEHS 004 – Jake

Arriving on May 5, 2005, Jake was just the fourth horse to arrive at BEHS. Before coming to BEHS, Jake's donor said he had been a children's riding horse. However a barbed wire injury while at his donor's home left him unridable. When his owners were no longer able to care for him, they asked us to take him and Jake moved into his first foster home. When Jake arrived, he was a nervous and scared horse. He didn't like new people and hated confined spaces (including horse trailers). He didn't like being caught and wouldn't enter the barn. However with time and a patient foster home, Jake began overcoming his fears. He learned to stand for grooming, to ride in a trailer and stand tied. He also started coming into the barn during bad weather. Jake's foster "mom", her veterinarian and farrier also worked together to treat the injury the barbed wire created in Jake's hoof. For a while, Jake improved. Unfortunately Jake's leg began to slowly deteriorate. The old injury caused strain on his tendons and ligaments, and in a short time he grew increasingly lame. Further veterinarian examinations revealed that Jake's leg was slowly breaking down and would eventually fall apart. As lameness progressed, Jake began hanging out by himself, grouchy and we could no longer keep him comfortable. So we made that very difficult decision to send Jake on across the Rainbow Bridge. I know all of his foster homes mourn for his loss. Although we didn't cause his injury, I regret that we couldn't keep him sound and comfortable.