BEHS 255 – Buckwheat

In April, three skinny horses arrived at BEHS thanks to the hard work of a handful of Bluebonnet members. These guys were reported because they were skinny, and the owner decided to sign them over. He clearly couldn't take care of them! All three foster horses began gaining weight, and they all proved to be nice horses. One particular horse, Buckwheat, stole the heart of his foster home. This young horse was only four years old;. Although it seemed he hadn't been handled much, he quickly came around and became loving and sweet. After a month and half in foster care, he had gained a good bit of weight and his foster home knew they wanted to make him a part of their lives forever. Unfortunately, he mysteriously lost a great deal of weight. After two veterinary visits, we transferred him to Caldwell so one of the Bluebonnet Hero vets could examine him and so that he would be near A&M for any necessary surgery. For the past two months, Buckwheat has fought the good fight. He would spike a fever, go off his feed, lose weight and then recover. When he recovered, he would start eating again and would gain a little weight. Each time he took a downward turn, the vet came to examine him. She consulted with A&M and other specialists. Denise and her family took excellent care of him, trying to nurse him through his health problems. Unfortunately last night, he took a bad turn for the worse and went down. His heart rate went up, his temperature went down and when the vet arrived, he was clearly in shock. Denise and I discussed it along with the vet and decided it was finally time to let him go. He fought and fought, but he couldn't overcome. Additional tests are being run to see if we can determine what was wrong. But I know his first foster home who wanted to adopt him, the Hales, are heart-broken. I know Denise and her family are also heart-broken. He was a sweet young horse with a future that was cut short, and his story will touch us all. Thank you to those who gave him love, good food and excellent care. You fought hard for him and showed him that humans can be kind, loving and caring.