Name
Classie
Intake
October 30th, 2019
Body Intake Condition Score
2 out of 9
Status
Returned
On the day of the seizure, Classie was in a muddy pen with no shelter along with two other mares, Delight and a mare we called Claire. Classie was so hungry she was chewing on the fencepost. At her veterinary exam she diagnosed her with starvation and noted her lethargic condition. She had rain rot and was covered in bot eggs. There were numerous scrapes on her body and her windpipe had a broken tracheal ring from some type of past trauma. Her hair was caked with mud and manure and her mane and tail were full of wind knots.
The very next day, her owner came across a news story with a photo of a starving Classie. She felt sick and cried…
Classie had stolen her owner’s heart nearly 20 years ago when she Classic her at a good friend’s home the day she was born. When that friend ended up moving out of state, she was able to buy Classie for her very own at the age of 7 months. Over the years, Classie always LOVED kids and adored her owner’s son. Unfortunately, he was not very interested in riding horses.
When Classie’s owner first met Gwen, she was impressed with how very knowledgeable and established in the Arabian Horse world Gwen seemed. She eventually leased Classie to Gwen for her youth program after seeing how much the mare enjoyed all the kids. Over the years Classie taught many adoring students how to ride and was always one of the dependable mounts.
Gwen had agreed that if Classie was ever not needed, she would return home, and she provided Classie’s owner with updated photos of Classic every once in a while. Then Gwen moved from California up to Oregon, making checking up on her or returning her more difficult.
Under our care, Classic was started on the UC Davis refeeding program. After a few days of food and water, Classie was hauled up to our emergency animal shelter in West Linn and slowly began to regain her health and weight.
It took a while for Classie to get up to a decent weight. She was the very last horse to be approved by our veterinarian to be released. She still has more weight to gain and is still shedding her old unhealthy skin and hair, but you can now see the beautiful, shiny girl under there, just waiting to come out!
Eventually Classie moved to a foster home so she would have more room to move around. Her owner paid for her to have a dental done while she anxiously awaited the time when Classie could head home.
When Classie arrives home, she will settle in and then she will eventually head to her very first moms’ home, where she will have lots of room to stretch her legs and be loved on for the rest of her life. She will end her journey with the person who started it with her. In May, Classie will be able to celebrate her 20th birthday back where she belongs.
