Name: Rain
Intake: October 30, 2019
Status: Humanely Euthanized on October 31, 2019

Ms. Davies described Rain as a well-bred warmblood mare that was given to her on October 2, 2019. She said that Rain had DSLD and needed egg bar shoes. She also said that Rain’s previous owner had neglected her, yet there she was, a four FULL weeks later, outside with no shelter, no sign of hay and starving.

On top of that, poor Rain could be used as the poster child for what equine pain looks like. You can see in the photo that her head, neck and shoulders are tense and her ears are droopy and to the side. She is trying to take weight off a leg, and her hind end is all tucked up underneath her in an attempt to bear less weight on them.

DSLD is actually a connective tissue disease. It commonly leads to persistent, incurable lameness, especially of the hind limbs. Affected horses are ultimately euthanized due to the breakdown of their limbs.

Poor Rain had DSLD to the point that she was constantly searching for just one comfortable way to stand, and she was not having any luck. Rain was taken directly to the local veterinarian’s office to eat and rest overnight. The following day, when it was clear how advanced her DSLD disease was, she was humanely euthanized.

Putting a horse to sleep is never an easy decision, or one we ever take lightly. That being said, we will always choose humane euthanasia over a lifetime of chronic pain.

Rescue is all about making the right decisions for each horse, no matter how it makes us feel. At the end of the day we take comfort knowing that Rain’s pain was stopped so that she did not have to continue to suffer.