Name: Talisman T
13 year old Stallion
Intake: October 30th, 2019
Intake Exam: Body Condition Score 3.5/9
Status: Left November 25, 2019 to return to his owner in Springfield, Oregon

You may have already seen posts about Talisman T. He is one of the horses placed in protective custody with us who belonged to someone else. His owner had taken to social media and spoke with news outlets about her concerns with his seizure.

Talisman was in better shape than most, although he was living in a filthy stall. He was a 3.5/9 on the Henneke Body Score. Because he did not have as much weight to gain, he was one of the first horses to be returned after ownership was established at the end of November.

Talisman had an old leg injury, which the veterinarian onsite told us about before we took him out of his stall. His pastern area was visibly enlarged, so we took special care to haul him carefully and by himself. He had no problems.

We received special care instructions from his owner, which seemed to conflict with his veterinary records. About 18 months ago, Talisman had surgery to repair a fractured bone, but he had been released to full turnout in April of 2019. Yet she was concerned that he had been taken without his special boots. She also said he was supposed to be hand walked for 15 minutes twice a day, so we did. We felt bad for Talisman because it seemed obvious he wanted out of his stall more, but we followed his owner’s wishes.

When it was time to return Talisman, we requested written information about the prescribed leg support protocol required for hauling. About a week later, we received a note from a veterinarian saying they recommended basic standing wraps, so that’s what we did. When we arrived at the pickup location and unloaded Talisman, they loaded him onto their trailer with our standing wraps on without a special boot.

We were very happy to see photos of Talisman running free in his owner’s arena about a month later without boot or leg wraps.