Xavi

Cuando ves a Xavi de lejos no parece que deba estar aquí. 

Con su cuerpo grande y fuerte, su pelo brillante y una larga lista de crías de calidad en su pasaporte, parece que debería estar en algún patio de lujo. Pero ni siquiera sus elegantes papeles y su gracia pudieron salvarle de acabar en un centro de rescate.

11 months before he came to us he had an accident where he fell off a ravine and injured his back two legs severely. He was treated by our vet, so we now know his full history. Anyone who has anything to do with horses will know how difficult it is to treat lower leg injuries. Especially on a big powerful thoroughbred who is kept alone in a small space, knee deep in mud.

Hoping for an easier cure the old owner changed vets (another we know) and was given terrible advice which delayed his recovery more. By the time he finally arrived to us, the woman was sad to say goodbye but could no longer try to help him. For us we know it would have been impossible in that environment and advice to recover totally. 4 shoes on, box rest and far to much food were a very bad combination for this particular type of case.

Desde que está con nosotros le hemos quitado los zapatos. Vive al aire libre en un mini oído y se mueve libremente, también con paseos regulares en mano con los voluntarios. Nuestro clima es seco en comparación con el de las montañas del norte, donde estaba antes, lo que ha contribuido enormemente a su recuperación. Aún es pronto, pero ya vemos una gran mejoría. No tiene dolor, está feliz y relajado, y es un placer tenerlo cerca. Con el tiempo, sus heridas mejorarán, pero por desgracia nunca volverá a tener el mismo aspecto. Pero no nos importa, es hermoso por dentro y por fuera.

Xavi had so many issues with his feet, and previous damage that over time we managed to get on top of and he had some amazing years happy and pain-free. However unfortunately Xavi developed a common abscess which was the start of his decline. He was in pain so didn't move around a lot and got a blood clot in his leg, this was nearly the end as his hoof burst at the coronet band and hours before we were about to put him to sleep the clot moved and we were once again on a road to recovery. This time even slower as he could not really move from a small soft paddock at risk of lifting off his entire hoof. Eventually, this grew out over the years, but things were never the same again.

Fast forward to now. He lost his fight, and we could see he was no longer happy to be mooching about in his boots, he was laying down more and starting to lose his shine and condition. So we all together with the vets, volunteers, and farriers decided it was time to set him free before he really suffered anymore. So we said goodbye and ran free to an amazing big boy.