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Good bye Nova. I wish you could've gotten a better chance.

1811 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  JCnGrace
Everyone should know about this amazing horse that has touched our hearts.

We got a call from a friend who said she just got a neglected horse from a woman. Hoping we could take her. Please she said I don't have any room left in my barn. We hitched up the trailer and drove down there. We were shocked at what we found.

A two year old horse only half the size she should have been. Her hooves curling upwards, obviously never clipped down before. You could count her every single rib. Despite being January her fur was patchy and some there was none. She had a large scar on her nose where the halter dug in. What shocked us the most is despite all this...Her eyes had hope.

The lady said, my next door neighbor has had this horse since a baby. She had her father and mother in a chicken coop for at least a year. One day the father disappeared and never returned. Her mum was bulging and was obvious she was pregnant. Her mum was kept in a chicken coop with a llama. Turned out every day into the desert to forage for food. To make sure her mum didn't wander to far a tire was tied to her halter, that she constantly had to carry around. Her baby was born and miraculously lived. For only six months did the baby go without the tire before another one was tied to her halter. For two long years this continues until the babies mum foot gets tangled in the tire and breaks her neck. And dies shortly afterwards. This baby was Nova. For another two months Nova is kept in a chicken coop with a llama. Until finally the women that owns them moves away and gives Nova to her neighbour.

The neighbor (the woman who rescued Nova) is overjoyed after seeing Nova suffering for so long. But she has no room left in her barn. She knows us though and calls knowing we take in abused and neglected horse. She said the first time she gave Nova hay she was scared of it as she had never seen hay before being forced to forage from the desert.

We take Nova not even sure she'll make it in the trailer. But we get her home and settled in. Slowly we introduce her to hay. And the vet visits often. We're so overjoyed as we see Nova coming back to life. She can run and sniff other horses, even go on short walks. We put her in with another rescue Mini who just got weaned from his mom. They quickly become best friends and do everything together.

Nova has to rest her head on the fence or the mini who she lives with back. Because she's weak she can't hold up her own head. We will go into her pen and hold her head for her sometimes. What surprised me the most is she was sweet the entire time we had her, never once did she seem to connect humans to her terrible past.

One day she just wasn't acting the same. Her eyes were red, she barely drank any water. And snot was running out of her nose. One eye was glued shut. We rushed her to the vet and they said she had come down with a terrible fatal disease. The vet said there was an 80% chance she was going to die. We took her home. We would sit by her. But could tell she was too far gone. Nova wasn't going to make it.

At 3:00 in the morning the wondrous little survivor, joined the heavens. We buried her as soon as the sun was up. In a large fenced in horse pasture, so no coyote would ever dig her up. The horses in that pasture watched us. They hung their heads and seemed very sad. Even after we were done they stood over her grave.

RIP Nova I really do wish you could had a better chance.
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Bless you for taking in nova and showing her love. She passed on knowing kindness and caring. So sorry for you loss. Rest in peace Nova.
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