URGENT: Helping Cocoa - He arrived at our Rescue 10/7/21 - Cruelty Case.
One of our staff members spotted this starved, emaciated & neglected horse and quickly alerted our director. As you can see, he has received no care and his hooves are severely overgrown as well. His name is Cocoa, but we plan to name him Lucky, in the hopes that his luck has changed by coming to the Ranch. He is 8 years old and is in need of major dental work (his teeth are so over grown with abscesses) and he will need a lot of care in the way of farrier work, dental work & quality feed. It will take at least $8000 to help him recover and be rehabilitated. We are putting him on a very regimented feeding schedule to help him recover, small portions of feed every four hours. Our veterinarian is continuing assessment and we hope we can get this sweet boy rehabilitated with time, care & love.
"We see so many horrific situations for horses in need. These horses are at the mercy of the humans that are suppose to provide humane care to their horses. Cocoa was located on a traveled road, and we are wondering why no one contacted us or the authorities about this cruelty case. Luckily one of our staff members happened to be taking this particular road yesterday, saw Cocoa and immediately let me know. We were then able to secure his surrender from the owner & get him to our Rescue to see what we can do to give him a second chance," commented Kathy Hamm, Director of End of the Trail Rescue. "We are here to help owners provide feed & care to their horses if they are unable to take care of them. We just need owners to reach out to us for help so we can prevent the suffering of so many horses. Cocoa is now safe with us and will get the best of care to help him recover and have a happy horse life. If anyone can help us with funding for his rehabilitation we would be so grateful."
We could sure use your help with this sweet horse, if you are able, please make a donation today! When you follow the link to donate, please apply your gift to 'Cocoa Needs Our Help' and your donation will go into his account. Thank you!!
Cocoa is a fighter! He is holding his own and his strong spirit is what has kept him alive. His blood work came back surprisingly good, considering the very poor shape his is in.
"Health wise he hasn’t been destroyed inside with the severe starvation, but with any starvation case it can be touch and go," commented Director Kathy Hamm. "All we can do now is to slowly feed Cocoa until he is strong enough to get his teeth and feet done. We are working closely with our veterinarians and he is continuously being monitored."
If you are able, and love animals of all shapes & sizes, please consider a donation to help with Cocoa's rehabilitation. We can make up for the horrible treatment he has received in his short 8 years of life - let's help give him a second chance!
We SO appreciate all of you that have donated to help Cocoa -
Thank you!!
URGENT: Helping Cocoa - Cruelty Case - UPDATE 10/25/21
Cocoa is a fighter and continues to hold his own & is slowly gaining weight each week. He is on a very regimented feeding schedule to ensure weight gain and not overload his system. This boy has such a strong spirit and such a will to live - he arrived just in time for us to give him a second chance at life. He is slowly putting on weight in the 18 days that he has been at the Ranch. We had to give him a larger blanket this week, as he gained a touch of weight. He wears his horse blanket through the night to help keep him warm with our cooler temperatures.
"We have had so many of you visit, call and send us messages regarding Cocoa and we appreciate all of your good thoughts," commented Director Kathy Hamm. "It keeps us going when we are working with cruelty cases such as this. All of us here at the Ranch want to Thank everyone for the emotional & financial support we have received."
"We have the Colorado Humane Society coming over this week to investigate the cruelty to Cocoa," continued Director Kathy Hamm. "We really are hopeful that things will change on the western slope where animal welfare seems to be very low on the list for the authorities in this area. We are hoping that Cocoa's case could be the catalyst to help improve animal well being & welfare here on the western slope. We really are hopeful that we can prevent the suffering of animals."
It will continue to take a lot of care, love & financial support to get this boy rehabilitated. It will be at least $8000 to get Cocoa up to par with veterinary, farrier, dental and feed expenses. We are asking for your support to help get Mr. Cocoa rehabilitated - your generous donations will help us take care of his expenses. We have to get more weight on him before we can get his dental & farrier work done, as we cannot put a strain on his weakened system until he is healthier.
We can make up for the horrible treatment he has received during his short life - let's help give Cocoa a second chance! No donation it too small - we appreciate any amount you are able to gift Cocoa.
When making your DONATION through Network for Good, please apply your gift to 'Cocoa Needs Our Help!' and your donation will go into his account.
Cocoa eats while staff member Lori spends some time with him.
URGENT: Helping Cocoa - Cruelty Case - UPDATE 11/11/21
We continue to be amazed with Cocoa and his recovery. Cocoa is officially dubbed ‘Lucky’ as he has continued to recover & gain weight over the past weeks. Lucky arrived here at the Ranch on Oct 7 and has now been with us for 37 days and on Wednesday, Nov 11, Lucky was healthy enough to have his first dental & farrier work. He was a trooper and did a great job as Dr. Marron and her team from Alpine Animal Hospital in Carbondale assessed and got to work trying to get Lucky’s mouth more comfortable. He has ‘parrot mouth’, an overbite condition as well as teeth so overgrown that they dig into the gums and cause severe inflammation and pain. Lucky was sedated and Dr. Marron was able to file many sharp points off of his overgrown teeth that were protruding into his gums. He will continue to be on antibiotics for the infections in his mouth caused by the overgrown teeth injuring and inflaming his gums.
“Lucky will be taken over to Carbondale after the first of the year for Dr. Marron & her team to do more intense dental work to help alleviate his severe mouth issues,” commented Director Kathy Hamm. “We really could use financial help with his expensive upcoming dental work. Lucky will also be gelded during his stay in Carbondale, his testicles dropped after he started putting on weight and we now know he is a stallion. So we will have that expense as well, with his 2-3 day stay over at Alpine Animal Hospital with Dr. Marron.”
“Lucky really has a strong will to live and has come so far over the past month. He is still on a very regimented diet to help him continue to gain weight and continue his rehabilitation,” continued Kathy Hamm. “We are all so invested in his recovery and some days we all get emotional. Delta County is pursuing the cruelty case for Lucky. Animal welfare & cruelty cases here on the western slope of Colorado are just not a priority, but we are continuing to try and get things changed, even though it is an uphill battle. We truly want to prevent the needless suffering of horses and animals in general.”
Lucky also had his first farrier appointment with Katrina at KT Farrier Services after his dental work. He was such a good boy and Katrina was able to get his overgrown feet trimmed up to help him move more comfortably. “We could also use help with donations for Lucky’s farrier work,” commented Kathy Hamm. “We really appreciate all of you that have made donations to Lucky’s rehabilitation and we have had so much emotional support from everyone. It really keeps us going. We thank you all.”
URGENT: Helping Lucky/Cocoa - Cruelty Case - UPDATE 12/10/21
Lucky/Cocoa is doing really well - his weight gain with his soaked food diet is making a big difference for this stallion. He will be traveling to Carbondale on Dec 15th for more extensive dental work and assessment. His jaw will only open a fraction of what normal horse jaw movement would be. Dr. Marron, his dental veterinarian, wonders if his locked jaw is the result of an injury and and auto-immune disease that prevents him from working his jaw normally. When he travels to Dr. Marron's clinic in Carbondale next week, she will do extensive 'scoping' of his jaw as well as a muscle biopsy to confirm or rule out an auto-immune problem. She will also do more dental work on his back teeth to try and alleviate more of his mouth problems.
"Lucky/Cocoa will be treated with steroids & Vitamin E if he does have an auto-immune disease," commented Director Kathy Hamm. "We are hoping his jaw problem can be treated and healed so he can have normal jaw movement. If it cannot be healed, he will need to be on a special diet for the rest of his life, eating soaked feed. He will also be gelded when he is with Dr. Marron. He is starting to feel so much better and showing some 'stallion' behaviors. He is very interested in the other horses when they are out on pasture and calls to them. So we are pleased with his progress and we continue to follow his care plan to get him rehabilitated. We plan to incorporate Lucky/Cocoa into our Equine Assisted Mental Health programs once his is rehabilitated and healed."
“We could really use help from our supporters with this big Veterinarian bill we will get after Lucky's appointment in Carbondale. He will be there for several days for dental work, assessment & to be gelded. Please help us if you are able," continued Kathy. "We really appreciate all of you that have made donations to Lucky’s rehabilitation and we have had so much emotional support from everyone. It really keeps us going. We really appreciate all the phone calls & messages inquiring about Lucky, and several of you have made appointments to come out and meet our Lucky. We thank you all.”
It will continue to take a lot of care, love & financial support to get this boy rehabilitated. It will be at least $8000 to get Cocoa up to par with veterinary, farrier, dental and feed expenses. We are asking for your support to help get Mr. Lucky/Cocoa rehabilitated - your generous donations will help us take care of his expenses.
We can make up for the horrible treatment he received during his short life - let's help give Lucky/Cocoa a second chance! No donation it too small - we appreciate any amount you are able to gift Lucky/Cocoa.
Lucky had a busy holiday week with a trip over to Carbondale for more dental work and assessment. His back teeth are looking much better and there are no longer infections. He was a very good boy during the trip and for his exams and dental work!
Lucky/Cocoa cannot open his mouth and it is a continuing mystery to us and our dental vet Dr Marron. He was scoped and another full dental exam was completed and no problems were found in the muscles of the jaw - but he is unable to open his mouth much at all. He is now Vitamin E & a steroid to address any auto immune problems he may have.
"The next step is to have a CAT scan done on his head & jaw area to see if there was some sort of trauma and broken bones that fused creating the problems," commented Director Kathy Hamm. "He is a happy & healthy, he just can't open his mouth fully. We are all stumped and hope the Vitamin E & steroid can help loosen up the jaw areas."
Lucky will also be receiving massage to help try and loosen up the muscles in his jaw. "He loves to be brushed and massaged in his head area and he falls asleep while the massage is going on," continued Kathy.
Lucky's personality is really starting to come out more and more. Every morning when Kathy turns on her kitchen light around 5am, he starts to whinny, jump, run and call for her to come out and feed him. "He is just like a little kid and gets so excited when he sees that light come on in the morning", continued Kathy. Lucky's pen is in front of Kathy's home so that she can keep an eye on him.
We SO appreciate all of your donations, calls and visits to check on Lucky. He really is such a wonderful horse and all of you have helped us give him a second chance.
As of today - your donations total $4475.00 out of goal of $8000.00. We are so grateful for all of your support!
We ask that you continue to help support our rehabilitation of Lucky/Cocoa - When you follow the link to donate, please apply your gift to 'Cocoa Needs Our Help' and your donation will go into his account. Thank you!!
Lucky/Cocoa is getting massage every week to help with his jaw problem and body healing. He is doing great and his jaw movement is improving every week with the supplements and massage. Good boy Lucky!!
Please watch the video to see Lucky's improved jaw movement!
It is official! Mr. Lucky/Cocoa was 'gelded' this week by one of our local veterinarians. He is becoming so healthy & feeling really good - his 'stallion' strutting for the ladies was really coming out and it was time.
Lucky was gelded here at the Ranch and he is doing really well. He was sedated and given pain meds for the procedure and we will keep him comfortable as he heals. Good boy Lucky! ❤
UPDATE 2/26/2022
Lucky is doing great! His jaw movement is continuing to improve and he is now able to eat hay along with his special diet of grains. The inflammation in his jaw continues to loosen up and he will have additional injections in that area during his next dental appointment. He is a happy, healthy boy and loves to interact with horses next to his pen - Good boy Lucky!!
"Lucky is getting his jaws injected to see if that will help him open his mouth even more," commented Director Kathy Hamm. "Everyone involved is now feeling there has been some kind of damage that was done to his jaw areas. He now has burn looking marks appearing on his back all the way to his jaw area, some sort of scarring. These injuries were never addressed before he arrived and we are seeing them appear as he is getting healthy."
Lucky has gained so much weight!
UPDATE - 8/5/22
Mr. Lucky has one of his first Chiropractic sessions! Many of you will remember Lucky/Cocoa when he came in last year near death from a severe cruelty case. He continues to amaze us with his spirit. ❤️ Good boy Lucky! ❤️
