In February of 2016, Celine Myers of the Ark Watch Foundation was notified about a Hackney pony stallion down in a Texas kill pen by a hauler she used occasionally. There were a lot of terrified donkeys running around in the same pen and the hauler feared that the pony, unable to rise, might be severely injured.
The hauler was so worried about the pony that she offered to postpone her hauling job and take the little pony to a nearby vet clinic if Ark Watch would take him. Knowing time was of the essence in a situation like this, Celine told the hauler to go ahead and load him in her trailer and take him to a nearby vet clinic.
Celine decided to call the pony Findley, thinking it was a proper English sounding named for a Hackney. Once Findley was transported to the vet clinic, he was promptly examined. Findley’s CBC and Chem panel tests showed the results one would expect to see from an underweight kill pen equine. He was very anemic and most of his electrolytes were out of balance. A scan of Findley’s lungs revealed he had pneumonia with comma tails in both lung chambers. His respiratory illness turned out to be difficult to resolve. Even though Findley was treated with multiple antibiotics, his condition worsened and abscesses began to develop in one lung. Findley would spend the next eight weeks on medications and supplements while he recovered from months of prior abuse and neglect and a trip through a kill pen.
When he was well enough to travel, Findley was moved to Reata Equine Hospital where he could receive more specialized care. There Findley’s condition markedly improved. All of his blood and electrolyte values returned to a normal range, with the exception of a low HCT level, still indicating anemia. Anemia in malnourished equines always takes many months to resolve. Once healthy enough, Findley was gelded at Reata and was much happier once he wasn’t constantly obsessed with who or what he was going to breed!
Because Findley is such a small pony, he is really only suitable to carry a child or pull a cart. However, it became clear that Findley had not received any handling prior to his rescue and, having been a stallion until the age of 4 years, Celine was concerned that even with significant training, Findley might be ill-suited to becoming a child’s riding horse. Celine appealed to Red Bell Run to let Findley fill an open spot created when she reshuffled a list of Ark Watch Foundation owned equines already headed to the Sanctuary. Findley settled in well, first in the Florida facility and now at North Carolina with his friends, Dauceny, LeRoi and KitKat where they live at the Trailside barn. Findley now has manners and is a very proud little Peacock, often seen showing off his spectacular Hackney trot!
