Let’s Deck the Stalls with Boughs of Plenty for 2018
4 Days Left, Aziza, Nailah and Layla!
Today’s story is about four Arabian horses that came to AAE in early 2015. It was back in fall of 2014 that AAE got a call from Janis Jones about several horses left on a ranch after the passing of their owner. It turns out, there were four beautiful bay mares and a gorgeous black stallion. These were the last of the horses at Coffey Arabians. Janis Jones, the former Mrs. Michael Coffey, assisted AAE in this rescue and ended up adopting the black stallion (now a gelding). Per Dr. Jones, “The Coffeys were known as one of the finest breeders of Egyptian Arabians in the United States, and these mares are most probably of the Shiko Ibn Sheikh line, a line known for beauty and performance”.
Mr. Coffey passed without a will or trust, and the horses were caught up in probate. An administrator was appointed to oversee the estate, but there was no information about the horses. No records of care or feeding practices, no veterinary history, no pedigrees, nothing. No one knew who the horses were, how old they were, whether they had any health conditions or special needs. However, it appeared they had lived on the ranch’s 80 acres of lush green pastures without much care.
Their hooves were long, and it appeared one had been dealing with chronic laminitis/founder for some time. Fortunately, the administrator was a compassionate animal person and sought veterinary and farrier care. Unfortunately, there were probate issues that limited her ability to provide for the horses via estate funding, so personal funds were used. Further, being from well known breeding stock, there was belief that the horses had substantial value to the estate. Reality was that without any specific information about the horses, they had little value to the estate, and the cost of care would exceed the value of the horses. Ultimately, the horses were released from the estate about six months or so after the death, and AAE was finally able to pick them up.
Upon visiting the ranch, two of the horses were friendly and social, while the other two were feral. Once at AAE, the mares were named Skye, Layla, Nailah, and Aziza. Skye and Layla were the friendly two. It appeared Nailah and Aziza had not been handled, but it quickly became apparent they were familiar with humans and halters, and at the same time, terrified. Nailah and Skye spent several weeks at the Monty Roberts International Learning Center (MRILC) where they regained their confidence with humans while participating as project horses during MRILC courses. They were socialized, learned basic groundwork and long-lining, and they were started under saddle (light work with no riders).
Skye was adopted not long after the journey back to AAE. After returning to AAE, Nailah became a very sweet, social mare, and she learned to really enjoy grooming and attention.
Layla was very social and interactive from the start. It didn’t take long for her to settle in at AAE and enjoy all the attention she got from volunteers.
Aziza was another story. When we brought her back to AAE, her hooves were in really poor condition, and we weren’t sure we could help her. After spending some time with her the first evening, she shook like a leaf on a tree, and her eyes were wrinkled with fear. It wasn’t until the first touch we both sighed with relief. That was the moment we promised her we would never give up on her. It was a big commitment. She could barely be haltered, let alone handle her hooves. The journey had just begun. We had the vet out, and sedation became our friend. We took radiographs of her hooves before trimming and shoeing. Poor girl, the rotation of her coffin bone was substantial.
That being said, she managed unbelievably well. One visit, led to two, then more, and we were making progress. Slowly she began to trust. Aziza was willing. Though scared, she slowly let us handle her hooves, then the farrier and vet. Before too long, her hooves looked like hooves again. Unfortunately, she got Pigeon Fever and developed a huge chest abscess, and shortly thereafter, she battled another round of laminitis. We nearly started over. Fortunately, she rebounded and did really well.
The journey was long, but these girls were ready for adoption. However, turns out they were older mares, and they were so bonded. After all, they’d run together on their 80 acres all of their life. It didn’t take long to realize these three needed to stay together. When introduced to the herd at AAE, they kept their distance from the other horses. They had a place on the hill where none of the others would go. That was their hill, their place,they weren’t bothered. Months passed, then a year, then two, and they never integrated with the herd. With each month and year, the need to keep them together grew.
FINALLY, one recent day, our prayers were answered! Our three girls found their forever together home, and we couldn’t be more grateful to the incredibly kind and caring family that opened the doors to make this possible.
Layla, Aziza, and Nailah, you touched us all, and we’ll miss you every day, but we’re so happy you finally found forever together!
Many of the calls we get at AAE are from family members or friends of horse owners who have passed, or become incapacitated. They have passed without any instruction of funding to provide care for their horse(s). The family or friends usually have no experience caring for horses, no space for the horse, and/or no resources to provide housing or proper care. If you own a horse(s), please consider what would happen if tomorrow didn’t come. Who would care for your horse? Where would it go? Who would pay it’s board or buy it’s food? Who will make sure he/she doesn’t end up in a free ad on Craigslist only to be picked up by a dreaded kill buyer whose only concern is how much meat is on its bones. Please, find the courage and the resources to talk about the “what if’s” of death. Find the time and resources to plan for your horse(s). Find an attorney, draft a will or trust, do whatever it takes to make sure your animals are safe in the event of death.
If you are enjoying our stories and
would like to help more horses get the help they need,
4 days to 2018, YOUR donation means more horses can be helped!
Join AAE as we Deck the Stalls with Boughs of Plenty. As the year comes to an end, we are sharing stories straight from the barn to show how your support has helped horses in 2017. This year was very special, and there are so many stories to be thankful for!
As we count down to 2018, please help us as we prepare for another year of helping horses. Your donations will assure we have ample funding for unexpected veterinary needs as we move into our next year.
We want to thank everyone for their love and support!
We hope you enjoy these stories as much as we do!
Have a great holiday season!
Save The Date!!
Our 5th Annual Boots and Bling Event is on May 5, 2018.
Tickets are available now, get them while they last! Buy Tickets Here
Event sponsorship options are available or you can donate items for the event’s silent and live auctions?
For more information contact dani@allaboutequine.org
Daily Horse Care, especially pm shifts
Used Tack Store Support, all areas
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Foster Homes, Long-Term Foster/Sanctuary Homes
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Board Members
Fundraising/Events
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Media and/or Photo Librarian
Thanks to YOUR input in 2017, AAE is once again a Top-Rate nonprofit!
If you love our work, then tell the world! Stories about us from people like you will help us make an even bigger impact in our community in the future.
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Won’t you help us raise visibility for our work by posting a brief story of your experience with us? All content will be visible to potential donors and volunteers.
Did you know YOU could earn grant money for AAE from your employer just by volunteering?
Many Employers offer money when their employees volunteer. Here are a few examples:
Intel provides a $10 grant to a nonprofit per every volunteer hour by an employee, and matches funds dollar for dollar up to $5,000 per employee or retiree.
Microsoft provides a $17 grant to a nonprofit per every hour volunteered by an employee.
Apple provides a $25 grant to a nonprofit per every volunteer hour by an employee, and matches funds dollar for dollar up to $10,000 per employee.
Verizon provides a $750 grant to a nonprofit when an employee volunteers for 50+ hours.
State Farm provides a $500 grant nonprofit when an employee volunteers for+ 40 hours.
Others top 20 matching gift and/or volunteer grant companies include
Starbucks
CarMax
Home Depot
JP Morgan
Chevron
Soros Fund Management
BP (British Petroleum)
Gap Corporation
State Street Corporation
ExxonMobil
Johnson & Johnson
Boeing
Disney
Google
Merck
Aetna
Dell
Outerwall (CoinStar and RedBox)
ConocoPhillips
RealNetworks
Time Warner and subsidiaries
AllState
and more
Check with your employer. You could help purchase our next load of hay!
Daily Horse Care, especially pm shifts
