Equine Updates!

Riddler (left) and Storm have now reached their optimal weight and are happy, healthy and extremely well-loved.

It's been a little more than two months since we adopted Riddler and Storm, two beautiful, senior male horses who were starved for a little TLC. Underweight and ready for some extra attention, the Arabian and Tennessee Walking Horse were welcomed to the Better Farm family and subsequently spoiled absolutely rotten.

Here's the update.

Here they are on the day they came to Better Farm, all bundled up in their winter duds (thank you, Mary and Adrian for hooking us up with all the right gear!):

First things first: we had to get a whole lot of food into those skinny bellies. So on we piled the hay, several cups of senior horse grain every day, and treats like apples (thank you Big M!), carrots, and even homemade biscuits from some very special friends.

Here's Riddler digging all the fresh chow:

As the horses packed on the pounds, we reached out to some specialists in the area to give these big babies a once-over. First up was our farrier Mindy, who gave Riddler -- and especially Storm! -- some much-needed hoof trims.

From there, it was all about some nice long walks, riding, and continuing our serious bonding sessions with these guys.

And just when it seemed like things couldn't get any sweeter, we got this ridiculously loving, generous gift of TONS of hay bales from our neighbors Jamie and Robyn:

There's more where that came from! Love you Jamie and Robyn!

Today, we were visited by Big Red's Equine Dentistry for a long-overdue teeth-cleaning appointment. Riddler and Storm weren't wild about this turn of events, but afterward were super loving and nuzzly because they felt SO. MUCH. BETTER. They both had overgrown back teeth that were digging into the gums above and below. So now they can eat all the grass, hay and grain they like totally pain-free. Here's Riddler getting all the attention during what was no doubt his least favorite part of today:

...and here's Storm, getting his smile perfected:

Oh -- and now that these handsome guys are all filled out weight-wise, we got to expand their run to cover the whole field across from Better Farm's main house. Want to see what joy looks like?

Better Farm provides sanctuary to animals who have suffered mistreatment, neglect, or are in dire need of a happy, healthy retirement. To sponsor one of our horses or other animals, please click here.