Life on the Farm
Fletcher Farms Amarillo rescued 6 Belgian Draft Horses from a livestock yard just days before they were scheduled to be shipped to slaughter. WE wanted to give these beautiful horse the best retirement life they could have on our farm.
These are before pictures from the livestock yard and pictures of how they are doing now after being rescued in February 2022.
Camille or Cami
15 year old mare standing 16.2 hands tall.
Upon initial consultation from a veterinarian we had visit the livestock yard before we could get the horses to our farm, it was recommended that Cami be put down because she had arthritis in her front left pastern bone causing her to have difficulties and pain while walking.
We were not going to give up on Cami and found her a treatment when she arrived in Amarillo to help with the pain she was having in her leg. She now goes every 6 months for a steroid injection in the joint she was having issues with.
This is Cami NOW....
Sophie
14 year old mare standing 17.1 hands tall.
Sophie is all around a healthy horse. A few months after arriving to the farm she was limping on her back left leg. She was diagnosed with arthritis and takes medications to help with the pain. Sophie is enjoying retirement and likes to strut her stuff as our runway super model!
This is Sophie NOW...
Charlie
17 year old gelding standing 17.1 hands tall.
Oh, Charlie aka Charlie Waffles! Where to start with you...
All the horses were extremly underweight when they arrived at the farm. We were getting them on a veterinarian recommended diet of sweet feed and alfalfa to gain weight.
Charlie would eat really fast and try to take the other horses feed. With him eating so fast, Charlie choked.
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Esophageal obstruction, or “choke,” is a common equine emergency. Unlike in human medicine, where choking refers to a tracheal (or windpipe) obstruction, choke in horses refers to an obstruction of the esophagus, the muscular tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. Chokes occur when horses eats feed too quickly without chewing it appropriately. The feed does not get softened with saliva that gets lodged in the esophagus.
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We rushed Charlie to the veterinarian, they cleared the choke and he had a full recovery in a few weeks. He was on a diet of mashed alfalfa pellets and was not allowed to have hay. The vet recommended that we have his teeth "floated" which is the removal of sharp points from the cheek side of the horses' upper teeth and from the tongue side of the lower teeth. We had the procedure done and found out Charlie's teeth were hollowed out leaving him without a grinding surface to chew properly.
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Over the course of the next few months Charlie continued having choking issues. After his third choke we had a scope procedure performed and found out Charlie also has an abnormal esophagus. He has pockets in his esophagus that do not close properly causing hay to get lodged in these areas and another reason he was choking.
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With Charlie's bad teeth and abnormal esophagus, he can no longer have hay. He consumes an all mashed alfalfa pellet diet. We came up with a solution for him to be able to be in the pasture with the other horses by getting him a grazing muzzle.
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This is Charlie NOW...
Miley
18 year old mare standing 16.1 hands tall.
Miley is in good overall heath. When the dentist was here floating her teeth she found that Miley has two extra molars in the back of her mouth. This is definitely uncommon in horses but the extra teeth don't seem to bother her and the dentist filed them down enough so she wouldn't have a problem chewing. Miley is the sweetest girl but hates the farrier and will not let anyone mess with her feet!
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This is Miley NOW...
Aline
19 years old standing 17.3 hands tall.
Aline is the alpha mare and she makes it known by keeping everyone in line the way she wants. She is our biggest horse at 17.3 hands tall. She was very underweight when she arrived was in good health overall. We got her on a proper diet and up to an appropriate, healthy weight for a horse her size. Aline is absolutely stunning!
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This is Aline NOW...
Grandpa
22 years old standing 17.1 hands tall.
Grandpa was is the roughest shape of all the horses we rescued. He was blind, underweight and had an old injury on his back left leg that was never treated or cared for. A few weeks after we got all the horses to the farm in February 2022, Grandpa coliced.
Colic is a painful problem in a horse’s abdomen. Because colic is often unpredictable and unpreventable, it’s a common concern for horse owners. With the condition Grandpa was in, our veterinarian did not expect him to survive a colic surgery and he was not responding to treatment. After a day of treatment with no improvement, Grandpa would not stand up and was in a lot of pain.
With the devastating news that Grandpa was not improving, Cory and I made the difficult decision to say goodbye. WE both stayed by his side to the end and made sure he knew he was loved. With only a few short weeks together, we gave Grandpa all the love we could give and showed him what kindness really was.
You touched our hearts in a way we will never forget and you will be missed everyday until we meet again.
Run free sweet boy, you will never be forgotten!
Love you, miss you!
Freya
In March 2022, I was scrolling through Facebook and came across this beautiful girl who was at a kill pen in Sneedville, Tennessee. She was schedule to ship to slaughter in the next few days. We didn't want that to happen! I called to see if she was still available and she was. Cory took a 3 day trip by himself to pick her up since I had to stay at the farm to take care of the other animals.
Freya officially became the 7th Belgian Draft Horse to join our farm.
These are a few pictures from when she arrived at the farm after her long travels...
Freya, like the other horses we rescued, she was underweight. We knew what we needed to do to get her on the road to recovery. After a vet check, dental and farrier visit Freya was on her way to enjoying the retirement she deserved. She is the sweetest girl who loves attention and being brushed. Overall she is healthy but durning her dental exam we found out she doesn't have any front teeth. We don't know the conditions she was previously in or how she was treated that lead to her not having front teeth.
Freya is safe now and she will only know love and kindness from here forward!
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This is Freya NOW...
Anna
Anna is our newest rescued draft horse. We saved her in August 20, 2022 from a kill pen in Kemp, Texas after being starved and neglected by her previous owners. Anna is by far in the worst shape out of all the horses we rescued. These were the pictures of Anna when I found her on Facebook...
Anna looked defeated and sad. We knew with the condition she was in and needing a retirement home, most families looking to rescue a horse would overlook her because she wasn't able to work anymore. We knew she needed our help to not end up at he slaughter house. I messaged the Facebook page and she was still available. I sent them her bail money that next morning! She was officially safe!
Cory again went to pick her up by himself and I stayed at the farm to take care of the other horses. However, this was a much shorter drive. When Cory arrived at Last Chance Direct Ship Horses, we got the first look at Anna and the actual condition she was in.
The video is when Cory arrived with her here at the farm...
Anna has now been here for a few months and is doing really well. After a vet check we got her on the road to recovery with a diet that was fit for her needs. When feeding starved horse you must re-feed them slowly or you could cause them other medical conditions such as colic or laminitis. Anna was very weak in her back legs from not having any muscle from the conditions she was in before. She gains strength everyday, eats like a champ and shows her personality a little more everyday...
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This is Anna now...
Anna still has a long road to being the proper weight, however she is on the right track to being a healthy horse. All of these horses will never endure suffering like they had in the past and from here forward will only know love and kindness on our farm.
Happy retirement everyone! You all deserve the best life and we are glad we can give you a safe retirement!
Follow and keep up to date with Anna's story along with all the other horses on our
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at
Fletcher Farms Amarillo
Jack the Donkey
The week we closed on the farm we got horrible weather with freezing temperatures. We wanted Jack to be here and settled in before his "pasture pals" and the horses arrived so we moved Jack in the middle of a snow storm.
Jack is doing well and his personality comes out more and more everyday. He is super sweet, loves carrots and having his back scratched.
This is Jack NOW...
Jack was the animal that sparked Fletcher Farms Amarillo into everything it is today and the reason we have rescued all the animals we have here on the farm. After our offer on the property was accepted, I was on Craigslist looking at farm equipment with Cory and we ran across a posting for a donkey that was looking for a new home by no fault of his own.
The next day I contacted the owner and went to visit Jack. He was the sweetest boy but it was going to take some time to earn his trust. He was very shy and only trusted one person who was his owner.
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Since we weren't closing on the house till February, we needed to find Jack a temperary pasture until we could close on the farm. Amazing friends of ours offered to let him stay at their farm for the month.
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The following week after initially meeting Jack we picked him up and got him settled into his foster home.
Ellie and Mable
Knowing that Jack needed a pasture pal, a friend told me to look at Bowie Texas Livestock because they usually had donkeys posted on their site. I started scrolling their sight and low and behold they had a Jenny donkey with her one week old baby. The pair was schedule to be shipped to slaughter on my dad's birthday so I took that as a sign that they needed to be the second and third additions to the farm. I reached out to the livestock yard, paid their bail and Ellie and Mable were officially safe!
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Closing on the property wasn't for a month. We made arrangements with the livestock yard for the pair to be boarded on the property till closing. They spent the month on the owners private property. Cory and I were excited to meet the new mom and baby so we drove out for a visit one weekend.
While visiting the new mom and baby donkey at the livestock yard is when we found the original Six Belgian Draft horses. Because we changed the life of a donkey through adoption, we saved ten additional animals.
Ellie and Mable are doing great! Ellie still keeps her distance from people but baby Mable is amazing! She is super cute, full of personality and loves to be right by you. She loves to play and her best friends is Jack.
Ellie on the other hand...tolerates Jack but likes to boss him around.
These are some pictures of Ellie and Mable NOW....living their best life!
Madison
On January 23, 2023 Cory and I received a HUGE surprise! Ellie the donkey, who was rescued from slaughter had a baby!Cory and I didn't know that after a donkey is castrated a male donkey can hold sperm for an additional 4 months after the procedure. We integrated Jack with Ellie about 2 months after his procedure. We had a suspicion that Ellie might be pregnant because she was a lot fatter than Jack and they both eat the same diet. So... it was much to our surprise when we saw the baby.
This is Baby Madison
