| Elmer |
|
Elmer was "found" at a sale in Kansas, lonely, looking forlorn, looking like he had given up. The look in his eyes
just said "Nobody wants me". Everyone said he was ugly. Couldn't believe he was still a stallion. How could
someone ever love this animal, some would say. Well Shirley can and will!!
Have you ever felt unloved? Ugly? That's how Elmer feels. He is one of those horses that nobody looks at,
nobody wants. He is entirely put together wrong. This guy is one of the worst results of unfortunate breeding
and bad circumstances this rescue has ever have seen. But it is his "ugliness" (said lightly) that has saved his
life!! Due to a bunch of wonderful people on HorseCity and on The Horse Haven (ezboards), Elmer is coming to Ozland
Horse Rescue!!!
Absolutely nothing is known about his past, nothing is known about his training, nothing is known about how he has been
treated, nothing is known about his current health issues, but what IS known is his future. His future is going to be
filled with love, food, water, shelter, treats, comfort. He may not know it yet, but he is coming to heaven. It
does not matter what may be wrong with him, Shirley will take him, no matter what!
| Drawing by Inky of HorseCity |
|
12/11/05
I got all tickled when he reached out and touched my hand with his nose as I was feeding him this morning! So I had to
make the rest of the herd wait while I tried to coax him into doing it again, hehe. He ate his lunch while I held the bucket
and rubbed him between the eyes. Getting there!
12/12/05
Daily update: Elmer let me scratch his neck and jaw today, poor itchy guy! He seems to prefer that I stay on the blind
side for some reason. (If you can't see it, it can't hurt you?) He's eating hugely now too, but won't eat carrots! Beet pulp,
grain and a little chopped alfalfa, all mixed together with supplements, and bermuda hay.
12/13/05
Elmer has been a really busy guy today, appointments with the doc and with his podiatrist. He's been clipped all around.
Much easier than I thought it would be, I actually got him loaded and unloaded pretty easy. I even put a halter on him and
held him while doc did the needlework for his nap. When Doc got done with his part, my farrier made his feet look pretty decent
and we treated a small infected sore on the side of his face. Got a look at his teeth, what's left of them. He IS over 20
and most of his upper front teeth are just nubs. He couldn't survive in a pasture, nothing left to bite the grass off. And,
after all that, I LED him off the trailer and back into his freshly cleaned room! I already love this guy! He even whinnies
to me at feeding time now. And tonight I made him let me lead him to his feed bucket before I let him have it. He's gonna
be just fine!
Vet says there's nothing wrong with the good eye. Can't see any spot or any cloudiness at all in it now. He has
never once offered to kick, and I HAVE pushed him a bit. the only thought in his head seems to be "away"! There really is
NO fight in him!
| This will give you some idea of how small he is. |
|
| That's a 5 foot fence behind him. |
ODE
TO ELMER
In '85 was born a lil
colt with no name
Little did he know he'd go on to fame
With that little unproportioned body
A back long enough
to run up & down a hot roddy
And, oh my gosh and that big head
Looks like that's all that got fed
In
and out of peoples lives
With no hope of ever having good vibes
Until one day a kind hearted Robyn
Took him home
with unconditional lovin'
She is willing to let him go to Ozland
With the help of his HC buddy band
Now Elmer
is his name
And, he's goin' on to fame!
Author: Sassy Saint of Horsecity (who is trailered Elmer
to Ozland)
| Here you can see his blind eye, and if you look |
|
| close, you can see an old halter scar on the edge of his cheek bone. |
12/16/05
Elmer is coming along great! I'm feeling really strange here. We all know that when Elmer came in here, one eye
was all cloudy blue, and there was a spot on the other eye. A few days later, when I had him to the vet's, the spot on the
"good" eye was gone. OK, not a big deal, it happens. This afternoon while I was playing with him, he flinched when my hand
went past the blind eye. I KNOW it was blind, I checked really well. So I really looked at it, and moved my hand around over
it, most of the cloudiness was gone, there's an obvious spot right in the middle, but he is SEEING the movement of my hand
there! I have done NOTHING with this eye, figured it was beyond help. And I have never seen an eye that far gone reverse itself!
He WAS blind in that eye, wasn't he?
Got my first hug in on him today too, he didn't even flinch!
12/18/05
He's still nervous about being touched, but is actually holding still for it on his own now. He looks like he's going
to gain weight pretty fast, already looking better. His manure is no longer hard and dry, but looking normal, and there is
a LOT of it, so he keeps me busy there too! He's making buddies through the gate with some of the other horses, and that seems
to calm him some. I can get a daily hug now, if I move slow. His eye still has a spot in it, but he really can see out of
it now. He is leading without fussing today, so he got a good walk. Swelling is still minimal, and going down, and the waterworks
is working real good, from the looks of his bedding every morning!
12/27/05
Progress report: Today we worked on taking the halter off and putting it back on without playing chase me. Took some
patience, but he finally accepted the idea, pretty much. Not too bad for an extremely headshy boy. Then he got his first full
body massage, all the way down the legs too! Real touchy and tender over his rump though. And I FINALLY found a treat he appreciates!
Bought a bag of apple flavored alfalfa treats at the feed store today. He is now eating them from hand and licking fingers
for more!
The really neat thing about the halter work; at no time did he offer his butt to either of us! He just kept
backing away from me. When he would get close to Nicole, she just spoke to him, and he would swing his butt away from her
and back around her. I LOVE this guy! Not a mean thought in his head, ever!
12/19/05
Our Elmer must be feeling really spiffy today, healing and gaining weight. He decided to give me a bit of sass during his
daily walkabout. That rope halter backed him up pretty well though, and he thought better of trying it again! He's going to
be a lil barrel on legs pretty soon, and I think it's time to cut the grain back a bit til he can get out and run with the
other guys. Takes a while to get rid of all those extra hormones! I'm real fond of the boy, but don't really NEED another
just like him!
Thursday is worming day here, when I will have some help on hand, and that should help that big belly he's
showing. We will see how much of it really is hay!
12/21/05
WOO! Progress is being made! For the first time, our boy actually walked up to ME and stood for a rub! First time I haven't
had to catch him first. He's not hard to get hold of, but this is MUCH better.
12/22/05
I'm getting whinneys with the feed, scratchies when it's delivered, and he doesn't even flinch now when I rake the 'stuff'
out from under him while he's eating. Not quite trusting yet, but no longer so wary of my movements. Pretty headshy, our boy,
but that will take time. Still looking out of both eyes too! I'm so tickled! I was leaning over the side of Elmer's
stall, watching him eat and talking to him, as I usually do while waiting for the rest of the guys to finish up, and the lil
bugger reached out and stuck his nose in my face, so I kissed it. Twice, hehe! I think he really wants to be a pocket pet
and never had the chance.
12/23/05
He doesn't pin his ears back anymore, and is actually seeming to enjoy being messed with...to a point. Ya just gotta
get out of the way of the food! Bob fed him tonight, and if he had stopped suddenly, Elmer would have had his head stuck where
the sun don't shine! THAT'S getting close! Now we need to work on the headshy thing. And it really seems to surprise him that
he can see out of the damaged eye, he really jumps when you move from one side to the other now. He's tolerating being rubbed
behind the ears now, but just barely.
Backbone is getting a little cover now, and butt is filling in some. I'm going to
hold off on pics for a few more days, see how much difference you see. Oh, and the biotin seems to be helping the skin scurf,
the patches are getting smaller.
12/25/05
Elmer's finally letting Bob rub on him a bit too now! At least as long as he leaves his head alone and goes for the neck
or shoulder. I'm beginning to think those missing front teeth got smacked out, he's really shy with his head!
12/26/05
Progress report: Today we worked on taking the halter off and putting it back on without playing chase me. Took some patience,
but he finally accepted the idea, pretty much. Not too bad for an extremely headshy boy. Then he got his first full body massage,
all the way down the legs too! Real touchy and tender over his rump though. And I FINALLY found a treat he appreciates! Bought
a bag of apple flavored alfalfa treats at the feed store today. He is now eating them from hand and licking fingers for more!
The
really neat thing about the halter work; at no time did he offer his butt to either of us! He just kept backing away from
me. When he would get close to Nicole, she just spoke to him, and he would swing his butt away from her and back around her.
I LOVE this guy! Not a mean thought in his head, ever!
12/29/05
Elmer is chugging groceries like a trouper. He's a bit aggravated with me now, because I make him offer his
face before I feed him. Takes less coaxing each time though. But he still nickers when he sees me (food) coming!
 12/31/05
There he is! Next is him with Dakota. bottom: See how friendly I can get without a leadrope. Took the pic while leaning
on him. Next, you can see how his butt is beginning to fill in. Last, mmmm lunch!
12/31/05
See how much better his feet look. Some room for improvement, but getting there!
12/31/05
This shows our latest problem. The swelling from gelding moved down and left edema on his belly. Vet says if it isn't
improving by Monday or Tuesday, he will have to drain it. Gelding is much harder on the older boys! We are hoping that having
him turned out with company will keep him moving enough to help with the swelling. At least I can follow him around and make
him trot for a bit several times a day.
1/1/06
Swelling seems down just a bit today, got my fingers crossed! We have a new game going in the 1/2 acre lot. Had him out
again this morning for a few hours. I can get him to trot alongside of me with no lead. He will drop back to a walk, and stop,
when I do. We had a good time for about 15 minutes, til he got tired. Ears up, neck arched and tail flagged, the whole time
too! Really cute on that awkward body. Cleaned his room and installed lunch, and he actually let me walk up and catch him
to put him back, WITHOUT the bucket of feed! got a good rub and scratchie on the shoulders too! I think he's starting to LIKE
me! Don't know if he was a halter horse, but someone taught him to park out, found that by accident. Tug his halter
up and out just a bit, and there he goes! And lately, he's getting into this nose kissing thing at feeding time, gotta
love him!
1/4/06
Belly is starting to look normal again, hope it's the end of THAT problem. I really think this lil guy was special
to someone once, he KNOWS what kindness is, and he WANTS to respond to it, but he isn't too sure it can be trusted. He's not
a bit afraid of the manure fork and wheelbarrow, you can clean right underneath him, and he doesn't give it a second thought.
Whips don't bother him, I tried carrying one around, leaned it right next to his tub while putting his feed in, can't even
get a flinch when I pet him with it. I'd give a lot to know his story.
1/5/06
Today's news...edema is all gone, back to his normal pot-bellied self. He got to meet Megan today, one of our volunteers.
She got him to eat treats out of her hand, and he allowed her to rub his shoulder. This was at liberty, no leadrope. I rarely
use one now, just ask him to trust me and do as I ask. He's more relaxed that way and is getting better every day. He even
follows me back into his stall when it's time. We are still playing at liberty in the big lot every day for a bit of exercise,
he's getting real good with whoa now. Even got him to canter for a bit today. I'm having too much fun, he really is a sweetheart!
1/8/06
That doggone lil feller made me cry tonight, and I'm still sniffling every time I think about it. I was getting everything
buttoned down for the night after feeding. Always swing the center gate back for him and fasten it so he can have 2 big pens
at night. got it fastened back, turned around, and THERE HE WAS! Right in my pocket. Came to me all of his own accord, for
the first time, no coaxing or treats. Just stood there looking at me like "dontcha love me?" So sad and sweet looking all
at the same time. Just priceless. So I reached out and stroked his face, then his shoulder, he turned his head to me, and
I rubbed his cheek. First time he didn't move off when I touched him, if he could. I'm just so tickled with this guy!
| Happy Elmer |
|
1/17/06
He's still an ol curmudgeon, but has given in to the fact he doesn't get his grain til I get to play with
his face. He sticks his nose out at me with an exasperated look, saying "just get it over with and FEED me!" He's gaining
weight steadily and rapidly, ribs can barely be seen and he actually has a butt now!
 1/30/06
As for what will Elmer be doing...I'm looking for cart and harness in the
right size, see if he's willing to drag me around a bit.
2/2/06
Elmer's looking a lot healthier, starting to get a shine to him. Just about
up to weight, and the big belly is beginning to shrink up a bit.
2/5/06
Since he's getting snorty on all this good food, we have a new Daily Drill. He has to free longe for me
before he gets his lunch. Not real happy about it, but being pretty co-operative. He's learning the difference between 'walk'
and 'trot' and is starting to get a handle on 'whoa'. Sooo, next pics will show a little less belly. Had himself a good roll
in the mud this afternoon too, and found the 'rubbing tree'! He's still a little itchy on the shoulders, but the dandruff
mess is pretty much gone. I'm waiting for a day that isn't raining or gloomy for new pics of hei daily workout, so you can
see the shine he's getting! Once I get the mud off again anyway!
2/11/06
I had to cut his grain back and increase his exercise! He was getting downright snotty and full of himself.
Better now, and he's pretty fat, so really won't be needing a lot of grain any more. Still plays hard to get, so I haven't
turned him out past the big lot yet. He doesn't like the girls, but gets along fine with the boys, as long as it isn't feeding
time!
| March, 2006 |
|
3/2/06
His butt is now wider than his belly!
4/08/06
HeartFeltFarm and family from Horsecity.com came to meet Elmer today.
I had her trying to hand feed him a treat. He's used to me, but this is the first stranger he's allowed to do so. She got
him to take several, with a little coaxing, as well as pushing Topsannah out of the way! At least he WILL reach out
now, which is a looonng step from what he was when he got here!
I'm in the process of finding him a pony harness (with a horse-sized bridle!).
I just somehow have the feeling he knows how to be driven.
He's been on turnout with 2 mares and another pony gelding for the past
month, and gets along with everyone really well now. At feeding time, I simply open his gate and ask him to go to his 'room',
and he waltzes in like a well-trained feller. He has also been known to come up behind me and nuzzle me, but backs up if I
turn around. Hehe, gettin there!
| Still shy |
|
| Big difference from when he got here! |
|
| Oct. 2006 |
|
| 12/11/2006 |
|
8/27/07
He's slowly been coming around on all the touchy-feely stuff, shoulder and but scritchies, face petting,
etc. Yesterday, for the first time, he stood quietly and let me hug his neck! Here recently, he's even been caught ASKING
for a rub or 2! Seems he's finally accepted the fact that there really ARE a couple good humans in the world!
|
