Chance the blind horse
A
rescue group in the Seattle area found a blind and emaciated
horse fending for himself. He had been abandoned and was surviving
by eating wood. He weighed only 750 pounds, instead of the
1200 pounds that is more normal for a horse his size.
The rescue group, Hope for Horses, e-mailed us the week they found him. They wrote, "Our vet's initial recommendation was to euthanize the horse because of his blindness and he felt that he did not have a chance for a good quality life because of it. Hope for Horses disagrees and we believe that this horse deserves a second chance at life and because of this, we have named him Chance!"
The wonderful folks at Hope for Horses took care of Chance for several weeks and helped him regain his weight and health. He needed to have both eyes removed because they had rotted away from end-stage uveitis, but we concluded we should wait to do the surgery until he came to Montana.
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Chance arrived at the ranch early one spring morning on a big semi-truck horse trailer. .. the kind used to haul racehorses from track to track. The next day, we took Chance to the hospital for eye surgery. We could tell almost right away that he felt so much better with them removed.
While he was recovering from surgery back at the ranch, we'd take him for a walk every morning so he could get some exercise. He loved to roll around on the green grass. .. first he'd roll on one side, then the other, and sometimes roll completely over on his back, legs straight up just like our dogs do.
One morning Chance gave us a great sign that he was finally feeling really good: After his roll he suddenly leaped up on his hind legs, front hooves pawing the air. .. just like you'd see in an old cowboy action movie. Then he'd snort a few times, shake his head, and get down to the business of grazing.
This became his signature "buck 'n snort" routine, as we call it.
Although Chance now goes out to pasture every day, he does not like to stay out very long. It doesn't matter that other horses are with him. We think because of his history of abandonment, he gets nervous after a while and wants to come back to his stall in the barn. However, if we have Chance on a lead rope and stay with him, he'll be content to graze on pasture for a long time. He just needs the security of knowing someone is with him.
Unfortunately, Chance now faces a new medical challenge: We just learned he has a terminal cancer called lymphosarcoma. He may not be with us very long, but he's enjoying all the love and attention he gets here.
