He is a beautiful horse. I would be interested in following his story, and I'm sure there will be a world of difference in him in a month's time with your care.

He is so skinny!

Cannot wait to see how your TLC transforms him.

He hasn't stopped eating since he got here. I am feeding him 3x a day now...started at four but it is hard for me to do if I have to go anywhere. I can manage 3x a day. Before I can hang his hay bag, he has finished his feed and goes after the hay. Drinking a lot of water too, which is good, plus I wet his pellets so he will stay extra hydrated. He doesn't know about treats or carrots and he doesn't care anything about being petted. It is like "Get out of my way, woman, and let me eat!"

Well, isn't that just like a man. But thinking about it, if I was hungry I wouldn't care anything about you petting my head either, that will come later. Right now he's learning you're providing for him ;0) It's probably been a while since anyone has done that.

looking good Marilyn!

He sure is thin, but I have no doubts that this horse was put in exactly the right place to live out a most amazing life. Pu me down for a member of Val's an club.

I am so happy the horse is in your care now.

He's very thin but also very gorgeous.

So thin and bony. Glad he is with you and in your care.

You'd think that a kill lot would be like a feed lot and they would want to plump them up for slaughter, especially if they are sold by the pound, but it sure looks like it doesn't work that way.

I am happy for you both. Thank you for sharing your pictures and your story.

Sue

He is beautiful, and very lucky you found him!

I'm not on FB. Please keep the pictures and updates here when you have time.

Marilyn, can you ask the feed store to contact Nutrena and ask them to sponser Val..many companys love sponsering for a good cause as its great publicity. Good luck and pretty horse.

That's a great idea, mama, and I hope you can do it Marilyn! What a lot of money you spend on feed, let alone everything else. They might be especially interested since you're documenting Val's progress to health. He's a beauty.

Another wannabe member of Val's fan club here. I am on Facebook, so will be watching for his page. In the meantime, I do hope you'll post the results of Friday's vet visit here, and not make us wait a whole month! I do understand you have a lot to do with all your animals, and time can slip by awfully fast when on the 'net.

I feel like I've learned a lot here, I had no idea that kill pens for horses existed, nor how neglected the animals are in them. So thank you for the education.

Val is most certainly a very lucky horse, and he's going to be just gorgeous!

Rusty

What a good idea to let Nutrena know about him, and also the facebook page about Val and other kill pen horses. I just can't get over the indifference too many people feel toward animals. How can someone not care about other sentient beings?

What a beauty!! Lucky too that you found him. You are one special lady.

I wish I lived somewhere that I could own horses! I'm so envious, and also in awe of what you are doing for these amazing creatures.

Val is beautiful.

I will follow with great anticipation.

Lucille, the kill pen had him priced so high, no one bought him. Then they gradually started dropping the price. Meanwhile he was losing weight, so at the end they priced him half of the original price. Usually they won't keep a horse that long, but because he was a nice horse, they thought they would make more off of him if he sold to an individual. If he hadn't sold, then he would have shipped. His last day was the 6th. They feed hay that I wouldn't use for litter in a chicken house....it is so rotten it is almost like compost. The feed they feed is grain dust, which is what is swept up off the feed mill floor. It is awful, but horses will eat it when they have nothing else, and the more aggressive horses will keep the timid ones away from the feed, hay and even the water. Another place I know, feeds them better...just round bales of hay but it isn't rotten. Hay is more important than grain. Actually, I spend $40 a day feeding my horses....18.95 for a sack of Senior feed and 2 bales of hay at 9.50 each, and then the donkeys eat a different feed, so it probably is a little more than $40 a day. I am going to talk to the guy at Steinhauser's, the feed store. He knows the reps from all the feed companies, and maybe Nutrena will sponsor him. I wrote his story and sent his pictures. Also mentioned that I am 70 years old....maybe a little human interest added. :-)

I swear he is looking better already. As soon as I get the vet (on Friday) to check over his hooves and get the shoes pulled and them trimmed, I will start exercising him a little each day. I was (am) very concerned about the vertical cracks in his front hooves. The guy at the feed store said it was probably from his shoes needing to be re-set or pulled and since his hooves couldn't expand, that caused the cracks. They will grow out but will take several months.

I'll let you know what the vet says and how he is doing. He has a little bit of a snotty nose, so will get that attended to also. He was supposedly given a long acting antibiotic....let me say, I paid for him to have it....but whether or not he actually got it....who knows?

I love him, marilyn! Fortunately, I had a picture in mind that was even worse than his current condition, so I think he looks wonderful and will soon be as healthy as ever! Hope you get good news from the Vet.

He looks high-withered but maybe it's just the thinness?

Maybe you can make a gofundme page to help with all your rescues!

Good idea, Arkansas. How 'bout that, Marilyn?

Yep...he's lost weight. Such a pretty boy tho!

The gofundme does work. My neighbor, she was ripped off by a contractor, started a page and had hundreds in just a few days. The work ended up being done by a volunteer so she didn't need to money after all...but it was definitely working for her!

I second (third!) trying a GoFundMe campaign. gofundme.com

Thank you for giving these animals a forever and loving home!

His neck is so thin now and the way he is standing makes him look high withered. No one was here to hold him and he always has his head in the feed bucket or hay bag.

I bought a horse 3 years ago off of a FB page (not a kill pen) and when I went to get her (in Mississippi), I thought that is one of the ugliest horses I have ever seen. Her head looked like a watermelon on a stick. She was thin but not real skinny. Today she is beautiful. One of the prettiest horses I have ever owned.

I appreciate the go fund me idea but I wouldn't feel right asking people to support my horses. I could feed them a cheaper feed if I had to. But if a feed company donated some feed because I use their feed and did a story on Val, that would be okay.

Last night, he was pitching a fit and running all around the pen. I went out to see what the fuss was about.. The other horses were in the barn lot. I guess he just stopped eating long enough to notice they weren't around. I have to make sure they can't get near him until I know he is healthy.

He was limping...not every step but enough to worry me. I will be glad when I can get him to the vet on Friday and get his shoes off. (Something else to worry about.). I hope the vet will at least pull his shoes on the front. I will try and get a farrier out on Saturday.

Other than that, he is looking a little better every day. I plan to clean him up today. It's warm out.

Please don't pass on the GoFundMe idea. That's what it is for. Crowd funding is very useful and I think your situation is warranted. They even have a specific section for Animals. If anything you can get assistance through this site for the Vet Bills.

Marilyn....if you want to talk about a GoFundMe for your rescues....contact me. I can set it up for you with pics. A few possums, a few raccoons, the pic with all the cats being fed......it would go over BIG!

I appreciate it and I will think about it but it's my choice to take on all these animals. The shelters that I work with rehabbing wildlife, donate almost all of my dog and cat and raccoon food. I also feed it to the hogs and I am getting ready to sell 12 of them, so that money goes to the horses. Right now I am waiting (and stressing) over that double payment for Val, to be resolved by PayPal.

You don't need to be pushed on this issue any more, but I'll say that many of us here would be incapable of rescuing animals but could help out through a donation. So do think about it, but if you think would complicate life and be an unneeded distraction, then definitely pass on it. We understand.

I do appreciate it. I just don't feel right having people donate to my horses. If something happened and I couldn't afford it any more, I would probably do it while I worked on making other plans for them. Thank you so much anyway.

Took this pic a few minutes ago. He is looking better already.

Oh my-yes he is! He is beautiful. He is one lucky guy!

He looks happy and alert! I bet he's thinking he's in a great place now.

What a handsome boy!!! And he knows you're taking a picture of him for his fan-base to see. Just like rescue dogs, that are so grateful and loving, he'll be one of the best horses you've owned.

What a pretty boy. And he's looking at you with so much interest - maybe wondering if your camera is something you are bringing him to eat ;0)

I love him. What a beauty and a lucky one .