New Horse: Echo

Echo was dropped off by Animal Control a few weeks ago. When she first arrived, she was very unsure of being caught. What will these humans ask of me!? she seemed to say. Once haltered, the staff started loving on her, brushing and giving her scratches. She quickly learned this is good stuff and leaned into Terry, who was brushing and she started grooming Kaya, who was scratching her head. This big black 11 year old mare with a cresty neck has a body score of 9, so it is a little difficult to tell what breed she is. Currently she is 1200 lbs at 13.3 HH, so we are working on a plan to help her lose weight. We soak her hay twice a day for 30 minutes, which takes some of the sugars out and she is also on Thyro‑L to help with weight loss.

Echo lived with another horse on the property, who was so badly neglected, the kindest thing was to euthanize them. The previous owners were feeding the horses, but not caring about their weight or medical needs. While Echo was able to eat so much and get fat, the other horse was wasting away. Echo’s feet have not had a trim in quite some time. Our farrier has already come for a first visit and has recommended that we do small trims every 2–3 weeks to slowly work our way back to the shape they should be. See before and after photos of her feet below. Echo seems to be a friendly gal who is interested in people and we are excited to see her transformation into the horse we know she is.