On May 23, 2014, I received a call from local veterinarians at about 7:15 in the morning. They had been called out on an emergency that morning to euthanize a foal that had been born about 4 hrs earlier and could not stand. The owners had tried and tried for hours to help him up, but his legs were too contracted to hold him up. Then, the foal's  own dam rejected him. That was when the owners made the decision and called to have him put to sleep. During the examination, the vets realized that the little foal, a colt, was not about to give up. He wanted to suckle. He wanted to live. So, they asked the owners if they could call us to see if we would save him. We said yes, of course, and that is how Rowdy came to Mea Ola’s Place. We brought him home in the back seat of my truck!

 

 I named him Kikeona, “Strong Fighter,"  because he was going to have to live up to his name. But, 2 days later, Chris started calling him Rowdy. As fragile as he was, he was all boy and a rowdy little guy. It fit him, so “Rowdy” became his nickname.
 

It is impossible to tell his story in just a few paragraphs. (Link to full story provided below)  Rowdy overcame one crisis after another. Were it not for several key decisions in the first three months, we would surely have lost him. No one person can take the credit for saving his life.  Those first veterinarians were his first miracle, but Rowdy had many more life­-saving miracles and so many people dedicated to seeing him through his challenges.

 

Today, he is happy and healthy,  intelligent and mischievous. He knows he is a horse even though he spent his first 3 and a half months in our living room. He is also one of the most beautiful horses I have ever laid eyes on. His head alone looks like it was made by a sculptor. He is extremely popular here. Everyone enjoys feeding him yogurt by spoon, watching him run like the wind in the arena, and seeing him play with his very own donkey, Gasston.

 

 Rowdy’s forever home is Mea Ola’s Place, as this was the agreement we made with his original owners when they signed him over to us. We plan on using him in therapy and camps. This past summer, he was used in Kid’s Camp for the first time,  and he enjoyed the attention from the children. He behaved admirably and made us very proud. We hope to teach him to drive, so people can experience what it is like to sit in a buggy and drive a horse. Rowdy will be one of the horses that we take to community events in the future.

 

 We have written his full story and hope to get it published. Virginia Mach Hagler edited the story and put it together with the pictures. Rowdy's story is so miraculous! It is loaded with veterinary information and tools that could save other rejected or orphaned foals. Our hope is that others can learn from mistakes that were made in Rowdy's case, as well as learn about the cutting edge veterinary treatments that were performed to save his life.v This is another way we can help to save more horses. Feel free to share his story.

                                                             

You can read it