Thursday, November 11, 2010

HoneyBandit update in the cold

On Wednesday night, the expected temperature for Shingletown were 20 degrees.
Am so glad that we have some insulation up. It should only get down to around 25ish or so at our house. Patches and Honey Bandit are munching away and it is rather cozy in our little carport. The heater is blazing merrily away.

I received an interesting email, commenting on the "negative aspects" of Honey Bandit that I am including in my updates. I answered, but thought that others might be curious as to why I include those tidbits of information.

I was shocked and horrified when I first learned how fragile these beautiful babies are. I learned this during my first "critical rescue", when I was warned about not getting "too attached". I was told of stories where babies in Honey Bandit's condition, or maybe not even as bad, would be "brought back to health". They would thrive with the loving care they received and then start growing like crazy. Everything would be fine for a few months, and sometimes even a year. Then all of a sudden they would crash and die. This happens because sometimes their organs are so damaged that they cannot keep up and there is nothing you can do.

As Honey Bandit's body was "eating itself" from starvation, and he had been brutally beaten, bit and kicked by the other horses, the true extent of the damage done to this courageous little horse is unknown. We have to remember that although he looks absolutely beautiful and is thriving, he is not out of the woods yet. He is doing wonderfully, but there are still some issues, ie. His lungs and a few neurological things. But we are hoping, and the vet feels that it is very probable, that his brain will continue to improve and his muscle memory will return. These are not unheard of problems when a foal has been through so much, but we are still monitoring him carefully.

So long story short, I just want to let everyone know what is going on, good or bad. Since he is "America's Poster Boy to Stop the Roundups", and we are all a part of this rescue and his mission, I feel like you guys deserve the honest truth about what is happening with him. We couldn't have gotten this far with out everyone's help, prayers and support.

It is truly a blessing to be a part of all this, especially since we are going to see some changes, (I believe) in BLM due to Honey Bandit's story. We have met some of the most awesome people, and I cannot express my thanks for all the prayers, help, and time spent to save this little guy.

We hit a new first today. Usually Patches kicks HB and pushes him around when it comes to food. Of course they always have separate piles of hay, but Patches likes to run HB around for awhile and generally just show him who is the boss. But tonight for the first time they were eating quietly together. Ouch, .... poor Patches is lying quietly in the nice fresh straw, and Honey Bandit is walking over there and pawing him. He loves to take his front hoof and "smack" Patches on the back. Personally I think it is quite rude to do it when Patches is resting, but HB thinks it is great fun. Hmmmmmmmmm guess the eating together is over. After HB did his pawing, Patches got up and made him leave the food. So now HB went and laid down in the straw. We don't normally use straw, but since it is going to be even colder tonight, we figured a clean, deep, fresh bed of straw would be nice and warm.

We are doing the best we can to get this place "winter-tight", but I sure hope that ya'll will say a prayer. I am supposed to make sure that HB doesn't breathe really cold air. So far we haven't had any "worse" problems with his health, and it would be awesome to keep it that way. Have a wonderful day, and if you haven't had a chance to see Honey Bandit's video, go to the following links. One of his new "aunties" made it for him. Enjoy...
HB on YouTube
more of HB on YouTube!

Labels: Honeybandit

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 4:00 PM

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Comments: a nice video of Honeybandit ! thnx!
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