Levi’s Story ~ A Rescued Foal

NEW: March 2005: Levi and his pal, Mocha, were adopted.
Thanks everyone for your support!

Levi was a foal from a PMU farm, where the mares are kept to make urine for the drug "Premarin". He, along with other foals, were to be killed and skinned, but were rescued by HRRRF Rescue. Some of the other rescued foals died from malnutrition and lack of care. Levi himself overcame Salmonella, and is ready to be adopted into a caring home!

Below is his story, from his point of view:

Hi, my name is Levi; I am a Tennessee walking horse colt. I am 8 months old and am currently living in a place with a lot of nice people. I haven’t always lived here though…When I was two days old, a man came into our stall and pulled me out. He threw me into a pen with some other foals and I never saw my mother again. I was scared and very hungry but the man only gave us a bucket of water.

The man and his friends would pull us around by our ears and kick us to get us to move. I was afraid to lay down because another colt had lain down and wouldn’t get up, and that man hit him in the head with a big metal thing. That colt never got up. The man’s friends carried that colt out of the barn. One of my new friends, a TB colt, laid down because he didn’t feel well, and the man slapped him and kicked him until he got up. I wanted to lie down too, but I didn’t dare, so I just stood with my head hanging down. I wanted my mommy.

Wait, the barn door is opening!, There’s a lady there who is coming over to us. I’m going to hide over here in the corner, because my friend is laying down again and I don’t want to see him get kicked again. Oh the man is coming over; he is slapping my friend and telling him to get up. Wait, that lady is making him stop. She is kneeling over my friend; she is looking in his mouth, whoa! He got up! Uh oh, she’s coming over here, better run! She got me cornered, oh no, she’s going to grab my ears, I just know it. Hey, she is scratching my neck! Man that feels good! Awe she walked away. She is talking to the man; they are opening the gate of my pen. The men are chasing us; there is a strange metal thing with a ramp at the door of the barn, only way to go is up! Ok, so here we all are in this metal thing and I hear people talking.

Now we are moving, I am so scared! But maybe they are taking me to where my mommy is? This time, we ALL lay down. After awhile, we come to a stop. A part of the metal thing opens and I see that lady’s head peeking in, better stand up or we are in trouble! She’s coming in here with us, hey, she has Milk! And Hay! I know it’s milk by the smell, but how do I drink it? Hmm, let me sniff it, oops, got some on my lip, hey wait a minute, let me try that again. It’s soo good! Some of my friends are older than me, and they really like the hay, I think it’s great to lay in! They are eating it! Silly foals, it’s much better to lay in.

So we are on the move again. This time when we stop I see a barn, with other horses, and people staring in at us. No way I’m getting out of this metal thing! I get milk here and the nice lady scratches me! Well now, I guess if they are going to push me out, I’ll go!

My friends and I are taken to a stall with nice soft bedding and Milk! And Hay to lay in! Oh I might like this place. There are 7 of us here. Me, my friend the TB colt (he still isn’t feeling very well) a QH filly, a TWH filly that looks just like me, a draft cross filly, a tiny TWH/Rocky mountain pleasure colt (he’s only two days old, I’m 4 days old now) and another TB colt. Some of us have diarrhea. The QH filly has it the worst.

There’s that lady again. She’s got something in a tube. Ok, I’m not liking this at all. Squirting that yucky stuff down my throat, ick!

The next day a man came to see us. He seemed nice, and then he gave us shots! Ouchy!!!! I really don’t like him. My friend the TB colt has a funny tube thing sticking in his neck, he is now in the stall next to us. He spends most of his time laying down. But at least nobody kicks him to get up. That lady comes and Feeds him and checks on that thing in his neck, she tries to encourage him to eat more. But I don’t think he’s hungry, I think he misses his mommy too.

A bunch of these nice people went into my friends stall today, they were doing something with the guy who gave us shots. They were in there a long time. Then they all left except for that nice lady that came to get us. She was sitting with the TB’s head in her lap (she calls him “Rally”). That nice lady is crying, pretty soon, some more people came and helped that lady carry Rally out of the stall. Hey, why are you carrying him? Rally! Where you going? I called and called to him, but I never saw him again.

None of us feel very good now. That man came again and talked to the lady and said something about “Salmonella”. The Qh filly left this morning, they said something about taking her to a hospital. We went outside today, this was a whole new experience! I have another friend, a black and white draft filly that is pretty sick, she keeps getting skinny. Our Hineys hurt from this diarrhea, we have lost the fur on our hineys because of it. Wait, here comes some people, they have buckets,, woo hoo time to eat! Heyyy, that isn’t milk! What’s with this rope thing you’re trying to put on my head? What are you doing with that sponge? A BATH??!! Yikes, I’m outta here! Oh yeah, you got that thing on my head, can’t go anywhere, ok, do what you gotta do. Hmm, that feels pretty good actually, and they rubbed some white creamy stuff on my hiney too, made it feel a lot better!

We get a bath almost every other day now to clean the manure off our hineys. We like it, I even lift my tail so they can get way under there.

The littlest foal isn’t doing very well, and the filly that looks just like me is sick too. They came this afternoon, that lady and some other people, and took those two to the “Vet”. They never came back. I heard that lady telling some people that the littlest foal had “pneumonia” and was “euthanized”, whatever that means. That lady sure cries a lot. So now it’s just me, the draft filly, and the other TB colt.

I hurt my eye today while out in my paddock. That vet guy came and looked at me and I get medicine in my eye every day now. I don’t think it’s working because I can’t see out of it at all now. But I can still see out of my other eye, and I am feeling much better! Watch, here comes that lady with food! I’m going to sneak up on her and bite her in the hiney! Oh drat, she caught me sneaking up on her, guess my sneakiness needs work. But look at me run! I have wings on my feet! She smiles a lot when I do that.

The draft filly got really sick, the vet guy came out again and said he didn’t think she would live through the night. But she did! She’s still here! That filly really puts up a fight! She is way bigger than us, and that lady has a hard time giving her medicine, but she manages to wrestle her good enough to get it in her. Personally, I think the filly enjoys making that lady work so hard.

Some strange people came today and looked at the draft filly. They took her out and walked around with her. The TB colt has a lady that comes out to see him too. I had a friend that was coming out and spending time with me, but she stopped coming after I hurt my eye. But that’s ok, that nice lady comes and plays with me!

Hey! The QH Filly came back today! She told me all about the “hospital” and how they stuck her with needles and stuff. Yikes! But she said they made her feel better.

Those strange people came today and took the draft filly and the TB colt. Now it’s just me and the QH filly. Will we ever get those “Special Friends” too?

Can you be a “Special Friend” to these two remaining foals? Can you look past the blind eye and see Levi’s mischievous personality? His sweetness and desire to please?

Visit www.SaveTheHorses.org to learn more.