Hay, y’all! Oh, I am such a funny horse! But there is nothing funny about what is going on with me right now!
Oh, please do let me introduce myself! My name is Richer—that’s said ree-SHAY.
I’ve been living in a small pasture—a generous label, since it’s half weeds, half sand—with six other horses. If you know anything about horses, we like things the same: we like routine, we like our food the same, fed at the same time, we like our herds to be the same buddies where everyone knows the pecking order. In this pasture, however, different horses come and go…a lot. The hierarchy must be decided frequently, so there’s much pushing and shoving, kicking and bucking, biting and chasing. The top two horses are always the same and bottom horse is always the same. Did I mention I’m always at the bottom horse? Did I also mention that despite that being a given doesn’t stop every other horse from reminding me I’m at the bottom? They chase me around and rough me up. Trust me, I have the missing and growing-back hair to prove it.
Being at the bottom of the pecking order stinks. I get run around a lot, especially at mealtime. I can be standing with my pile of hay, minding my own business, then another horse decides they want my pile instead of their own. That’s when my mealtime problems start. They come over and run me off before eating my hay. Then I have to try to find another pile, possibly between two other higher-ranking horses and hope they let me eat from a pile before I get run off again. I have to run away repeatedly during mealtime instead of just standing at one pile and getting my fill. Sometimes I get half as much food as them, sometimes hardly anything at all.
In the background: My old pasture and the horses I won't miss at mealtime.
I’ve dropped about 150 lbs. in just three months putting up with this nonsense. I've been moved to a place where I have a small pen of my own and they will feed me hay and grain twice a day so I can put back on the weight, but it’s going to be expensive, so that’s why I, Richer, have come to you, my loyal friends and horse lovers.
This is what it’ll cost for to put the weight back on me:
Board $345
MONTHLY TOTAL: $567/mo
Expected Timeline: 6 months
Expected Cost: $3,400
I will need to be grained and boarded in my pen from now on, too, since I'm a senior horse at 24 years old.
If you can help, I will be grateful beyond measure. It will allow me to again be healthy and playful, stubborn and feisty, energetic and silly. I won’t return to the pasture—despite it being the most natural habitat for any horse—but instead I will remain in my pen, safe from those meanies, with my two new neighbors. In the pen to the west is a gray and to the east is a sorrel and they seem nice enough.
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NOTE: Please no mean or know-it-all comments. Constructive suggestions from truly experienced and knowledgeable horsepersons welcome at all times.
All pictures below taken Friday, June 11, 2021, the same day I was moved to the pen and started feeding hay by myself and with daily grain.
Withers - bony protrusion, lost fullness
Right side - Sunken flanks, tailhead vertabrae and ribs visible
Left side - Sunken flanks
Left side - Tailhead vertabrae visible
