Hello there, my name is Nike. I started out my life as a work horse in the North East (Amish country). I worked really hard for my previous owners but then I got in an accident and severely injured my pelvis. Since I could not work anymore they sold me for slaughter. I made a long trip to Texas where I stayed with hundreds of other horses. We got very little attention from the humans there and the food was not very good. I was about to load on to this thing called the "slaughter truck" with the other horses when someone came to get me. I barely fit on their trailer (did I mention I am almost 19hh tall?) but I was so happy to get out of the "kill-pen" I ducked my head, climbed aboard and made a short trip to a place called "quarantine."
Quarantine was much better than the "kill-pen." The humans were nice (although they seemed to be afraid of me because of my size) and I got lots of good food and clean water. I stayed in quarantine for a while, then got on another trailer with a couple of my friends (Maverick and Zoey) and made a long hot trip to Arizona.
When I arrived in Arizona, I heard the humans talking about my crooked pelvis and heard them say I walked strangely. They said I had "string-halt" from nerve damage. After only a few days in Arizona, my hind left leg started to hurt really badly. So badly I could barely stand. It swelled up and I got a fever. My humans saw I was struggling and immediately gave me shots and an IV. A nice man came to examine me and said I had a bad cellulitis infection caused by lymphedema due to nerve damage and arthritis. He was not sure that I would recover. One of the humans actually stayed over night with me to make sure I was comforted. Luckily, the medications they gave me finally kicked in and I started to feel better.
Unfortunately my leg continues to do this every few months, but now my human is good at catching it early and giving me Bute and Banamine and antibiotics right away. I am a trooper when this happens, and generally maintain a good appetitive even though I am in pain and can't move that well.
When my leg is not bothering me, I love to hang out with my friends, trot around the paddock bossing everyone around, and eat lots of hay. I love my alfalfa and my rice bran, and snacking on Bermuda from the hay net. Every so often this guy comes to "do my feet," which is a challenge for all of us since I cannot balance well due to my injuries. We manage though, somehow.
To be honest, I didn't used to like humans very much, but that has started to change. Now I follow my humans around and ask for attention. I have learned that they love and care for me, and really enjoy their company.
DOB: 2012 Height: 19hh
Breed: Percheron
Color: Black
Gender: Mare
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