Horse of the Month - Bo

Bo has had an interesting life. I don't know the entire story but I can say that he is safe at the Sanctuary and will remain here and be watched like a hawk.  We rescued Bo from an auction in March 2011. He was nothing but skin and bones (see the fourth picture). He's a super hard keeper. I did meet one of his owners and was told that he had a high metabolism. 

I don't know the specifics; it's all heresay so instead, I'll focus on Bo's future. He's still a hard keeper as the first two pictures show. These were taken last year and he still looked tough. He had a few set backs while I was pregnant and lost a bit of weight. But I think I've figured out his grain ration but we'll see how it works with the upcoming winter months.

With what I was told about his past, I was shocked that Bo is still such a sweet and happy horse. He always greets me with a loud whinny and it warms my heart. Bo is fully broke to ride although I don't ride him that much. He gets very nervous and upset when I haul him anywhere, so I've left him to simply be a horse and will putter on him just around the Sanctuary.

I know people say that you only get one heart horse, but I've had a few. Bo is a heart horse. He tries so hard and wants to be near me. It warms my heart. He's also best friends with Zeke. They are pretty much inseparable when out in the pasture.

Bo is at the bottom of the pecking order. But I run him into the barn to get his daily grain ration. If I don't have his grain IMMEDIATELY, he lets me know that he's not happy about the delay. He's probably the loudest horse around when he whinnies for his grain!

The above picture was a week after we brought him home. When we first brought him home, you couldn't tell how bad he really was because his hair was fluffed up. I'd put a blanket on to ward against the chill and it became even more apparent that he was starving. At first, he was so lethargic that I left him stalled (for quarantine purposes) but I would hand walk him. We could only walk a few steps before he would become exhausted. But he's bounced back and although he'll never be fat, he'll always have food to devour.

The above picture is of Bo a month after bringing him home. It's amazing how long it takes to gain the weight back on (and how quickly it falls off him).

So you can see, after just a month of constant feeding and different graining rations, he's already gained weight.

Bo is a very special horse for me. I'm sure others would just see a gangly horse. He's a National Show Horse (which is part arabian and part saddlebred). He doens't look like a quarter horse and he's mostly legs and neck. But his personality is what I see. We are so blessed to have Bo in our lives.