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ROCK And ROLL (Rocky)
Freebe's Lad
Jockey's Club Reg No: 9321248
Foaled in April 20, 1993
16.2 hh Thoroughbred gelding
Here's poor Rocky on July 29, 2008. Rocky was "rescued" by a woman in the high desert, when her neighbors indicated their intent to abandon Rocky in the desert (apparently an epidemic of such abandonments is occurring in the hi desert). That woman had him all of a day, and since she can barely feed her own horses, and has just lost her home, went to Caroline for help placing Rocky.
After a trailer ride, he looked worse- he was TERRIFIED to get in the trailer with Kathy, as just two days before when trailered from the people who wanted to dump him in the desert to his 'rescuers' home, he'd been scared to death, caused to fall and ended up half UNDER the trailer. So with booboos from that, and a couple of new ones today in his efforts to resist loading, poor Rocky is a little beat up. (See photo below). His name above was bestowed on him by his sponsors and new home, but Kathy indicates she may be able to get his papers, and we may discover who Rocky really is. I haven't had a chance to check his teeth, or see if he has a tattoo. I'll update once I've done that.
He was SOOOO tired when he got here. And dehydrated after a struggle that soaked him with sweat, and a long hot trailer ride, and a half hour of styling around the paddock, convincing the other horses that he may LOOK poor, but he's still got it.
Let me take a moment before you look at the rest of his pics, to thank Caroline Betts of So. Cal TB Rescue, who spent hours notifying everyone of Rocky's need for a home; paid Kathy to transport him out of her own pocket; and collected $1325 in donations for Rocky's first year at TGC. She spent hours on this, and with the kind support of the sponsors listed below, Rocky has been saved. And Kathy spent an entire day gently persuading this terrified guy to get in her trailer, and bringing him to his new home, for nothing more than gas money! Now, it's up to him....
Rocky's head hurts! He looks sad in this photo, but I think he's really just tired - it was a long difficult day, after a long couple of days, after a long time of neglect...
LOOK at those hipbones!
I'd suggest clicking on this to see if the photo gets bigger (it should) - can you see that light area between his thighs? That's DAYLIGHT!!! You should NOT be able to see his belly at that level - I am not sure I've had a horse this thin since Phoenix .... If you can send support for this huge, and badly starved horse, please join his sponsors below and donate what you can. I've got to bring him back asap, as the winters in Anza are very bitter and he just doesn't have one bit of flesh and fat to protect him....
Look at that face - in his condition, he's still head up, ears pricked. He hasn't given up.
Here's Rocky in September of 2008. His real name turns out to be Freebe's Lad, he was born 4/20/93, making him 15 1/2 years old now.
He's looking better, still thin but much less so, and his booboos have closed and are just waiting for hair!
Above is Rocky and his love Surely, curious in the brush, in November of 2009.
You can see on the right that he is still thin, but this is a BIG horse and was VERY thin .... as I post these photos in October, he has shown even more improvement.
Here's Rocky's front feet. You can see the difference in size, and the smaller left one is flat on the inside, causing his foot to collapse to the inside, and causing a lot of strain on the ligaments and tendons and his knee.
On the right, you can see that foot with his new aluminum shoe. We hope his foot will grow "into" that shoe.
On October 19, he got a new set of shoes and there was a LOT less shoe showing, so his feet are growing well. I plan to try lunging Rocky in the next week or so, to assess his level of training at least where groundwork is concerned. He's got loads of energy now.
At this time, John Chun, Neighsavers, Donna Powell and Chris Browning provide support for him! THANK YOU ALL for your kind support of this deserving horse!
He does continue to have special needs and if you're interested in joining in, please do! With his size and special shoeing needs, Rocky needs more support. Or, if you're interested in sponsoring another Golden Carrot horse, please contact Casey. Thank You!
Here's poor Rocky on July 29, 2008. Rocky was "rescued" by a woman in the high desert, when her neighbors indicated their intent to abandon Rocky in the desert (apparently an epidemic of such abandonments is occurring in the hi desert). That woman had him all of a day, and since she can barely feed her own horses, and has just lost her home, went to Caroline for help placing Rocky.
