(March 1, 2007) - Caroline, Co., VA - The Richmond Region of USERL received a surrender of two Thoroughbreds in very poor condition on February 24, 2007.  Information from the local horse community resulted in the contact of USERL for help.  The owners agreed to surrender the horses to USERL after realizing that the gelding’s condition was worsening and immediate medical attention was necessary to avoid euthanizing both horses.

The mare and the gelding are estimated to be 5 and 4 years old respectively and scored body scores of 1.5 each on the Henneke scale. The mare is 16 hands and the gelding, 15.3 hands.  Each horse is considered at least 300 lbs underweight with nearly 1/3 of their body weight to gain throughout rehabilitation.  Both horses have severe cases of rain rot and in the gelding, a visible secondary infection has resulted from this going untreated.  His condition is considered serious but relatively stable at this point.  The mare is missing large patches of hair on her back and hips due to the rain rot and it looks as if a large part of the rest of her winter coat is just barely hanging on.

As in keeping with the wonderful spirit of horses, these two cooperated with our efforts to help them.  The Richmond Region thanks the owners for doing what was in the best interest of these 2 horses.