The Facts on Zoe
Breed: probably a Thoroughbred Sex: Mare Color: Black D.O.B. approximately 1973 Height: 16
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Zoe is a permanent resident at our Rescue and has come to be a favorite among our visitors. She loves any kind of treats (peppermints are her favorite) and lots of scratching on her withers and hind end! She still requires lots of love and care and any donations made on her behalf are much appreciated.
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| Here is Zoe Feb 2008 |
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| This is Zoe aka Sue five months after arriving at our place.
Her owner (Sanford, FL) tried to bury her pasture-mate alive after she became so sick and emaciated, she couldn't stand. He asked a construction crew near his place if someone with a Bobcat would help him with his horse. He told the Bobcat guy to pick her up with the bucket to get her on her feet again... when that failed, he asked him to dig a shallow grave and put her in it. After the guy did that, the owner asked the Bobcat driver to bury her. Alive.
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Finally, the Bobcat guy called the police (don't ask me why it took him so long). When police, Seminole County Animal Control, and a vetarrived (with no owner in sight), the horse had been laying in the grave for over 2 hours in the 100 degree Florida sun. She was still alive... although barely, and unfortunately after examining her, the vet had to put her down.
Zoe aka Sue was found huddled in the corner of the pasture with another horse and a donkey. She was a 1 on the Henneke Body Conditioning Scale, meaning extremely emaciated (a walking skeleton) and in immediate jeopardy. Animal Control confiscated her... and we got her up one day later September 9, 2008.
Her former owner is being charged with two felonies and two misdemeanors. The other horse and the donkey were left in his care as they were not in life threatening condition. I later read in a police follow up report, he had sold them.
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| Zoe Sept 9 2007 |
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Click on Zoe's Photo (left) to read the newspaper article in the Orlando Sentinel head-lined "Man accused of Trying to Bury Horse Alive"
and to see the Channel 6 Newscast of the story as it hit Orlando, FL
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Click on Zoe's photo (right) to see the Story from Central Florida News 13 on September 8, 2007 head-lined "Man Attempts to Bury Horse Alive".
The article warns viewers that the photos shown in the slideshow are graphic and disturbing.
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| Zoe Sept 18, 2007 |
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| Zoe Sept 18, 2007 |
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Click on Zoe (left) to see the Wesh 2 Newscast of Zoe's arrival at Our Place
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| Zoe Sept 9 2007 |
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Ex-soccer Star Raising Money for Abused HorseOats for Zoe Will Benefit the Horse She Rescued and Adopted
click on Zoe (left) to read the article in the Orlando Sentinel
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Michelle Akers enjoying life after soccer Orlando Sentinel
"Aside from motherhood, she said her greatest challenge now is tending to and training her horses. She added a fifth horse recently when she took in an undernourished horse that was found near Sanford; the mare had been signed over to Seminole County Animal Services. "It's even more challenging than soccer ... because when you play soccer, you have your teammates," she said. "When you work with a horse, you have to learn another language and then learn how to lead another being and try to communicate and make a connection."
She'd like to own more horses in the years ahead and branch out by teaching people how to care for and train the animals."
click on Zoe (right) to read the full article
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| Zoe Sept 9 2007 |
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Zoe's First Day at Our Place
Sept 9 2007
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I don't like showing people these pictures, but I know it is important to see how far she has come... and also how bad she was when she first got here. My neighbor, Frank, said to me the day she arrived, "You know Michelle, this isn't something that happened over a couple days... it wasn't an accident that caused her to become like this... this took months. And the guy who did this to her watched it happen every day for months". He chose not to feed and he watched her suffer. Every day, for months. Kind of gives you some perspective on the kind of person who would do something like this to a living being.
Anyway, each of these pics show a lot, but seeing her in person made it 50 times worse. Each individual spinous process and vertebrae could be seen from head to toe... and you could fit about two fingers down in between each of her ribs. Her hip bones seemed as if they might burst through he skin at any moment... and because she was so sick, there was a kind of sour, yucky smell to her. Her feet weren't in terrible shape, but later she abscessed a couple times causing her great pain (I learned that is a good sign and part of the recovery process, but I doubt that gave her much comfort and it only made me madder at the guy who did this to her).
I think for me the saddest thing was the look of her eyes... there was no light, no life. When I went into her stall area, she didn't look at me... she didn't move away or complain about anything I did to her, but worse, she didn't acknowledge my presence for the longest time. She was totally shut down inside and it was heartbreaking to see, especially now, months later, as I have gotten to know her and she is the sweetest, most gentle horse I have ever met.
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| Zoe Sept 9, 2007 |
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| Zoe Sept 9, 2007 |
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The Road Back: 9 Days After Her Rescue
September 18 2007
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She was eating well and gaining weight, but had several episodes of "heaves" or severe respiratory distress. I was worried sick about her and called my veteran horsey friends several times for suggestions about what to do... but after 4 or 5 days and no improvement, we got the vet in. He gave her one shot of steroids to calm things down... and I changed her diet a bit, giving her less feed (2 cups of senior feed 4 times a day vs. 4-6 cups 4 times a day) plus about 1 flake of soaked alfalfa every 3-4 hours and 24/7 turnout on grass pasture.
The shot seemed to help things, but we never did find out exactly what caused it. My guess is I was probably giving her too much feed, too quickly and it caused a system failure... and/or it was the heaves and will probably return when the weather gets hot again... or it was an allergy to the trees, grass, or whatever and cleared up as she grew a stronger immune system... who knows for sure, but for now, she is ok and hopefully it will stay that way.
Also, if you notice her "eye", she is still dead inside. I didn't expect her to bounce right back, but I was hoping she might show at least a glimmer once in a while. Boy, was I wrong. She made me realize how shut down she had to be in order to survive her ordeal. The more disconnected, the less pain.
I prayed often that she would be able to find her spirit again and enjoy her new home and friends, both horse and human.
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| Zoe Sept 18, 2007 |
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| Zoe October 16, 2008 |
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Here she is in October about 5 weeks post-rescue.
She is doing good, but unfortunately developed an abcess on her right front (it came out the sole) which took forever to clear up. She was 3-legged for 3 weeks and clearly in a lot of pain. She stood with her head in the corner of the stall most of the day and I had to soak it, clean it out, and bandage it twice a day for a month. Not only that, it stunk to high heaven. Woooo weeee. My farrier, Clayton, told me this is just part of the recovery process and to expect more to come. Great.
She also began to show some curiosity about my other horses, which up to this point, she hadn't offered them a second glance. I began putting Levi, my calm guy in with her on occasion. She perked up immediately and also began giving me the slightest of acknowledgments when I came in to feed, groom, or work on her feet. Nothing huge, but a step in the right direction.
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CHECK OUT ZOE'S OCTOBER PHOTOS
IN OUR SLIDESHOW BELOW
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To Read More about Zoe's Story,
Click on Her Photo at Right
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It costs about $500.00 a month to take care of Zoe (not including vet bills, etc),
if you would like to help take care of her, please donate through our PayPal button at right or go to our How You Can Help page to learn about other ways you might be able to be involved.
Thank You.
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