Thanks to the in intervention of HfH and the efforts of so many dedicated volunteers, Twizzle is now safe, sound and prospering in her new forever home.

Read Twizzle's Story.

Thanks to our brave little Twizzle HfH has been able to help yet another equine in need. Meet Baylee...

Something bad happened in the pasture when Baylee was a baby. She might have slipped, another horse might have kicked her but, whatever it was, it didn’t start causing a problem until she was around 15 months old. That’s when the leg started bending inward and the owner started becoming concerned. The owner was facing her own problems. Fighting a battle with cancer and facing financial disaster, she knew something had to be done with Baylee. She also knew that a trip to the auction was not an alternative, for that certainly would have met that Baylee’s life would end at the horse slaughterhouse. After talking with her family, the owner’s sister searched through the internet and came upon a website that shocked her. Through tear swollen eyes she called the owner and told her that she saw a horse that looked exactly like her horse, an exact duplicate in almost every way, even down to the bent and deformed leg. The website belonged to an organization called Habitat for Horses, and the story was about a mare named Twizzle and how, through the efforts of their members and all the supporters, Twizzle had an operation that straightened the leg and was now Twizzle was not only well, but had been adopted and was living happily in a new home.

With shaking hands and a small glimmer of home, she wrote an email to the organization. Would they? Please? Baylee is so special, she cried. She’s just a baby. She’s never had a chance at life. You’re her only hope. Please take her to a vet, the organization wrote back. Let’s find out exactly what’s wrong with her leg.

The vet looked at the x-rays of the damaged leg and gave the owner the bad news – operate now or the leg will break. The cost of the surgery? Around $8,000, she was told. I can’t afford it, she cried. Is there an alternative? Yes, the horse should be euthanized immediately. 

Emails were traded again and within weeks, Baylee stood in the stall of Linda A, one of the organization’s volunteers. During several trips to the Elgin Vet Clinic x-rays were taken, plans were made, details of the operation were discussed and finally a decision was required. The clinic would do the operation for a whole lot less than expected, basically at cost, but there were dangers and the organization needed to be aware of them - X-rays show only so much; there could be damage that cannot be repaired; general anesthesia was always risky; the leg could completely break when the horse came to and tried to stand.  There were no alternatives other than euthanasia. The organization faced the same dangers with Twizzle. They knew the risk, but they also knew that giving up was not an option.  

Late Thursday evening, January 4^th, Baylee left the comfort of her stall and rode to the vet clinic. Early Friday morning they took her for a walk.

The operation started at 9 am. Another X-ray showed the vets exactly what needed to be done. 

A small titanium plate was fitted into the leg, measurements were taken, holes were drilled through the plate and the plate was refitted and screwed in, exactly the same procedure as was done on Twizzle. Another set of X-rays was taken. 

The site was closed and bandaged and a full cast was placed on Baylee’s leg.

Shots were given to bring her out of the general anesthesia. Now Baylee faced one of the biggest tests. Would she injure herself when she stood up? Would she stay calm or panic and flip over? Ropes were prepared, the entire staff of the clinic stood by and watched in amazement as Baylee slowly woke, looked at the cast, snorted and stood without any help. A few minutes later, Baylee literally pulled the staff down the hall to her stall and proceeded to munch on green alfalfa.

It will be a week before Baylee is allowed to go back to Linda’s, then many more weeks of stall confinement before the cast can come off. She’s not out of danger – there could be founder problems, colic and a multitude of other risks but, under the ever watchful guidance of the Elgin Vet Clinic and Linda’s wonderful volunteers, Baylee is now on her way to being a perfect horse. She’ll have full range of motion on that leg, according to the vets, and should not have any limp or any sign of ever having a crooked leg.  

Our deepest thanks to her former owner for caring enough to give Baylee another chance, to volunteers such as Linda A, who have hearts of pure gold, and to the vets at the Elgin Vet Clinic in Elgin, Texas, who give of themselves so willingly. Because of them, Baylee will soon be ready to find her own forever home.

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