My Concern (aka Sweet Tea)



Sweet Tea the day she came into LEARN

Today I want to tell you about my friend Sweet Tea. She came to live LEARN in April of 2010. As you can see from her picture she was hundreds of pounds under weight. She came from Beaufort County with her pasture mate, Ella (who is at her forever home in Martha's Vineyard). She was in very bad shape and had been kept in a very muddy round pen. That isn't a lot of room for 2 big horses. Her teeth were overgrown and her hooves hadn't been trimmed in years. LEARN brought in the equine dentist and the farrier to take care of those problems right away.

Sweet Tea having her teeth worked on

Did you know that horses teeth NEVER stop growing? They need to have them "floated" which is a fancy way of saying filing them down. It depends on the horse but this could have to be done once or twice a year or if your horse has slow growing teeth it may be every other year. Either way, it is VERY important for your horse to see the equine dentist regularly just like you and me.

Back to Sweet Tea, Ms. Elizabeth told me she is a Thoroughbred that is 13 years old and has a tattoo on her lip that tells us she was a racing horse. Mrs. E traced her tattoo number through the Jockey Club and learned she once won her owner/breeders money. I wonder how good horses like this end up in a muddy pen in such bad shape. It makes me sad. How about you?

Not only was she very skinny but she had A LOT of worms. She had to be wormed many times and feed 3 times a day to put weight back on. LEARN always feeds it's horses the best feed and hay money can buy and in just 2 short weeks she looked like a new horse.

Sweet Tea after 2 weeks at LEARN

Another picture 2 weeks after getting to LEARN

Sweet Tea under saddle this past summer and looking very healthy!

Sadly, that is not the end of Sweet Tea's story. Ms. Elizabeth noticed that there was something wrong with her left eye. One Vet came to look at it and said it was fine but Ms. E had a bad feeling that wasn't right. She called another Vet who came to have a look and agreed with her. They did an ultrasound and a biopsy which told them she had cancer in her eye. They had to make the hard decision to have her eye removed so the cancer wouldn't spread to other parts of her body.

What Sweet Tea looks like today

Still a beautiful girl!

When I first met Sweet Tea I was afraid because she looks different with one eye but once I spent time with her I discovered why they call her Sweet Tea. She is gentle and is a peaceful spirit to be around. Mrs. E said that she did great under saddle and will make a perfect horse for somebody. The fact she only has one eye doesn't bother her at all. She has adjusted very well. I am so thankful she is safe, well fed and loved here at LEARN.

Are YOU looking for a horse to love because she is looking for her FOREVER home! If you are interested in adopting this sweet girl you can download an application here http://learnhorserescue.com/rescues.php . If you can't adopt her maybe you want to be her sponsor? It costs LEARN $150 a month for her feed, hay and farrier. If you can donate some or all of that, you can do that here http://learnhorserescue.com/index.php, just click on the Donate button. I know if Sweet Tea could say THANK YOU she would, so I will say Thank You for her. I makes my heart fill up when I hear of people helping these animals I love so much. If you have any questions about Sweet Tea or donating to LEARN my Mom said you can email her. Her email is charlotteblairwest@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading and loving Sweet Tea too!

Meeting Sweet Tea for the first time

I am in LOVE!