Zak

This picture was taken almost 12 months to the day from when I received him to rehabilitate.

On August 8, 2008, I received a call from the Denton Texas Sheriffs Department asking if I could come and appraise a horse they had just seized. The county Vet had told the deputies that this horse was beyond rehabilitation and should be destroyed.

One year on and Zak is a happy, content, broke, reliable horse who will go on to be one of my best performance horses. His story below will make you sick, and where he has been in his body and mind should never happen to any animal.

Zaks owner decided to punish him for being a difficult horse to catch. the owner herded him into a corral, and while he was in the corral the owner hit him over the head with a piece of 2 x 4 with nails in it. Whilst he was out cold, the owner threaded fencing wire through his back legs and tied them together. He then proceeded to wire Zak to a well pipe fence whilst he was unconscious. When Zak came to, the owner whipped him with barb wire, leaving scars he will carry for the rest of his life.

Apart from the physical scarring, the emotional scarring was devastating, and Zak was not approachable. I took the challenge of rehabilitating Zak and he responded to the caring and the technology I use. Apart from the mental abuse, Zak was physically in very poor condition, body score less than 1.5. Thrive took care of that problem, and as you can see Zak is a ball of muscle, a very beautiful horse. I am not telling you or showing you this to impress you, rather to impress upon you that with the right training, and the right nutrition, even the worst cases of neglect can be addressed, and wonderful successes obtained.