He’s tall, dark, handsome, dashing, gentle, and extremely sweet-tempered – But all of his wonderful qualities did not stop a cruel and callous individual from dumping him in a kill pen.
CJ is a 19-year-old Thoroughbred gelding who once raced under the name “Jay W.” In July, we received a call from Marlene Murray at the R.A.C.E. Fund who alerted us about this horse who was destined for slaughter. He was discovered in a Pennsylvania kill pen and about to be shipped to Mexico. His unknown background and personality did not concern us; All that mattered was his life needed to be saved and we had to move quickly. Marlene immediately arranged for him to be sent to a quarantine facility in Maryland. Horses rescued from kill pens need to be quarantined because of their possible exposure to contagious diseases. After spending the required 30 days in quarantine, we transported him to Cornell University Hospital for Animals for a complete examination and evaluation, so we would know how to best manage his health care going forward.
On Friday, September 3rd, CJ finally arrived at Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary. He was still underweight, despite gaining some pounds during his time in quarantine and at the hospital. However, compared to the way he looked when first discovered in the kill pen, he had greatly improved. While he has health issues due to extreme neglect, his veterinarian at Cornell says they should be curable. We’ll need to handle his Vitamin E deficiency and manage his badly neglected feet and teeth. He also has some arthritic problems and mild neurological issues, all of which are now being treated. The good news is that he should be pasture sound and able to live a quality life at the sanctuary.