Help Rhea Heal: Save Her Eye and Face

On Sunday, August 29th, we rescued a two-year old percheron filly from a local kill lot. She has dramatic facial paralysis on the left side of her head. She can't move her ear, blink her eye, which is cloudy from a severe corneal ulcer, or use the left side of her mouth to eat. She had an open puncture high on her left front leg, oozing pus, which needed immediate medical treatment. She is also horribly skinny, and her feet show months of damage and neglect. We named this little girl after Rhiannon, the Welsh goddess of horses, but we call her Rhea for short.

Despite Rhea's condition and all that she had been through, she is incredibly sweet and trusting--she let me pick up her feet, and leaned the blind side of her head against my chest, desperate for attention. She is also a very determined, if slow, eater. Someone had obviously loved this baby once, and even taught her to halter and load on a trailer--which is scary for many horses, especially a baby.

Evan and I thought that this is it--this is the best chance she'll have, and we'll do our best to support Rhea and (hopefully!) give her a chance to recover. Our amazing vet saw her the evening we brought her home, cleaned up her leg, vaccinated her, and sewed her bad eye shut, so it wouldn't get any worse.

Then our vet told us there was a chance that we could fix her.

However, we need to move quickly, to give Rhea the best chance to heal and save her eye. Evan and I immediately called CSU and scheduled an appointment to give her the best chance she could to recover and live like a normal horse.

Our current estimate for Rhea's veterinary care is $5,000--to restore nerve functionality and (hopefully!) save her eye. Which does not include the costs we have already paid toward her transport, quarantine, vet call, and her farrier work (our lovely farrier trimmed her three days after she arrived, wearing layers and layers to meet our quarantine standards). This also doesn't account for her ongoing feeding and care as we get her caught up on delayed growth and body weight.

We're asking for your help to cover just part of Rhea's ongoing care. Our goal is $3,500 to help offset the surprise expenses of trying to save her face and her eye. If you can, please share Rhea's story and help us give her the best chance we can.

Thank you,

From Rhea's New Family