| Copyright 2009. Carolina Equine Rescue & Assistance. All rights reserved. |
“MERIMBA & PELEAR’S STORY”
Merimba, a flea bitten grey 19 year old Arabian mare, came into the Carolina Equine Rescue &
Assistance program in July 2008. She was a surrender thru Animal Control. The owners named her
Merimba, Spanish for Xylophone, her ribs showing reminded them of a Xylophone. As I was walking her
off the trailer, my gut told me she was pregnant. I asked my vet to palpate her and sure enough, she
was 5 months pregnant and very emaciated.
On March 19, 2009, Merimba went into labor. She had a very hard delivery, was thrashing about,
and in a lot of pain. The vet was called and had to help Merimba with the delivery. A very large colt
was delivered. The colt would not stand on his own. We also tried to get him to nurse, he would not
suck. The vet told us he had “Dummy Foal Syndrome”. He was trying to stand but kept banging into
the wall and falling down; he was walking sideways with his tongue hanging out. We did manage to milk
Merimba and tube fed the colt her colostrum. It was horrible, we never heard of “Dummy Foal
Syndrome” . My husband, John, stayed with the colt and I immediately went to the internet to find out
everything I could about the condition. Two of the major symptoms were difficulty breathing and
convulsions, which he did not have, everything else pointed toward his condition. A few hours past, we
called the vet again to come and tube him for a feeding. We had to make a decision to either
euthanize him or take the baby & Merimba to NC State Veterinary Hospital in Raleigh, NC.
Raleigh was 3 hours away and we were not sure he would survive the trip. He did not have the two
major symptoms of the condition; we had to give this little guy a chance to live.
Our friend Donnie offered to trailer us to Raleigh. We had to move quickly for fear of dehydration
with both Merimba and baby. The vet called the hospital and informed them that we were on our way
and filled them in with both of their conditions. I wanted to name him before we arrived at the hospital.
Merimba is Spanish so I thought it would be appropriate for her son to have a Spanish name also. A
friend gave us the name “Pelear” which means “ A Fighter” in Spanish.
We pulled into the parking lot of the hospital; Donnie and I were amazed vet’s, tech’s and students
moved quickly to the trailer. I walked Merimba off the trailer, Donnie tried to walk Pelear off, but he
collapsed. Donnie picked him up and carried him into the hospital. There was a staff of 13 working on
them. The hospital staff was so organized, professional and caring. Donnie & I were able to be right
there with both of them. Merimba was placed in a shoot right in front of Pelear, she could see him at all
times. IV’s were hooked up, vitals were taken, blood was drawn, a permanent feeding tube was
inserted into Pelear. They were then taken to their stalls which were separate but Merimba was able to
see her
baby. The staff at the hospital took every precaution to prevent the baby from getting hurt again in the
stall; they padded the walls and actually had a helmet for Pelear if needed. Merimba was not doing
well, she would not take her eyes off him. She was starting to stress slightly, they gave her some
banamine and I was able to brush her. We were still not out of the woods. Merimba was severely
bruised internally and had not expelled the placenta, Pelear needed to start sucking and drinking on
his own.
It was feeding time. Merimba was milked. Pelear was given a mixture of mom’s milk, foal-lac and
goat’s milk. The tech’s kept a small amount of milk in a pan and the remainder went into the feeding
tube. Pelear had to learn how to suck the milk, with a little work he started slurping the milk from the
pan. It was tiring for him but he did it; his first step toward recovery. Merimba was really stressing now
and not drinking water. She was given IV fluids.
They were both in the hospital for 5 days. The bill was over $3,000.00. Friends were called,
emails were sent everywhere from New York to Florida. Donations started coming into the hospital. In
less than 3 days over $3,000.00 was donated toward the care of Merimba & Pelear. It was amazing I
just couldn’t believe it. There were so many folks that wanted to help by donating and praying. John
and I are so blessed by what the horse community has done for CERA. Without their donations,
support and prayers we just could not have done it on our own.
It was time for Merimba & Pelear to come home. Again, Donnie offered to drive to Raleigh and
bring them home. Pelear still would have a long recovery ahead of him. Merimba was still not drinking.
I know this mare and she needed to come home to start her recovery.
We made the trip home safely, Merimba & Pelear were stalled together and she was starting to
relax more, but still not drinking. I gave her a mash of grain and I continued to milk her for Pelear,
giving him mom’s milk thru his feeding tube with foal-lac and goat’s milk. Pelear was doing much better
not banging into the walls.
The next morning we were able to turn them both out for a short time. Merimba was so happy,
started running and flagging her tail. Pelear was also taking little runs. Merimba went to the water troft
and drank herself full. She was home, feeling better and recovering nicely.
Everyday Pelar makes progress, drinking more and more on this own, walking straighter and not
banging the walls. The feeding tube was removed; he hated it hanging out of his nose. He started
munching on hay and we started him on pelleted foal-lac.
Today he walks on a lead rope, loves going outdoors everyday, on junior grain, picks his feet up
for the farrier etc. He is your typical little colt, so loving and beautiful. I questioned myself for a long
time whether we made the right decision to give him a chance at life, I no longer think that way, we
made the right
decision.
Pelear is nearly 5 months old. Saturday, August 8, 2009 we were bringing horses in after night
turnout. All the horses in her pasture were not at the gate, this was not normal. All the mares and
Pelear surrounded Merimba underneath a tree. Merimba had deep cuts on both hind legs and was toe
touching her left. She would not walk. We did manage to get her in the wash bay, cold hosed her and
called the vet. At first we thought she was attacked by a predator, she was kicked by another mare.
This herd gets along very well together. It was dark and apparently one was spooked, kicked out and
Merimba was in the way. Merimba had a fractured splint bone with deep laceration’s. Merimba was
bandaged, given penicillin, bute, ulcer guard are gentimyicin.
The following Monday I placed calls to find out the cost of surgery for her. Her splint bone has
shattered at the top. I had to consider her age, quality of life, her son and the cost of surgery.
Monday evening I gave Merimba her penicillin injection. Almost immediately she started having a
seizure. She was thrashing in her stall, we did manage to get Pelear out safely. When Merimba did
calm down her leg was hanging, bloody and very painful. She had an open compound fracture. We
had no choice but to put our precious Mom, Merimba to sleep.
She was so special to John and I. Our hearts are breaking and the tears are pouring. She will
always have a special place in our hearts and she will be so missed. She has crossed the rainbow
bridge but has given John and I a part of herself to raise and love, a beautiful healthy baby colt,
Pelear.
Merimba, a flea bitten grey 19 year old Arabian mare, came into the Carolina Equine Rescue &
Assistance program in July 2008. She was a surrender thru Animal Control. The owners named her
Merimba, Spanish for Xylophone, her ribs showing reminded them of a Xylophone. As I was walking her
off the trailer, my gut told me she was pregnant. I asked my vet to palpate her and sure enough, she
was 5 months pregnant and very emaciated.
On March 19, 2009, Merimba went into labor. She had a very hard delivery, was thrashing about,
and in a lot of pain. The vet was called and had to help Merimba with the delivery. A very large colt
was delivered. The colt would not stand on his own. We also tried to get him to nurse, he would not
suck. The vet told us he had “Dummy Foal Syndrome”. He was trying to stand but kept banging into
the wall and falling down; he was walking sideways with his tongue hanging out. We did manage to milk
Merimba and tube fed the colt her colostrum. It was horrible, we never heard of “Dummy Foal
Syndrome” . My husband, John, stayed with the colt and I immediately went to the internet to find out
everything I could about the condition. Two of the major symptoms were difficulty breathing and
convulsions, which he did not have, everything else pointed toward his condition. A few hours past, we
called the vet again to come and tube him for a feeding. We had to make a decision to either
euthanize him or take the baby & Merimba to NC State Veterinary Hospital in Raleigh, NC.
Raleigh was 3 hours away and we were not sure he would survive the trip. He did not have the two
major symptoms of the condition; we had to give this little guy a chance to live.
Our friend Donnie offered to trailer us to Raleigh. We had to move quickly for fear of dehydration
with both Merimba and baby. The vet called the hospital and informed them that we were on our way
and filled them in with both of their conditions. I wanted to name him before we arrived at the hospital.
Merimba is Spanish so I thought it would be appropriate for her son to have a Spanish name also. A
friend gave us the name “Pelear” which means “ A Fighter” in Spanish.
We pulled into the parking lot of the hospital; Donnie and I were amazed vet’s, tech’s and students
moved quickly to the trailer. I walked Merimba off the trailer, Donnie tried to walk Pelear off, but he
collapsed. Donnie picked him up and carried him into the hospital. There was a staff of 13 working on
them. The hospital staff was so organized, professional and caring. Donnie & I were able to be right
there with both of them. Merimba was placed in a shoot right in front of Pelear, she could see him at all
times. IV’s were hooked up, vitals were taken, blood was drawn, a permanent feeding tube was
inserted into Pelear. They were then taken to their stalls which were separate but Merimba was able to
see her
baby. The staff at the hospital took every precaution to prevent the baby from getting hurt again in the
stall; they padded the walls and actually had a helmet for Pelear if needed. Merimba was not doing
well, she would not take her eyes off him. She was starting to stress slightly, they gave her some
banamine and I was able to brush her. We were still not out of the woods. Merimba was severely
bruised internally and had not expelled the placenta, Pelear needed to start sucking and drinking on
his own.
It was feeding time. Merimba was milked. Pelear was given a mixture of mom’s milk, foal-lac and
goat’s milk. The tech’s kept a small amount of milk in a pan and the remainder went into the feeding
tube. Pelear had to learn how to suck the milk, with a little work he started slurping the milk from the
pan. It was tiring for him but he did it; his first step toward recovery. Merimba was really stressing now
and not drinking water. She was given IV fluids.
They were both in the hospital for 5 days. The bill was over $3,000.00. Friends were called,
emails were sent everywhere from New York to Florida. Donations started coming into the hospital. In
less than 3 days over $3,000.00 was donated toward the care of Merimba & Pelear. It was amazing I
just couldn’t believe it. There were so many folks that wanted to help by donating and praying. John
and I are so blessed by what the horse community has done for CERA. Without their donations,
support and prayers we just could not have done it on our own.
It was time for Merimba & Pelear to come home. Again, Donnie offered to drive to Raleigh and
bring them home. Pelear still would have a long recovery ahead of him. Merimba was still not drinking.
I know this mare and she needed to come home to start her recovery.
We made the trip home safely, Merimba & Pelear were stalled together and she was starting to
relax more, but still not drinking. I gave her a mash of grain and I continued to milk her for Pelear,
giving him mom’s milk thru his feeding tube with foal-lac and goat’s milk. Pelear was doing much better
not banging into the walls.
The next morning we were able to turn them both out for a short time. Merimba was so happy,
started running and flagging her tail. Pelear was also taking little runs. Merimba went to the water troft
and drank herself full. She was home, feeling better and recovering nicely.
Everyday Pelar makes progress, drinking more and more on this own, walking straighter and not
banging the walls. The feeding tube was removed; he hated it hanging out of his nose. He started
munching on hay and we started him on pelleted foal-lac.
Today he walks on a lead rope, loves going outdoors everyday, on junior grain, picks his feet up
for the farrier etc. He is your typical little colt, so loving and beautiful. I questioned myself for a long
time whether we made the right decision to give him a chance at life, I no longer think that way, we
made the right
decision.
Pelear is nearly 5 months old. Saturday, August 8, 2009 we were bringing horses in after night
turnout. All the horses in her pasture were not at the gate, this was not normal. All the mares and
Pelear surrounded Merimba underneath a tree. Merimba had deep cuts on both hind legs and was toe
touching her left. She would not walk. We did manage to get her in the wash bay, cold hosed her and
called the vet. At first we thought she was attacked by a predator, she was kicked by another mare.
This herd gets along very well together. It was dark and apparently one was spooked, kicked out and
Merimba was in the way. Merimba had a fractured splint bone with deep laceration’s. Merimba was
bandaged, given penicillin, bute, ulcer guard are gentimyicin.
The following Monday I placed calls to find out the cost of surgery for her. Her splint bone has
shattered at the top. I had to consider her age, quality of life, her son and the cost of surgery.
Monday evening I gave Merimba her penicillin injection. Almost immediately she started having a
seizure. She was thrashing in her stall, we did manage to get Pelear out safely. When Merimba did
calm down her leg was hanging, bloody and very painful. She had an open compound fracture. We
had no choice but to put our precious Mom, Merimba to sleep.
She was so special to John and I. Our hearts are breaking and the tears are pouring. She will
always have a special place in our hearts and she will be so missed. She has crossed the rainbow
bridge but has given John and I a part of herself to raise and love, a beautiful healthy baby colt,
Pelear.
It has been nearly 2 months since we lost Merimba, Mama. Approximately 3 weeks after Pelear
lost his Mom, I noticed that he was acting different in the pasture. He was not playing, running, he was
just standing and eating all day like the other horses. We have mostly aged or blind horses that have
no interest in playing with a young colt. One option I had was to place Pelear with one of the mini's
they are 5 & 10 years old. But that ment I was taking them away from Bonnie who is totally blind. They
are Bonnie's eyes and help her to find the water, shade or the gate. The older mares would make sure
he was safe but that was all they would do for him. I contacted my vet and talked to other veteran
horse people. Pelear was depressed and they agreed with my thought. Ok, what are we going to do.
I contacted Teri Stemper of Dream Equine Therapy Center. Her organization helps PMU & Nurse
Mare Foals. I explained our situation with Pelear, sent several emails back and forth, educated
ourselves on Nurse Mare Foals and decided to try and adopt one of the babies. Teri did have a little
filly that needed a home. She did have a laceration above her eye that have to be stitched twice due
to her rubbing it open, and was sedated twice. This little filly was very scared and cautious of people.
She would barely let us touch her. She was so scared and did not trust people at all. We brought.
the filly to the farm, turned Pelear and her out in the pasture together. They immediately started
running, playing and whinnying for each other. Pelear was so happy.
John has named her Farrah. Her color looks very much like Pelear and she was born 3 days
before Pelear. She now lets us groom her, leads very nicely, and wants attention. She has helped
Pelear tremendously and Pelear has helped her. They are best buddies now. We take walks with
them, watch them play in the pasture together and we let them know that they are both loved. I truly
beleive that God had a plan for John & I, and this plan has fallen into place. I thank God everyday for
allowing me to have the ability to help the neglected, abused & unwanted horses.
lost his Mom, I noticed that he was acting different in the pasture. He was not playing, running, he was
just standing and eating all day like the other horses. We have mostly aged or blind horses that have
no interest in playing with a young colt. One option I had was to place Pelear with one of the mini's
they are 5 & 10 years old. But that ment I was taking them away from Bonnie who is totally blind. They
are Bonnie's eyes and help her to find the water, shade or the gate. The older mares would make sure
he was safe but that was all they would do for him. I contacted my vet and talked to other veteran
horse people. Pelear was depressed and they agreed with my thought. Ok, what are we going to do.
I contacted Teri Stemper of Dream Equine Therapy Center. Her organization helps PMU & Nurse
Mare Foals. I explained our situation with Pelear, sent several emails back and forth, educated
ourselves on Nurse Mare Foals and decided to try and adopt one of the babies. Teri did have a little
filly that needed a home. She did have a laceration above her eye that have to be stitched twice due
to her rubbing it open, and was sedated twice. This little filly was very scared and cautious of people.
She would barely let us touch her. She was so scared and did not trust people at all. We brought.
the filly to the farm, turned Pelear and her out in the pasture together. They immediately started
running, playing and whinnying for each other. Pelear was so happy.
John has named her Farrah. Her color looks very much like Pelear and she was born 3 days
before Pelear. She now lets us groom her, leads very nicely, and wants attention. She has helped
Pelear tremendously and Pelear has helped her. They are best buddies now. We take walks with
them, watch them play in the pasture together and we let them know that they are both loved. I truly
beleive that God had a plan for John & I, and this plan has fallen into place. I thank God everyday for
allowing me to have the ability to help the neglected, abused & unwanted horses.
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Merimba & Pelear's Story