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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 through 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, email's 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
through 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 Pelear 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 rightdecision.
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 meant 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 email's 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 believe 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.
At the age of 5 months a little filly came to CERA to be a companion for Pelear also 5 months. John named her
Farrah, after Farrah Fawcet. CERA would be her 4th home. She was a nurse mare foal taken from her mom at
1 day old, shipped to a holding area then to Teri Stemper of Dream Equestrian Therapy Center where Teri
would care for her until an appropriate home could be found. She was full of life and horribly afraid of people.
She was very difficult to catch we literally picked her up and loaded her to come to CERA. We turned her out with
Pelear and they immediately hit it off. Running, playing and jumping in the pasture. But one problem, Farrah
was so scared of people, she trusted no one. I spent hours standing in the pasture trying to gain her trust, in
the rain & cold. Finally I gained her trust, but only with me. Eventually she realized that people would not hurt
her. She became the social butterfly. Loved to be groomed, hugged and given all the attention by any person
that came to the farm.
This past October Farrah started stumbling. I thought she may have a bruise or a minor injury. My farrier and
vet found nothing wrong. A month passed and Farrah was knuckling over so bad in one leg she was nearly
walking on her ankle. We tried several different techniques and shoes to help her bear weight on her heel. The
decision was then made that she needed surgery to release a deep flexor tendor. We raised the funds thru
your donations and prayers. Her surgery was scheduled in December, she was nearly straight and putting
weight on her heel. John & I would change her dressing and apply her brace daily. She was such a wonderful
patient. She knew we were trying to help her and she was very receptive. The brace that was made was no
longer working. We decided to rent a Dynasplint to help give her more support. This worked fine for about a
month. Farrah's other ankle was beginning to knuckle forward, the Dynasplint was no longer fitting properly.
The only chance for Farrah was to take her to Virginia Tech Large Animal Hospital.
This past Monday we loaded Farrah on a trailer with a ramp, she could not step up into a trailer. We made the
long 3 1/2 hour trip to VT, Farrah stood the entire time. By the time we got to VT she immediately laid down in a
stall, she was exhausted. She was examined and xray's were taken. Within 10 minutes all of the staff fell in
love with her. Her outgoing personality was very hard to resist.
Tuesday morning we had a meeting with the vet. I am going to try to explain this as best as I can without getting
too medical. There are 3 main tendons in a horses leg. The deep flexor tendon was cut in Farrah's first surgery
and the surgery was not successful. Farrah's only chance was to do another surgery, possible cut the deep
flexor again and/or another tendon to give her the flexibility she needed to stand nearly straight. This procedure
would need to be done to both front legs.
We weighed the pro's & con's, this little girl has the will to live, traveled for over 3 hours, never shows pain and is
only 2 years old. Believe me if she was 20 years old my decision would not have been a hard one to make. But
my gut told me we needed to give her a chance at life. Surgery was scheduled for Thursday morning.
Half way thru the surgery the vet called me. She had cut 2 of the main tendons with no difference in her
flexibility, the third tendon was cut and still no change. When the vet pulled on her leg her blood pressure would
drop and her heart beat would raise, which indicates pain even under anesthesia. Her prognosis was poor and
she had a slim chance of recovery. The decision was made to let our precious little Fare Bare go peacefully
asleep.
Farrah's leg problem was genetic. It is nothing that we did wrong in raising her. Her body was growing too fast
for her tendons to keep up with her. Farrah knows what love and a full tummy feels like, I have never had
another horse that had so much love to give people.
I plan on taking Farrah's story one step further with the Thoroughbred Association. I am not doing this for
money or self gratification. If they want to continue to breed for moms milk they need to be aware of what horse
they are breeding. Farrah's mom may still be a nurse mare and there could be other foal's that have or will have
the same genetic problem. I did not know about nurse mare foal's until a few years ago and if I could at least
educate the public on what the Thoroughbred Association is doing then I have made a difference and I am
hoping that all of you will support me. They have been doing this for over 30 years and it needs to change.
program in July 2008. She was a surrender through 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, email's 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
through 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 Pelear 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 rightdecision.
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 meant 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 email's 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 believe 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.
At the age of 5 months a little filly came to CERA to be a companion for Pelear also 5 months. John named her
Farrah, after Farrah Fawcet. CERA would be her 4th home. She was a nurse mare foal taken from her mom at
1 day old, shipped to a holding area then to Teri Stemper of Dream Equestrian Therapy Center where Teri
would care for her until an appropriate home could be found. She was full of life and horribly afraid of people.
She was very difficult to catch we literally picked her up and loaded her to come to CERA. We turned her out with
Pelear and they immediately hit it off. Running, playing and jumping in the pasture. But one problem, Farrah
was so scared of people, she trusted no one. I spent hours standing in the pasture trying to gain her trust, in
the rain & cold. Finally I gained her trust, but only with me. Eventually she realized that people would not hurt
her. She became the social butterfly. Loved to be groomed, hugged and given all the attention by any person
that came to the farm.
This past October Farrah started stumbling. I thought she may have a bruise or a minor injury. My farrier and
vet found nothing wrong. A month passed and Farrah was knuckling over so bad in one leg she was nearly
walking on her ankle. We tried several different techniques and shoes to help her bear weight on her heel. The
decision was then made that she needed surgery to release a deep flexor tendor. We raised the funds thru
your donations and prayers. Her surgery was scheduled in December, she was nearly straight and putting
weight on her heel. John & I would change her dressing and apply her brace daily. She was such a wonderful
patient. She knew we were trying to help her and she was very receptive. The brace that was made was no
longer working. We decided to rent a Dynasplint to help give her more support. This worked fine for about a
month. Farrah's other ankle was beginning to knuckle forward, the Dynasplint was no longer fitting properly.
The only chance for Farrah was to take her to Virginia Tech Large Animal Hospital.
This past Monday we loaded Farrah on a trailer with a ramp, she could not step up into a trailer. We made the
long 3 1/2 hour trip to VT, Farrah stood the entire time. By the time we got to VT she immediately laid down in a
stall, she was exhausted. She was examined and xray's were taken. Within 10 minutes all of the staff fell in
love with her. Her outgoing personality was very hard to resist.
Tuesday morning we had a meeting with the vet. I am going to try to explain this as best as I can without getting
too medical. There are 3 main tendons in a horses leg. The deep flexor tendon was cut in Farrah's first surgery
and the surgery was not successful. Farrah's only chance was to do another surgery, possible cut the deep
flexor again and/or another tendon to give her the flexibility she needed to stand nearly straight. This procedure
would need to be done to both front legs.
We weighed the pro's & con's, this little girl has the will to live, traveled for over 3 hours, never shows pain and is
only 2 years old. Believe me if she was 20 years old my decision would not have been a hard one to make. But
my gut told me we needed to give her a chance at life. Surgery was scheduled for Thursday morning.
Half way thru the surgery the vet called me. She had cut 2 of the main tendons with no difference in her
flexibility, the third tendon was cut and still no change. When the vet pulled on her leg her blood pressure would
drop and her heart beat would raise, which indicates pain even under anesthesia. Her prognosis was poor and
she had a slim chance of recovery. The decision was made to let our precious little Fare Bare go peacefully
asleep.
Farrah's leg problem was genetic. It is nothing that we did wrong in raising her. Her body was growing too fast
for her tendons to keep up with her. Farrah knows what love and a full tummy feels like, I have never had
another horse that had so much love to give people.
I plan on taking Farrah's story one step further with the Thoroughbred Association. I am not doing this for
money or self gratification. If they want to continue to breed for moms milk they need to be aware of what horse
they are breeding. Farrah's mom may still be a nurse mare and there could be other foal's that have or will have
the same genetic problem. I did not know about nurse mare foal's until a few years ago and if I could at least
educate the public on what the Thoroughbred Association is doing then I have made a difference and I am
hoping that all of you will support me. They have been doing this for over 30 years and it needs to change.
| Darlene with Merimba |
Pelear
