A sweet, old-fashioned Kelly-Girl

On a cold, wet day in January, HFH was called out to assist animal control in removing 15 horses from a property where conditions were very poor.  Bits of bailing twine held electric tape fencing together.  There was no shelter, no clean water, and no place to put hay where it wouldn’t sink into the foot-deep mud and filth. 

When we first saw Kelly, she was standing apart from the other horses in a small muddy paddock with another flea-bitten gray mare.  She was curious but very wary and obviously in need of some human kindness.

Kelly’s mane and tail were matted and dry, and her nose was raw and missing chunks of hair -- probably from a bad sunburn compounded by a halter left on all the time. 

Like all the horses in the herd, Kelly was thin and dirty, and her feet and teeth had gone untended for a long time.  She had multiple hoof abscesses which made it painful for her to walk. 

For the first few days after arriving at Hope For Horses, Kelly was quite depressed and spent most of the time in her new stall facing away from the door.  She just didn’t want to be seen. 

But after a while, Kelly began to turn the corner, and slowly she began to thrive.

Today - two and a half years since her impound - Kelly is friendly and loving,  and enjoys the company of people and other horses.  She is very sweet and affectionate.  She likes children, has no vices, stands still for hoof care or other procedures, and is quiet under saddle.  Kelly was recently evaluated by a certified Parelli trainer and she passed every test with flying colors.

She is now living with a wonderful family on a nice big ranch where she gets to play with several other horses in big beautiful pastures. 

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