The Desperate Housewives

From Desperate Horses to . . Desperate Housewives

Before
Susan, Gabrielle, Lynette and Edie-once names of fictional characters on the equally fictional Wisteria Lane-are now names of HAHS' most recently impounded horses.  But while the housewives deal with the issues of divorce, bankruptcy and mental illness, these horses deal with the issues of starvation, miscarriage and blood-sucking lice.  
Within hours of receiving the request from the Illinois Department of Agriculture to haul and house these horses, HAHS arranged for them to be taken to the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in Urbana-Champaign.  Unfortunately, it was too late for "Princess," an older mare that developed hypothermia and went down.  She never stood again and the veterinarian at the farm humanely euthanized her as five mares and a yearling filly were coerced into the horse trailer.  It was also too late for the unborn foal of one of the mares, as it was aborted during the herd's first night at the veterinary school.  One mare colicked and another showed signs of severe respiratory distress, but soon the handfeeding and warm stalls began to return the horses to health.  The next problem to deal with was their contagious lice infestation and "rainrot," a painful skin disease horses develop when they don't have shelter and their immune systems are stressed.  Eventually the weather took a warm turn and HAHS decided the horses were healthy enough to leave the veterinary hospital.
 
After
Because this was a particularly cold winter in northern Illinois with a lot of snowfall, HAHS took in a number of animals throughout December, January and February, so not all of these horses could be brought to the rehabilitation farm in Woodstock.  Fortunately, one of HAHS' investigators agreed to foster one mare and the yearling filly.  "Laverne" and "Swirly" as the pair have been named, are doing well in their temporary home.  This black mare and red dun filly (with a whorl right between her eyes-hence her name) can't get enough of the good hay Rich and Mary offer them.  The other four mares--two grullas, a black and a chestnut-have sorted out their pecking order and quietly eat their breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Now that they've all been dewormed and deloused, it's time to evaluate their temperaments and "brokenness" so they can be offered for adoption.