Rosebud Retires
June 29, 2010 No Comments
Rosebud shortly after she arrived at CVHRR
Rosebud is a permanent resident and the spokeshorse for Central Virginia Horse Rescue. Rosebud used to work with the Amish in the fields. She knows how to pull a wagon or a plow. You can see the scars on her shoulders from the work collar on those long days in the fields.
She was originally bought in New Holland, PA and brought to Virginia. Her owner had more horses than pasture and because Rosebud is elderly, she started to lose weight. Even though Rosebud can eat fresh grass because it is tender, she cannot chew hay or even grain completely. It took about 2 years but when she came to us, she had lost down to a body score of about a 2.
It has taken some time to get a feeding program that works for Rosebud. We estimate that she is between 18 and 20 years old which is mature but not really elderly. We had the equine dentist out and he floated her teeth. He didn’t see any reason why she should not be able to eat hay, however, she will only roll it around in her mouth and drop it. She does have extreme wear on the front molars but the rear ones are all in good condition.
Rosebud says that all horses need the right feed.
Rosebud is now on Triple Crown Senior feed three times a day plus pasture and she is gaining weight. Senior feeds are usually complete feeds. That means that there is no need to feed additional hay or grass because it is included in the grain. This does mean that they eat more of it than regular grain. Rosebud consumes about 15 lbs of Senior a day right now which means that she is eating 100 lbs per week.
Once Rosebud has her girlish figure back, she will be making personal appearances representing CVHRR. Rosebud is a favorite here with all of the children and grandchildren. She often gets to give ‘riding lawnmower’ rides with young children. She loves the attention and the treats.
Rosebud is looking for a sponsor or actually several sponsors. Because of her special dietary and senior citizen needs, it costs over $2000 per year to take care of her. Sponsors will have their name added to Rosebud’s page and are encouraged to come pay her a visit. Appointments for visits are strongly encouraged so you don’t catch her on a spa day.
If you would like to sponsor Rosebud, click here for our sponsor page or if you would like to donate a smaller amount, just click the button below.
