Zak  (Arrived at Hope Pastures 25th February 2007)
Zak is a 14.2 hh elderly chestnut gelding who has a stripe down his face and one white sock.
He came along with his friend after being handed in to another rescue centre near to London, who took him in seeing that he had been neglected and was in need of specialist care and feeding.
Zak is proving to be quite a character who knows what he wants and will bother people until they give in, he also bosses Napoleon around a little but then acts worried if he cannot see him.
We hope that in the next few months we will be able to show you photo's of a different Zak, in much better condition and able to enjoy his last years being loved and cared for no matter how old he is and whether he can be ridden or not.
May 2007
Zak is really coming along well and is almost back up to his full weight, he looks fabulous and is very proud and elegant when he trots across the paddock for his feed.
When Zak first arrived in February he was really showing his age and we wondered if he had an underlying problem as to why he was in such bad condition- he was very underweight and seemed depressed, his skin was covered in scabs and sores and flakes of old skin and he was a very sorry sight.
We wormed and de-loused him as routine and a week later after he and Napoleon had time to settle we had the vet out to examine him and check his teeth.
After a very good look and feel inside Zaks mouth his teeth were found to be in a terrible state and the vet said that he was very elderly but had almost certainly never had his teeth attended to, which was one of the main reasons why he was in such a poor state.
He then sedated Zak and took off a lot of very sharp edges which had ben digging into his teeth and gums, and sorted out several other problems.
Zak seemed to really brighten up after this and has steadily gained weight with plenty of small feeds every day, plenty of love and attention and grooming and he now lookes like a different horse.
He has become extremely friendly and will come and say hello to any visitors who pass by, he loves a good scratch and will often try to groom you back if you scratch him in the right spot.
We had a little worry with him as he became quite lame some weeks ago and the vet was called out, an abcess was found so he was stabled and poultices were applied to draw out the infection and after a few days of painkillers he was much better.
He and Napoleon have now been moved to a bigger field across the road from the yard which is surrounded by a high wall and trees which give natural shelter, as well as a large field shelter which is bedded with plenty of straw, and they now stay out most of the time with their coats on at night in case if rain, as Zak tends to get quite stressed in his stable and Napoleon doesnt settle too well as Zak is fretting all night ,and they both seem very content in their own field together as they are very close friends.
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Zak, looking good in June 07
 March 07
Zak (at back) and his friend Napoleon (foreground)
(Above)
Zak when he first arrived
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