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 center 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.
Spring 2010
Zak is doing well after struggling through the harsh winter, being such an old boy he needed lots of extra feeding and care in the form of warm rugs and high calorie feeds.
Zak is now looking well, and although he has a little muscle wastage and a sway back he is keeping weight on well and has plenty of energy.
He adores Bronte and Lady- Lady he likes to boss around, and Bronte he likes to be bossed by! We are also working on his separation anxiety issues along with Lady as he is quite insecure when she leaves him.
Zak had his teeth rasped and they are fine considering her is now nearing 40 and on his health check everything was fine and the vet was very please with his health.
November 08
Zak is still very happy and healthy, he loves his ‘wife’ Lady and he and her spend all their time in the field together.
He had a little trouble balancing for the farrier to trim his hooves as he has arthritis in his back legs and hips, however we found a way around this by supporting him and letting him lean against a wall. Then he was ok and we managed to get his back hooves nicely trimmed.
He was bothered by the flies this summer too as he is very thin skinned, so had to wear a fly sheet for some of the time so that they couldn’t torment him too much. He also cost us a small fortune in fly creams and repellents!
He and Lady have joined the herd in the bigger field and have settled in very well, Zak seems to like Paddy and as they are similar size and breed this isn’t surprising.
As he hates to be stabled, he lives out 24/7 along with Lady and this seems to suit him fine, new field shelters have been erected to make life easier for them and keep them out of the wind and rain, the shelters are bedded with deep wood chipping's which is lovely and spongy and easy on their joints.
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 Zak's 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 looks 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 abscess 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 doesn't 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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