Rastas
Rastas is approximately 30 years old and joined the rescue in April 2019. He worked for many years in Colorado’s park service as a pack mule and needed to be retired. No home was found for Rastas and the rescue was contacted by a gentleman who knew about Rastas’ predicament. Rastas is very sweet and well-mannered but clearly has arthritic issues. He is somewhat underweight and needs updated farrier and dental care along with a thorough veterinary evaluation to determine any treatment available for the degree of arthritis or other needs.
Update: Rastas underwent initial veterinary exam including updated dental care and X-rays for a past hind leg injury. It is believed he had a bad slip and/or fall where a ligament was torn resulting in damage to the stifle joint (bony fragments visible on X-ray). His leg also shows atrophy of the muscles and he’s very guarded around his hind legs. There is some arthritis to his right front knee but he has good range of motion. We will closely monitor his abilities in using the right hind; treatment options are very limited.
Update (May 2020): In early May, Rastas showed signs of not “feeling well” but didn’t present symptoms easily identifiable. The vet was called to come out as colic was suspected and that Rastas was being “very stoic”. The vet arrived in time after Rastas did begin to look painful and more unwell. He was diagnosed with colic and his gums were purple in color, indicating toxicity or sepsis had set in. He was humanely euthanized.
This horse is not available for adoption