Boston in Greener Pastures

"I am with you always, to the close of the age."
Matthew 28:20

  UPDATE: 1/30/08 Sad news as sweet Boston was peacefully euthanised late last night in the clinic. He was checked throughout the night, but his condition had begun to deteriorate and he was becoming more painful. As surgery was not an option for Boston due to his age, the decision was made to let him go before his pain increased. This is very sad for us, Boston was a long time resident of our Sanctuary. He was well loved and we will miss him. 

Boston spent the last year in Assisted Living with his friends, but during the last two weeks, he had been moved into Mesquite Manor along with his best friend, Alamo, to act as babysitters to Fortune, Gold Strike, and Twinkle. He loved to stand under the mesquite trees and doze after a nice meal of Equine Senior.

PICTURED BELOW: The following pictures are Boston right after he was rescued, notice his auction tag.  Thank you to Lisa for these pictures!

Boston was also know as a "babysitter", he kept stressed babies company and helped them to learn how to act like a big horse. The following pictures are of Boston and Biloxi, the weanling who arrived with a broken leg. Boston helped little Biloxi get through the first hard months after his arrival at the rescue. They became very close friends. 

UPDATE: 5:30pm Boston is still holding on, vitals are actually looking pretty good, but has not passed anything. He is not very painful at this time, we have decided to put him on IV fluids throughout the night. We are still praying that he will pass something and soon. Shiloh Volunteer, Cheri is spending some time with Boston this evening, as she lives close to the clinic. She is walking him and keeping him company. Thank you Cheri.

Today started out as a beautiful day, the sun was out and the air was clear. We were looking forward to getting out to Shiloh and getting alot done. But, then we got the call. Leo called to say that Boston was starting to colic. Dreaded and scary words to any horse lover.

We rushed to Shiloh. By the time we arrived, Boston was starting to try to roll. After checking him, we gave him a dose of Banamine and loaded him up. We met Dr. Little in town. He checked him over, oiled him with the stomach tube, and did a rectal exam. He could feel a large amount of gas and either and impaction or a displacement in his Colon. We decided the best thing for Boston, was to have him taken into the clinic where he could be watched very closely and decisions could be made without having to wait for anything to progress to where he started to suffer.

As of 3pm, his condition had not improved, but it had not worsened yet. He was oiled again, a belly tap was done (which was normal,)we are just praying that something starts to move. If it doesn't in the next few hours, we will have to decide what is best for Boston. We DO NOT want him to suffer.

Boston was rescued from slaughter about 3 1/2 years ago, he is sweet and gentle. An older horse who was thrown away after his arthritis had progressed. Boston is a special and personal favorite of Jill. We are all just very upset, especially because he is not currently at Shiloh...

This will be updated when we hear back from the vet in a few hours.

2005:  Boston is an extremely sweet and gentle Quarter Horse gelding. He is approx 24 years old and does suffer from some osteoarthritis in his knee which at this point does not seem to hinder his movement. He was rescued from a slaughter auction after a bidding match between Jill and the killer buyer. We are so happy that he is safe now at Shiloh. We all felt so bad for him at the auction, standing there so resigned and depressed, we had to save him

UPDATE: Boston has now become a "big brother" to baby Biloxi! The two really seem to love each other and we are hoping that sweet and gentle Boston will be a good influence on Biloxi as he recovers!

UPDATE: 8/15/06 Sweet Boston is living in a pasture with his friends Jackson and Abilene. He is fat and sleek and feeling great!