Help us save Braveheart!

Braveheart is a 1 & 1/2 year old miniature filly. She came here as a rescue with her dam and sire, and two of her brothers. One brother moved to Missoula to help out with an EAGALA program there, and the other stayed here in Helena, to be a project for 4H. When she got here, she was only 2 days old. The family had a crisis and had to move away immediately, and were looking all over to find folks to take their animals and give them a home. We don't take rescue animals, but in this case, we caved in. 

Such a little doll!

Braveheart was always friendly, and interactive. She was like a baby goat! She was so tiny. She was named Braveheart because she seemed to be fearless of people or things, despite her small size! After the family was here for a month, we started using them in therapy sessions. Braveheart was a natural. She was always interested in people, and would interact with them, and try to find out what they were doing. 

With her family people family!

On one occasion, a girl and her mother who were wanting to work with the horses less and less, were brought out in the arena where the minis were already roaming around. The family didn't know, but the mini's were there to help them re-engage with the horses again, so they could get back to work! Of course, Braveheart was the first to come over, and it was really meaningful to the young girl who was really touched by the little horse taking such an interest in her being there. It brought the family back to a better place. 

Braveheart was a 'big' help with other families with smaller children on the Autism spectrum. When the kids would come, they got excited about seeing the horses, but when they got close to a big horse, they got disconnected because they couldn't really see the whole horse anymore. When the mini's arrived, the children could run right up, hug and kiss them, look them in the eye, feel their breath on their little fingers, and we knew that Braveheart would not hurt them, she was happy to see them, and would whinnie and walk or run over to her new friends.

Such a good kisser!

In EAGALA, all of the work is done on the ground, it uses a lot of metaphor and relationship between the person and the horse, and the team helps the person look at things that went well, as well as anything that the person wish worked better. Often, the horse can represent other people or problems in one's life. Braveheart has represented friends, sisters, brothers, and children. She loves to play dress up, then roll all the clothes off. When families build a room or a space that represents something in their life with barrels and tarps and other materials, Braveheart is always the first to venture into the space and tour the area. On one occasion, she kept knocking things down, and the family was able to say that it reminded them of a sibling, and how they actually handle the situation in real life. At first, they thought how angry they get with the brother, but as they worked with the horse, they realized that they actually handle things well, and were working together. They felt a lot better about themselves when they realized this. 

This past summer, Braveheart started having problems with her legs. It was terrifying at first to see her dragging one of her legs. We found out from Dr. Deidre from Valley Veterinary Hospital that her knee caps weren't moving out of the way. We have tried several different interventions to include injections, oral medications, and physical therapy. Despite these efforts, she became worse. We had to start looking at the possibility that this horse might have to be put down. I couldn't imagine this scenario. Such a useful horse who has given so much to others, not even 2 years old yet, and has to be put down? Every time we made the decision as a team that we would put her down, she would do something to show us that she wasn't done. One leg or the other would look better. She would perk up and walk over to us. Sometimes she could walk or run! Earlier this week, when I was doing her PT, all I had to do is move the knee cap, and she lifted her leg up and down all by herself!

We decided to take her in and have x-rays done based on Dr. Deidre's conversations with other vets to see what might work. If there was no arthritis, and if she had grooves in her bones enough for that knee cap to move up and down, there was a surgery that might work. The results were good! She was eligible for the procedure! Then, she told us the cost. Between $3,000-4,000! I was very upset, and said that I just couldn't afford it. Dr. Deidre and Leah called back and said, "What if we do a fundraiser? Perhaps others in the community would be willing to help the little pony that has helped so many others?!"

I thought it was an amazing idea. The very next day (today!) Charlie Misra from Beartooth NBC came out and interviewed us, and the piece comes out on the new tonight! (Charlie, awesome job, looks great!) Leah has already had donations come in for this little filly, and I am just amazed at the hard work and dedication they are showing for her! I am not used to getting help like this, and I am absolutely humbled by what is happening. We made a terrible copy you can see above. As soon as a link is available on the NBC website, I will update the link!

Soon, we will announce the location of the official fundraiser, and we hope you can attend! Please help us support Braveheart so she can live a long healthy life and help others along the way! Please call Valley Vet at 406-442-0188 to make a donation today!