08/14/2026
Ten Years Without Trust | She’s 10 years old. Her entire history was scribbled on just four short lines: “Lived in a feed lot its whole life. Never messed with much. Young smooth mouth mare.”
That was all anyone knew about her. No mention of kindness, care, or learning to trust people.
We named her Delilah, and that day in July was the first step in changing her story.
After picking her up from the sale barn, we headed straight to the amazing team at Weems for a full veterinary evaluation. The first challenge? We couldn’t even get a halter on her.
With the help of our hauler and veterinary team, we safely placed one and sedated her. But when it was time to step off the trailer, Delilah bolted…terrified, running toward the nearest horses for safety (see photo 3).
Once she settled, our team quietly secured her and adjusted the exam around what she could handle.
Normally, horses are examined inside stocks. For Delilah, that wasn’t possible. Instead, Dr. Sciba and the team examined her outside in a pen, where she felt less overwhelmed. There he completed a full workup. To our surprise, Delilah was in good health beyond needing her feet trimmed and teeth floated!
Once at our FarmHouse Fresh Animal Sanctuary, Dr. Metcalf came out and trimmed her severely overgrown hooves (photo 2). And she was SO much calmer. Medically, though, she was very sore as her hooves were pinching the tissue. We started 3 medications to help with pain, circulation, and inflammation.
And then, just as things were settling, Delilah was rushed to Weems last week after developing pneumonia and colicking.
The team wasn’t just treating her medically — they were taking care of her. See her braided mane (check out photo 8). After a few days at Weems and several checkups later, her pneumonia had cleared, and back home to us she came!
We are so thankful to Dr. Sciba and the entire team at Weems. Thank you for seeing every horse as an individual soul.
Helping a horse like Delilah takes patience, experience, and compassion. We’re endlessly grateful for everyone who met her exactly where she was.
A new chapter begins. 🤍
