Nopie the Rescued Horse

[Pedigree Ann]

Degrees of separation time; turns out Nopie was sired by Chullo, a terrific Argentine racehorse who, as it turns out, injured a suspensory in his last race in South America. New US owners tried to run him up here but he never regained his form. He stood at the No Cal farm of a friend of mine on another board, Joan Rogers, until Chullo's little brother was champion 2yo in Argentina a couple of years ago. After that, some Argentines decided to bring him home, where he is getting more and better mares. Happy ending for Nopie's dad, too.

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by Pedigree Ann

Happy ending for Nopie's dad, too.

It's really all about happy endings

[Echo Farm]

Things are tough for a lot of us, but I made a tiny donation to them. I'll do more in the future, maybe hold an ebay auction of some of my horse stuff.

http://www.glenellenfarms.com/geva/index.htm

Remember PayPal takes 30 cents per transaction and 2.9%.

I hope Nopie does well, and thanks to all for this.

[Bystander]

Originally Posted by freddymo

It's really all about happy endings

[DerbyCat]

Just wanted to update you on Nopie, he's doing well at his new home at GEVA in the wine country of northern California. He's got a stall in the barn that has its own small paddock in front of it which overlooks the larger paddocks where all the other horses spend their day... he's eating everything put in front of him and is getting spoiled by the staff at GEVA (they say he's playful and loves attention). When he's not eating, he's resting, either laying down in his paddock or looking outside peacefully at the other horses. Hopefully he really likes it there because he's stall-bound for the next 9 months.

Nopie arrived last Saturday at Golden Gate Field a very hungry, sore, tired and skinny horse. He has a new 1.5" long scar on his nose, a few other scratches and scrapes not seen a couple months ago and his ribs and hip bones were very pronounced. He spent the night at Steve Sherman's barn before the final drive to his new home at GEVA and I had the opportunity to visit him last Saturday and Sunday. The vet let me know that Nopie tore both branches of his suspensory ligament in his front left leg and a chip of bone was pulled off as well. He'll be stall bound for the next six months followed by another three months of paddock rest. The encouraging thing was hearing that with proper rest, he has a very good chance of giving rides to my three young nieces next summer

GEVA has had great success in horses recovering from this same type of injury in the past so I'm feeling really good about his future. Last Sunday I visited GEVA for the first time and was impressed with their farm. It's nine acres of almost nothing but living space for retired race horses - I was introduced to the 30 horses that Nopie will be hanging with for a while and was impressed with their stories - a lot of good northern California horse trained by some of the best trainers in this area - all fairly severely injured but given a chance to live a good life at a nice little farm. I plan on visiting Nopie at least 2-3 times a month and will keep you updated on his progress (photos to follow soon, I just need time to download them). If you want to help Nopie, you can make a donation to GEVA at http://www.glenellenfarms.com/geva

There was a happy ending to this story but that's not the case with a lot of horses that leave local tracks at the lowest claiming ranks... I honestly believe that if I had not stepped up to save Nopie he would be dead now - either they would have put him down shortly after his last race or he would have been sold to a Canadian rendering plant and killed for his meat. You know, I've never done something like this before (I'm not a member of PETA nor a bleeding heart liberal) but this felt right... I love this sport and because of my close association with my trainer, Steve Sherman, I got to know this one horse in his barn and felt that he was worth saving. I'm just one person but I think I made a difference (with Scav's help, can't ever forget what Tom did to help - he's an outstanding person ).

I'll post photos soon, I promise!

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by DerbyCat

Just wanted to update you on Nopie, he's doing well at his new home at GEVA in the wine country of northern California. He's got a stall in the barn that has its own small paddock in front of it which overlooks the larger paddocks where all the other horses spend their day... he's eating everything put in front of him and is getting spoiled by the staff at GEVA (they say he's playful and loves attention). When he's not eating, he's resting, either laying down in his paddock or looking outside peacefully at the other horses. Hopefully he really likes it there because he's stall-bound for the next 9 months.

Nopie arrived last Saturday at Golden Gate Field a very hungry, sore, tired and skinny horse. He has a new 1.5" long scar on his nose, a few other scratches and scrapes not seen a couple months ago and his ribs and hip bones were very pronounced. He spent the night at Steve Sherman's barn before the final drive to his new home at GEVA and I had the opportunity to visit him last Saturday and Sunday. The vet let me know that Nopie tore both branches of his suspensory ligament in his front left leg and a chip of bone was pulled off as well. He'll be stall bound for the next six months followed by another three months of paddock rest. The encouraging thing was hearing that with proper rest, he has a very good chance of giving rides to my three young nieces next summer

GEVA has had great success in horses recovering from this same type of injury in the past so I'm feeling really good about his future. Last Sunday I visited GEVA for the first time and was impressed with their farm. It's nine acres of almost nothing but living space for retired race horses - I was introduced to the 30 horses that Nopie will be hanging with for a while and was impressed with their stories - a lot of good northern California horse trained by some of the best trainers in this area - all fairly severely injured but given a chance to live a good life at a nice little farm. I plan on visiting Nopie at least 2-3 times a month and will keep you updated on his progress (photos to follow soon, I just need time to download them). If you want to help Nopie, you can make a donation to GEVA at http://www.glenellenfarms.com/geva

There was a happy ending to this story but that's not the case with a lot of horses that leave local tracks at the lowest claiming ranks... I honestly believe that if I had not stepped up to save Nopie he would be dead now - either they would have put him down shortly after his last race or he would have been sold to a Canadian rendering plant and killed for his meat. You know, I've never done something like this before (I'm not a member of PETA nor a bleeding heart liberal) but this felt right... I love this sport and because of my close association with my trainer, Steve Sherman, I got to know this one horse in his barn and felt that he was worth saving. I'm just one person but I think I made a difference (with Scav's help, can't ever forget what Tom did to help - he's an outstanding person ).

I'll post photos soon, I promise!

glad he made it out and to GEVA. hope that stall rest gets him well-no doubt it'll help him gain some weight too. it's a good thing for him you were able and willing to rescue him.

[Sightseek]

thanks for the update, keep them coming!

[Payson Dave]

http://www.glenellenfarms.com/geva

donation made via paypal.... good luck with your horse

[DerbyCat]

After one week at Nopie's new home in California, here's the report from GEVA:


Week end report....

Nopie is doing fine. He's a bit too playful wanting to buck and kick in his paddock. It's great to see him feeling so well, but I wish he'd take it easy on his leg!!!

He's eating everything put in front of him 3-4 times a day. He's moving well on the injured leg and standing well on both fronts.

He's very vocal and affectionate and enjoys his treats ... even cookies now.

So, I think he's a happy camper.

He hasn't put on any noticeable weight to date, but his appetite is great.


I'll be heading up to Sonoma again next weekend to visit the Nopester, can't wait to see him now that he's back to his normal playful self!

[DerbyCat]

Here are some photos of Nopie... I went up to visit with him and he's doing really well. He's moving around great on his bad leg and he seems really happy in his new surroundings. He wants to eat everything and loves getting carrots!





This is Nopie's home at GEVA, a small paddock with an attached stall in the main barn. It looks over the outdoor paddocks where the other horses spend their day.




Here's Nopie up close and personal a couple of weeks ago when he arrived at Steve Sherman's barn at Golden Gate Fields.




Here's a shot of Nopie that shows his colors well... and him sticking out his tongue! Pam at GEVA says Nopie sticks his tongue out and makes slurping noises - I think that's his way of saying "More food sure would be tasty right about now!"

[ddthetide]

good shots! thanks for letting us see the Very lucking Nopie!

[Cannon Shell]

Dear Anonymous,

There is this new button on your computer. It is called SPELLCHECK and you should think about using it next time you defend some gyp trainer in horseracing hell. "One of the best feeding programs on the circut"? That is rich.

[herkhorse]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Dear Anonymous,

There is this new button on your computer. It is called SPELLCHECK and you should think about using it next time you defend some gyp trainer in horseracing hell. "One of the best feeding programs on the circut"? That is rich.

come on, that new "poly tack" is supposed to be good for horses

[cowgirlintexas]

Thanks for the update and the photos... Nopie looks very happy and is so lucky to have been blessed with you finding him

[31lengths]

Thanks so much for the pictures !

[Merlinsky]

Wonderful pictures He's everything I pictured and then some. I was visiting my parents and tried to tell my dad about Nopie's story, and before I explained he was in California (I'd gotten to the part about being vanned off but surviving) he thought I was going to suggest we adopt him and gave a firm "Nope! Don't even think about it!" To get him to listen to the rest of the story I had to explain that Nopie being on the other side of the country got him off the hook.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Dear Anonymous,

There is this new button on your computer. It is called SPELLCHECK and you should think about using it next time you defend some gyp trainer in horseracing hell. "One of the best feeding programs on the circut"? That is rich.

yew just nede to get yer facts streight.

[SuffolkGirl]

Oh, he is so lovely. Please keep us posted with his pictures.

I love the letter from the crack pot. I wonder if it were written in the ancient Budweiser dialect? And what exactly does "investagating" entail?