Bridge Called Hope by Kim Meeder Read Free Book Online Page B

forehead. Just the thought of such pressurized agony made me wince.
    He was owned by a friend of mine who had previously sold the beautiful colt to someone who she thought would provide a good home for him. Sadly, she was wrong.
    Like so many other tales of equine woe, even the best of intentions from their human keepers, without good follow-through, are worth less than the time it takes to think them.
    It was my understanding that the new owners had “intended” to have the colt’s feet trimmed, but never did. Unfortunately for the youngster, his hooves grew out into an abnormally vertical “tin can” shape. His hooves, instead of having a normal forty-five-degree angle from the coronet band (hair line) to the ground, were nearly vertical. All of his natural shock absorbing ability was negated by the new harsh angle above his hooves. Each ankle, instead of gracefully dipping toward the ground with every step, was now forced to thrust straight down, literally “jack-hammering” the hoof capsule with every painful step.
    The young horse was finally put out with other adult horses that “ran him down” for several days because he was new to their herd. The colt’s resulting injuries caused such severe damage to the inside of his hooves that they had indeed filled with blood.
    When my friend was made aware of her former horse’s situation, she strongly encouraged the new owners to have a farrier come out and begin rehabilitative trimming immediately. Adding to the young horse’s troubles, the new owners thought that “anyone with a pair of nippers” would suffice, and inadvertently employed a backyard butcher! The “farrier” they hired hacked off so much of the colt’s foot that he cut into living tissue, causing nearly uncontrollable bleeding from the colt’s mutilated feet.
    That was more than enough reason for my friend to show up at their ranch, with her trailer in tow, and buy the crippled young colt back.
    After knowing all of this, it gave me great surprise when I stepped away from this troubled young spirit … and he followedme! Although he was much improved since his “trim,” I was certain that every step was still an effort for him.
    In the time that ensued, I thought often of the beautiful, pale colt, always wondering if he was all right, if he was healing well, and if my friend had found a suitable home for him. I smiled to myself, yielding full recognition that this unique young horse had limped his way deep into my heart.
    It came as no surprise to me that when a space became available in our horse program, he was the first one that came to my mind to fill it. Only days later, I was settling him into our quarantine paddock.
    Karen, a friend of mine, called and described how she was a new volunteer for Sparrow Club and was just beginning to work with a wonderful, very horse-crazy little girl.
    It is one of our highest honors to serve those who might need something “extra.” We are privileged to partner with other organizations who also strive to fill the void within children who are struggling to cope with circumstances that reach far beyond “normal.” One such organization is called Sparrow Club. This unique outreach “adopts” kids that are in medical crisis and raises funds to offset their medical expenses. What is so awe-inspiring about this group is that those who are responsible to raise the financial help are all kids! To my knowledge, this is the only youth-based charity that does this kind of service. Not only does the “sparrow” receive financial support, but perhaps even more important, they receive tangible encouragement, friendship, and love from their peers.
    It was explained to me that this child was very sick with an extraordinarily rare disease that primarily attacks the heart. It seems that the illness inhibits the heart’s ability to grow along with the child. Ultimately, the child’s growth exceeds theirstruggling heart’s capacity to supply blood to their