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Wild
Horse Spirit Ltd. Betty Kelly was in an area of Nothern Nevada for a wild horse project meeting October 18, 1997. It was early Saturday and she was checking the area for any sign of wild horses. Using her binoculars, she noticed a young horse alone on the mountain. The horse appeared injured, sick and weak. Three coyotes were observed near the horse apparently waiting for the opportune time to finish the young horse off.
Betty contacted Bobbi, her partner, and Shirley, one of the Wild Horse Spirit Ltd. volunteers, for help to try and save the young horse. The horse was lured down the mountain with alfalfa to a safe place near a water source and road access. Corral panels were set up to "trap" the young horse to evaluate it's condition. The horse could not have been more pleased to have feed and quietly walked into the corral.
A veterinarian was called to evaluate the horse's condition. It was determined that the young filly needed more veterinarian care than could be provided on the mountain. Steve, who has helped Wild Horse Spirit Ltd. gentle wild horses, and his wife Terri, an animal psychic, offered to provide the trailer to get the filly to the equine hospital. While waiting for the trailer to transport the filly, Betty got acquainted with the young horse. The filly moved near Betty, munching on hay intermittently despite her obvious discomfort.
When the trailer arrived, the filly was gently loaded into the trailer. Teri said the horse told her that "she just did not want to be rushed" when loading, "but knew that she would get help". The young filly was then transported to the equine hospital.
The veterinarian was able to assess the injuries after the filly was tranquilized. There were mountain lion bites on the back of her neck and over the right ear. Miraculously, she had survived the mountain lion attack but would not have survived another couple of days. Her neck wounds were filled with maggots which is nature's way of debriding and reducing any progressive tissue damage and severe infection. By the size of the maggots (recovery photos), her wounds were estimated to be ten days to two weeks old. Because of her severe wounds, she had a great deal of difficulty raising and lowering her head and neck to eat and had lost a lot of weight. Her mane, where it was shaved to evaluate and treat her wounds is now growing out. It is now about 3-4 inches long and looks like a mohawk haircut. The young filly spent about a week at the equine hospital. She was
then transported to Wild Horse Spirit Ltd. in Washoe Valley for continued treatment and
recovery. (To view photos of recovery) Kitty was indeed a lucky one to have escaped and survived an attack by a mountain lion. She is a Virginia Range "estray" wild horse rescued October 18,1997. Her name comes not from the mountain lion who attacked her, but from
Kitty of the old "Gunsmoke" TV series who, like Kitty the wild horse, was a true
survior. Wild Horse
Spirit Ltd. |
