We named this one-eyed beauty Fantasma (Spanish for ghost) due to her striking look and Halloween rescue. However, she is far from scary.
In fact, this poor giant girl was very scared herself when she arrived here. She lived in the same home for 18 years, but when she lost her eye she was no longer considered useful. She was sold from person to person for 6 months. Only being fed just enough to stay alive without any other care.
When she arrived at our Finca she only had one shoe on. Her hooves were overgrown and infected. We did background research, and found out that she has a problem with her veins and circulatory system. She also suffers from a weak digestive system causing colic and edema, so she can’t eat a lot of high protein food.
Her deep set thrush infection gave her a lot of pain in her legs. We gave her protective boots for the rocky terrain and took her on daily walks on flat roads, to stimulate the blood flow to push out the infection. We also used natural products to treat her hooves, created a special diet and did some basic positive reinforcement training to help overcome her nerves.
Fantasma has a sensitive soul and loves people, despite everything that happened to her. She is a real sweetheart to other horses as well. She picked Nella as a special horse friend and sticks to her, not wanting to be without her. You can always find Fantasma touching Nella with her head, her blind side turned towards Nella as a sign of trust.
Finding out what causes the colic is an ongoing journey. We manage her diet, had blood tests done and are in ongoing contact with the vet.
Over time she has become more comfortable and without the pain in her feet she is confidently walking around. At the same time her sweet nature stayed and she is enjoying life with Nella in the paddock. Donations towards Fantasma pay for her special diet, vet care and for keeping on top of her ongoing foot care.
