Freedom Reins

The summer heat is already getting brutal. I let the cows out for a few hours today to go graze & explore. When they came back up to their pens, Queenie & Penny had pretty notable heat stress.

The other cows were fine & are pretty heat tolerant. Queenie is 20 years old so she exerts a lot of energy keeping up with the herd. Then Penny lost a lot of lung function when she got stuck in the water trough & drowned a little over a year ago. Cows rely heavily on respiration to cool themselves, so both have a lower tolerance. I will have to change to turning them out in the early mornings/late evenings until fall.

I hosed both of them off until they cooled down & their respiration rate lowered. At the end of the video you can see Queenie yawn. Much like horses, cows will yawn when their stress response is transitioning to the parasympathetic (rest/relaxed) state 🐮

The horses are far more heat tolerant, sweat more effectively, have larger lung capacities & don’t have a rumen acting as a furnace inside them, so they are all handling this hot day with ease!

Then vs now 🥹✨

Noodles spent 5 months at A&M, underwent multiple surgeries & fought against all odds to overcome her injuries. She is with no doubt a fighter 💖

These animals continually defeat the odds. Noodles mom, Jenny, was also the most cooperative, gentle mom donkey we could’ve asked for through Noodles surgeries & care. Both are healthy & living such full lives here thanks to this community ✨

These two make my heart just melt 🥹❤️

Both Flower & Kevin were orphaned at 2 months old. While Flower is 6 months older, Kevin came along shortly after. They’ve been together ever since. When we tragically lost their friends, Millie & Bambi, less than a year apart - Kevin & Flower’s bond grew even stronger. They’ve experienced so much loss, but have always had each other ❤️‍🩹

Their reunion is dramatic, but I think that’s another beautiful part. Both of them feel safe. They aren’t anxious or searching desperately. They know they are safe here, with me & with their herd. They are feeling the happiness of seeing one another again in a relaxed, present way.

Kevin had a dental while at A&M to rule that out of differentials. He ended up having a mesquite stick/thorn lodged between a molar & his gum 😟 He also had some sharp points that they filed down. He never had any swelling or abnormal chewing, but I know he has to feel & chew so much better now.

His bill came out to $1900 before his dental. We’ve raised enough to cover his dental, but still need to cover the colic portion. Once we finish with Kevin’s bill, we can finish the last bit of Popeye’s ❤️‍🩹

Thank you so much to everyone who has shown up for these horses time & time again. You all are my heroes. Truly.

🐴VNM0: @ freedomreins

🐴D0NRB0X: https://donorbox.org/freedomreins

🐴ZLLE: [email protected]

🐴P@TREON: https://patreon.com/freedomreins