When Nova arrived at OHW on August 12, 2024, she was already 20 years old and had been a cherished companion. She was used for riding, showing, and showered with love by her owners. As time passed, Nova's health began to decline, and she developed several medical issues that made it necessary for her to retire. Unable to be ridden, Nova was in need of a forever home that could provide her with the ongoing care, medical attention, and special diet necessary for her to live out her days in good health and happiness. Nova's veterinarian reached out to us about her situation and expressed great enthusiasm about her potential to be a perfect fit for our work with humans in Equine/Animal Assisted therapeutic services.
Nova is a stunning, pure white Andalusian mare. Her big personality shines through as sweet, loving, and opinionated! As a result of her health issues, she requires extremely precise foot care and custom shoes every six weeks. Her blood sugar levels need to be carefully managed with daily medications along with a carefully planned special diet to keep levels low and nutrition high. By sponsoring Nova, you will be making a direct impact on providing the best possible care for this lovely lady who has dedicated her life to being a good riding partner for decades.
Nova currently isn't very interested in working with people and we totally respect that. Moving is stressful. There is grief involved in leaving old friends and it likely brings up other past losses when she has moved. The stress is likely a part of her current foot flare-up - not totally unexpected. Our focus now is meeting her medical needs and helping her make new friends to meet her social needs. We will ask her periodically how she feels about participating in mental health sessions and maybe one day she will say yes. But maybe she will say, "Nah… I'm good. Retirement is good. I have other things planned for the rest of my life." It will be fun to see what she decides.
Nova is a stunning, pure white Andalusian mare. Her big personality shines through as sweet, loving, and opinionated! As a result of her health issues, she requires extremely precise foot care and custom shoes every six weeks. Her blood sugar levels need to be carefully managed with daily medications along with a carefully planned special diet to keep levels low and nutrition high. By sponsoring Nova, you will be making a direct impact on providing the best possible care for this lovely lady who has dedicated her life to being a good riding partner for decades.
Nova currently isn't very interested in working with people and we totally respect that. Moving is stressful. There is grief involved in leaving old friends and it likely brings up other past losses when she has moved. The stress is likely a part of her current foot flare-up - not totally unexpected. Our focus now is meeting her medical needs and helping her make new friends to meet her social needs. We will ask her periodically how she feels about participating in mental health sessions and maybe one day she will say yes. But maybe she will say, "Nah… I'm good. Retirement is good. I have other things planned for the rest of my life." It will be fun to see what she decides.