First Week in Rescue: Dove and Sparrow

On Monday, July 7, 2025, we were contacted by concerned community members in Maury County after a Facebook post indicated that two horses had been left behind after the passing of their owner and were in urgent need of care.

Their condition and level of need is not hidden: Both were covered in rainrot, have eye problems, hoof issues, and are incredibly emaciated. We drove strait to our incredible veterinarian, Dr. Mark Wooten at Equine Performax at The Jaeckle Centre for evaluation.

Sparrow weighed in at 677lbs, missing 33% of his body weight. He faired a little better than his companion and other than gaining a lot of weight and healing extensive rain rot, his only other challenge is his oozing tumors require twice daily cleansing, which he doesn’t seem to mind. He will have them removed once he is strong enough to do so. Thankfully they have clear margins and once removed shouldn’t affect him. He has never lost his spunk and for the first week was often be seen keeping watch over his more fragile friend.

Dove is the more critical of the two at 582lbs and missing a staggering 40% of her body weight. She has been having some heart challenges (likely due to her body eating muscle to stay alive) and therefore having trouble thermoregulating so she is getting a lot of extra support with cold hosing. Her rain rot will result in the loss of most of the hair on her back and hindquarters. We pulled a rusty nail out of her left front foot drawing out a massive sole abscess. Her right front foot is also abscessed and so we were keeping her on ice around the clock for the first several days and now are being wrapped with poultice pads and diapers to form a cushion and help continue to draw out the abscess multiple times per day. She is a napping champion, undoubtedly feeling relieved by getting weight off of her feet. We are in close communication with our vet to continue to evaluate her condition and ensure we are being fair in assessing her condition and not prolonging suffering if it is unfair for her to continue. We are very guarded and cautiously hopeful that she will pull through.

We sadly had to move Dove away from Sparrow into a deeply bedded stall to allow for the effective treatment of her abscessed feet. While we were sad to split them up, we knew we'd have to eventually provide some seperation to effectively rehabilitate each as an individual to address their unique needs. They will get to see each other again once Dove is able to walk around without pain.

We're already seeing glimmers of who they’re becoming. Dove's sweet and endearing nature begs for all the love and attention she can soak in. Sparrow is smart, charming, and inquisitive- he will undoubtedly be quite mischievous.

We know God cares for His creation and believe that when humans have failed to realize their God-given responsiblity of caring for those they have charge for, that we are called to step in and help in the redemption of His creation. Having rescue as an element of Freedom Reigns Ranch is part of the full picture of the ministry here and a way we can serve our local community as well. We do not pull from our mentorship program funds to rehab rescued horses. Therefore, support designated for rescues is vital to allowing us to step in when help is needed.  

We have been so grateful for your messages and support. Thank you to everyone who has sent poltuice pads, diapers, vetwrap, rain rot meds, and helped with their initial vet bills and care. Their rescue was made possible by the ripple effects of compassion: someone saw a need, someone spoke up, many gave and are giving, and together we were able to save these two precious horses. We’re honored to be part of their healing journey and so hopeful that both will make a full recovery!

Stay tuned for more updates as these two continue to settle in, heal, and eventually, thrive.

Click here to donate to Dove and Sparrow's Rehabilitative Care