July/August 2024 Issue

Page 28 July/August 2024 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN “We administered the calci- um,” Dr. Briley said, “and after- ward, she did look a little better, but she didn’t pop right back up like they sometimes do.” Hunter said he figured she’d been down for a while and, being wet, he decided it would be best to get her out of the marsh. To- gether, the men got a tarp under Wildfire and pulled her up the hill to dry land. “Once on high ground, we draped the tarp over and around her to block the chilly wind,” Ranada recalled. “After drying her off, we knew we had to get more medicine be- cause the effects seemed to be back again,” Hunter said, so he called his brother Ayden Leonard to pick up more meds and supplies. Dr. Briley said, “I called a friend in Kentucky who is a vet and he and a colleague suggested dexamethasone (a steroid), lactat- ed ringers solution (for dehydra- tion) and maybe dextrose for low blood sugar.” Dr. Briley called Hunter to share this information, and the ladies waited. “At one point I was running through the marsh mud [barefoot] trying to keep the filly from leav- ing us and rejoining the herd,” Ranada recalled. Soon, Hunter and Ayden returned with the dexamethasone and lactated ringers. After it was administered, Wildfire sat up. They all celebrated. Dr. Briley said Ayden used his hands to dig a tunnel under Wildfire’s backend, sliding a board underneath for support. He said they could tell she could feel the foal nursing, even though her back legs did not seem to have feeling. “She was looking all around and eating,” Dr. Briley said. “We were pulling marsh grass for her. Then she suddenly laid back down. At that point, I just knew she was paralyzed. By then it was 2 p.m. and her backend was not recovering. I checked an infor- mation network for vets online which con- firmed if she had received two bags of calcium and she was not getting up, more was like- ly involved.” Dr. Briley and Ranada had to leave to make it to a commitment off island. They built an archway to hoist Wildfire into a stand- ing position. Hunter thought getting her blood flowing could help her gain the strength to stand on her own. When one archway was not enough to support her, they built a second. “Throughout all of this Wildfire was a complete trooper,” Hunter said. “She never had dull spirits, she had a heck of an appe- tite and acted completely fine with us helping her. She wasn’t in any noticeable pain. The best thing she did was to let her filly nurse on her, even while on the ground.” At 9:30 p.m., after a full day of working to get the mare up, they attempted one more calcium IV. “Although she improved physically, her back end never showed signs of life,” Hunter said. “We decided, in the interest of the foal and to give her a chance to destress, to let her rest overnight and return in the morning.” But morning found no change. Their veterinarian recom- mended euthanasia. “We were able to capture the foal and transport her safely to Chincoteague to the Leonard Farm,” Hunter said. This is where they finally found a reason to smile. At the farm, the foal walked right up to Ayden’s mare, EJ [Esther Jane] and started nursing. “EJ was already nursing her own foal, and just like that, she took on a second foal. Anyone who knows horses knows what kind of mir- acle this is,” Ayden said. “For a couple days after that, EJ did nudge at her, or bite at her ankles, but once the foal started pooping out her milk, she was fine,” Ayden said, noting how a mare will smell herself in the foal’s manure. “This is nothing short of a miracle and the silver lining of this whole incredibly difficult situation,” Hunter said. It is still unclear what caused the mare’s injury. “She had some marks sug- gesting she was kicked or hurt by Riptide mounting her. She didn’t seem to be in pain at all, but she had no movement in her legs. We wish we could have saved her.” While they grieve the loss of a special mare, Hunter said they’re thankful for every vol- unteer, and for a very strong filly who was nurtured by her mother through a dreadful health crisis. “This process involved four veterinarians, 20 hours of hard labor, and much help from our volunteers and cowboys. We thank everyone who helped get us the medicine we needed, as it came from all over, and the people who picked it up and brought it to us. We thank our initial team of vets all the way from Louisiana who took a boat tour and ended up having a once in lifetime experience. And we thank Darcy and Steve Cole DSC Photography who alerted us to a potential problem.” In the end, the labor of love meant to bring Wildfire back, did indeed save a life - that of her beautiful chestnut foal. “We had absolutely no idea of the importance of this pony to the pony community, and that people actually care about them on a day-to-day basis, that they have their favorites and know them individually,” Ranada said. “Hunter said Riptide has a fan following! Reading the comments on the [Chincoteague Fire Com- pany’s Facebook post] brought me to tears. People were devas- tated. I have been overwhelmed by what I have found on Face- book and the internet.” Dr. Briley and Ranada both say they never could have dreamed when they left Miss Molly's Inn that morning, they would be part of a team trying to save a direct descendant of Misty. “I regret that our efforts were futile, but her filly has survived, and we are thankful for that,” Ranada shared. “This experience will forever be with us.” (Continued from page 1) Wildfire, Treasured Misty of Chincoteague Descendent, is Lost But Her Filly Lives On Wildfire’s unnamed foal got a ride from the island to the Leonard Farm in a pickup truck. She was quickly adopted by another nursing Chincoteague mare. Photo credit: Hunter Leonard