This week's Horse of the Week is Rosebud the mule, she is the official mascot of Central Virginia Horse Rescue and she has a starring role in the 2013 Horses and Hope Calendar a calendar featuring rescued auction horses.
All the equines featured in the calendar were at auction with uncertain fates and 100% of the profits of these calendars will be donated to a fund with One Horse At A Time. Inc the funds will be used to help horses in need.
Rosebud, born February 14, 1980, was formerly a working Amish mule and was purchased at auction for only $50. Rosebud tells us, via Facebook that,
"When I came to Central Virginia Horse Rescue, I was very, very thin. People looked at me and said I would never be fat again. Even in the pasture full of nice green grass, I stayed thin. The dentist came and worked on my teeth. He said I was very old and that my teeth weren't growing the way they should. He filed some of them off but it didn't really help me chew grass. I chew and chew but then I end up spitting it out in a ball.
The folks at CVHR tried all kinds of diets until they finally found one that worked for me. It took me almost a year to get fat and sassy but I am and you can see it in my pictures. Did you know that old horses can choke to death on grass and hay? Those balls of grass or hay that I drop, are called quids and they can get stuck in a horse's throat and cause them to choke. People have asked me to share my diet so that maybe other horses can benefit from it.
Rosebud's Weight Gain Diet
Breakfast
6 lbs of Senior feed (2 scoops)
1/2 cup rice bran oil
Lunch
2 scoops of Beet Pulp (soaked)
1 scoop of alfalfa (soaked)
Dinner
6 lbs of Senior Feed
1/2 cup rice bran oil
Midnight Snack
2 scoops of Beet Pulp (soaked)
1 scoop of alfalfa (soaked)
Snacks: Jelly Donuts and applesauce
Supplements
I get fed many times a day because a mule and a horse needs to have something in their stomach all the time. I am much happier when I get a little bit off and on during the day. Because I am eating Senior feed, I drink a LOT of water every day. Senior feed is important because it melts in my mouth and I can swallow it easily. Sometimes Mom soaks it so that it melts before I eat it.
Mom says that I am cut back on to one scoop of beet pulp and no oil at each feeding because I am getting too fat. She says that I will probably go back to 2 scoops when it gets cold. "
"I am a senior mule. It doesn't have anything to do with age but a lot to do with maturity and experience. They tell me I am a critic but I think I just have a very strong opinion."
You can keep up to date with Rosebud via her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RosebudRules
Please click here to reserve your copy of the Horses and Hope 2013 Calendar!
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