Levi's Story and Background
Levi is the newest horse to the Nieman Ranch & Rescue. He has had quite the journey to Colorado! Here is what we know about sweet Levi (previously known as Moonshine).
Levi was owned by one family for a good portion of his life and all his needs never went unmet. As life evolved, his previous owners aged, which brought Levi to a new home about 2 years ago. He was sold to a sweet young lady in the Midwest. Levi was very well loved again! However, he wasn't thriving to the best of his abilities. His new owner selfishly realized her job for him was not what he needed or wanted.
After a lot of thought, his second owner made the difficult decision to sell him (with a buy-back contract) to a barn in the Midwest to be a trail/lesson horse. From what we know that barn violated the terms of the contract and Levi was sadly sold shortly after his arrival. This where the true trauma for our sweet Levi began. From November to December 2024, Levi was a Ping pong ball in the auction circuit. He was sadly sold and put through the auction ring 3 separate times for people to make a profit off of him. During the process, he was transported from Wisconsin, to Iowa, to Missouri, to Texas.
At the auction in Texas, Nieman Ranch & Rescue saw the distress that poor Levi was under and saved his life. Now Levi is safe and finally found his forever home here in Colorado.
Levi's Current Needs to Thrive
Upon Levi's arrival to the Ranch, we quickly learned how sick he truly was. He spiked a fever and had a pretty gnarly infection brewing in his face/mouth. Thankfully, we don't believe he has Strangles. However, his infection caused a variety of abscesses in his mouth and for all his top teeth to fall out! His gums were being pulled away from the bone, due to the infection eroding his mouth! Nieman Ranch & Rescue has spent countless hours stabilizing Levi and he is still fighting so hard! As long as he has a will to live and it is in his best interest, we will continue to support him.
We have consulted a variety of vets and specialist on his care journey. What we believe needs to happen now, is for Levi to go to CSU for a head CT scan and to meet with an anagram specialist. These two tasks will truly evaluate him and check him for any systemic issues. Then, if all is goes as planned, he will have surgery to have the dead bone removed and the healthy tissue reattached.
How to Help!
Nieman Ranch & Rescue is currently seeking donation to help with Levi's care. Donations can be made to the rescue directly in Levi's name on this page. If you would like to donate any supplies for Levi's round the clock care, please reach out to Mariah at 303-880-3150. We appreciate our horse community rallying around our sweet Levi.
