Sad, Heartbreaking, Poor Horses

Ok, my heart is just breaking :( I receive so many emails for horses needing homes :( And what hurts even more is the reasons these horses need homes and the almost certain futures I know many of them will face. Here are two I received recently that break me. I took out names of horses and parts of the emails....but you'll get the drift.

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First Email:

I have a wonderful horse named --- whom I rescued back in 2005 and have been working with as much as possible ever since. However, my husband and I are moving to [out of state] and there is just no way we can afford to take him with us. I have tried selling him but haven't had much luck since he is still a work in progress. When I rescued him, you couldn't even touch him. To keep him from going to a meat market I bought him for 800 an started working with him with a friend of this lady's that helped me for several months. Later I hired a trainer for him that worked on him daily starting with desensitization all the way to riding him. I have seen dramatic improvements in him but I will say that he must be worked with daily in order to stay ridable. He is now very calm horse and he absolutely LOVES kids, but he is still skiddish when it comes to anything involving a saddle or bridle. He is a VERY smart horse and knows that if he pushes his weight around he will often get his way, so he'll need a stubborn owner.

Anywho, I was hoping I could ... talk to you about giving --- to you. I have a feeling that if I leave him where he is he will end up at a meat facility the first month board isn't paid. We are moving in early February and would like him to be out of his current barn by the end of January if at all possible. I believe that to the right person he will make an amazing partner and it truly breaks my heart to leave him behind, but I really don't have any other options

This email pulls so badly at my heart strings because this horse reminds me so much of my Apollo. And this owner is right; this horse NEEDS to find the RIGHT person otherwise, if it is lucky enough to end up with someone instead of on a trailer destined to be meat, if it isn't the right person, it will continue to find itself in these sad, sad situations. ;( And what also kills me is, the way I read this, it sounds to me that when they have to move, they move. And the horse stays behind. And the owner knows full well what will most likely happen to this horse. This owner has had this horse for 5 years!!!! How can you just walk away; turn your back. I am sure they don't want to and I am sure they probably wouldn't chose this if they could, but still??? How can you just walk away like you never knew this horse, let alone for 5 years? How can you just ABANDON IT???? To me, it is the same as moving and leaving your dog or cat locked up in your old, abandoned house!?

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Second Email:

I am in a very tough situation in needing to find a new home for my horse. She had a bad accident in her stall almost 4 weeks ago. She got cast at some point at night and kicked through the wall. Her legs had some major trauma to them and the right hind leg is still trying to recover since an infection has set in. I have had major vet bills and from all of this I am unable to afford to keep her and don't have the help, time, or experience to deal with the condition of her leg. She needs her leg to have special care with antibitiocs, dressing, and wrapping for a couple of months. Let me know if your facility would be able to help with her rehab or know of someone that can help, since I am no longer able to support her.

This email kills me. Someone took on the responsibility of owning a horse, and then when the horse got hurt and racked up medical bills, the owner bails. Most people DON'T have the time or experience (or money) to care for medical issues, but you LEARN. You MAKE the time. This horse has given it's all, I am sure, to this person, and now, when this horse needs it's owner most, the owner deserts it. HEARTBREAKING. And if I had to bet, once the owner washes their hands of this horse, somewhere down the line, maybe soon, maybe later, this owner will get another horse. And if the horse comes up lame, can't be ridden, or has any other issue, they will do the same thing - pawn it off on someone else.

STOP BREEDING - PLEASE!!!!

UGH - because I am affiliated with a horse rescue, and I am listed as the contact for horses in need of a home, I get calls, DAILY, seriously DAILY folks. Calls for horses that have no home, are unwanted or soon to be in one of these situations.

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, if you are one of those IDIOTS (yes, you are an idiot) out there breeding horses, dogs, cats...WHATEVER...just to breed or to make a buck, PLEASE STOP!!!

There are SO MANY animals out there w/o homes. If you want to add an animal to your family, please choose to adopt from a shelter or rescue.

If you could hear the daily voice mails I get for horses that need a place to go, you'd be sick to your stomach. And if you aren't, there is something seriously wrong with you. Today alone I received a call for 8, COUNT THEM 8, Thoroughbreds that need homes. God Damn!!! C'mon! And the kicker for this call, the lady who has them was housing them as a favor to the owner because he had a barn fire....over a year ago...and has never come back for them!

I could go on and on all day about the sad stories I listen to daily on my voicemail for horses needing homes. Even though I am affiliated with a horse rescue, I do get calls too sometimes for dogs and cats. They are all sad and heart wrenching. I could go on for days on this soap box of mine, but back to my point...STOP BREEDING! It certainly won't cure this problem of unwanted animals, but it surely can start to curb it.

All my animals are rescues...horse, dogs, cat and even barn cat ;) This picture below is of Romeo when he came into the rescue. [He now lives on my farm] He was brought to the rescue by a couple who found him tied to a tree, starving and with no food or water...in the HOT summer. Can you see his hip bones, spine and ribs in this pic; he was so skinny it was awful. My hat goes off to the jerk who decided he didn't want him anymore and tied him to a tree, leaving him to starve to death.

This picture below is of Scarlett, and her filly Silk in the background. Oh yeah, and she is already in foal (pregnant) again in this picture. You would never assume because she was a BAG OF BONES and still nursing her one month old filly, but yep, she was already pregnant again. We rescued her from a auction where the fate of her, her filly and her unborn foal was most certainly a slaugher house. SOME IDIOT decided they didn't want her after they bred her, let her foal Silk and then REBRED her (Why? SERIOUSLY WHY did you rebreed her only to ship her off in a month?) and then a month later shipped her to auction. A$$HOLES! And yes, that is the auction tag number on Scarlett's rear that they slap on with glue. Nice huh!

There are 9 gazillion pics I could show you. I just use these two as examples. Animals do not deserve this!! STOP BREEDING!! There are way too many unwanted animals already out there.

(*I am happy to report that Scarlett, Silk and the foal Scarlett was carrying who is now known as Sprite, all have wonderful loving homes today...but it doesn't always end that way)

Weekend in Review - Animals in Need

Remember the horse rescue neglect case I mentioned last week? Here are a few pictures of some of the horses we rescued. Sad, Sad, Sad.

This mare is 30-ish years old.

This poor gelding is 8 and that is our barn manager with him.

This is a 5 year old mare on the left and the 8 year old gelding on the right.

Anyone who would like to learn more about this rescue I work [volunteer] with, please visit H.O.P.E. Horse Rescue.

And hubby and I weighed the kittens this weekend. Not quite 2 pounds yet....once they are two pounds, they can be fixed and placed up for adoption. Anyone interested in learning more about the kitten rescue my husband and I foster for can visit Kitten Krazy!