My Story:
I am one of a handful of volunteers that
work hard to rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome horses that are neglected,
abused, abandoned, and destined for slaughter. Well Trained Horses of Icssoma
Farm is responsible for successfully rescuing and rehoming 16 horses within the
last year. I have had the opportunity of working with the wonderful folks of
Icssoma Farm and the gentle giants that reside there for over a year now. I
have been able to participate in many rescue efforts and seen them come to full
completion. There is no better feeling than watching your patience bloom into a
relationship of love and trust with a formerly abused horse and witnessing
his/her unique personality finally emerging. When the wall of trauma comes
tumbling down, what is left is beauty and grace. It is just as much of a
pleasurable experience for the human as it is for the horse. I often feel that
these horses are helping me more than I am helping them, reciprocating the
gifts of patience, love, and nurturing. It is my offering to the horse that
leads me to create this campaign. Will you help me give back to these beautiful
creatures?
Their
Story:
Maki’s Pleasure, Idalena, and Spring
Arrival are all ex-racehorses who belong to one unprepared, well-intentioned
man. He took them in with no horse experience other than an equine
rehabilitation program he had participated in. The experience left him wanting
more. He, like so many others, was awestruck by the special connection he felt
to these beautiful creatures. He bought Maki’s Pleasure, an ex-racehorse with
great pedigree. Soon after, he purchased Idalena as a companion for Maki.
Spring Arrival, a rambunctious young horse came later.
The owner of these horses, who I will call “Steve” to keep his identity
anonymous, eventually realized that he was not in a position to keep the horses
and has been trying to find them homes for about a year. After his own attempts
at posting ‘for sale’ flyers around town with no success, he contacted us. I
personally went to do a site check. After the horses emptied Steve’s pockets of
horse treats, he started to open up about himself and his relationship to his
horses. He made it clear that he loves them but does not have the time or money
for them anymore. He told me how animal control had been involved last year
until he had made a few adjustments to the horses’ living conditions. Then
Steve moved. The horses also moved, but they moved to a property about 45
minutes away to a patch of land where 15 goats and two cows already reside.
Steve admitted that he only could make it out to feed once a week. (Our
organization has been supplying hay for these horses for several months.) “I
don’t know what they do other than that.” Steve said, shrugging and surveying
the bald patch of dirt full of half eaten cactus plants that surrounded us. My
heart sank. Knowing what I know about horses and grazing, it was clear that
they had grazed every bit of what grass had once been. They all seemed to be at a
decent weight but I also took into account their winter coats and that the
rains have yet to come this year. I realized then that I must act now to keep
these horses healthy through the winter.
I began to examine the horses and noticed the cracks and splits in their uneven
hooves. Steve admitted that he had not brought in a farrier in the four or five
years that he had owned the horses. Nor had he kept up on the horses vaccinations
or deworming.
I asked Steve for a halter and lead rope and began to move through a series of
tests. Maki was a perfect gentleman at the lead and did not resist when I held
up his hooves. Spring Arrival did well after I finally caught her. Quiet
Idalena was a different horse as soon as I snapped the lead to her halter. When
I went to walk her forward she lowered her head and planted her feet and
refused to move. All my efforts to get her to take a step or turn were in vain.
It wasn’t until I picked up a stick off the ground, as I often do in place of a
whip, did she throw her head back in horror and jump backwards. Sadness filled
my heart as I witnessed the clear signs of abuse. I quickly dropped the stick
to the ground and tried again. Idalena braced herself and didn’t budge. This
time I tapped her rump with the end up the lead rope. Each time I did this she
lurched forward or backward in fearful response. I abandoned the idea of using
a prop to make her move and after coaxing for 20 minutes I was finally able to
lead her. It was only then that I realized that she was off in her back leg.
Her refusal to move was a plea that I not make her hurt, not a challenge.
You can find Maki’s profile here: http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=5317776®istry=T
Idalena’s lineage can be found here: http://www.pedigreequery.com/idalena
What
can I do to help?
Horse rescue is as costly as it is
rewarding. There are many steps in the process and many costs in each step. Our
first step is getting these horses out of neglect and onto our farm. To do this,
we must be able to pay for veterinarian costs, which will include deworming
($15/horse) and vaccinations ($20 per vaccine/horse). Before the horses can
come to us, they must be dewormed and vaccinated to keep our other horses
healthy. These horses have very limited time left. They can only stay on the land until the end of January, however, we are literally buying time by paying off the landlord until we can raise the funds to take them. We are also currently supplying feed for all three horses ($18/bale) and
will continue to need support in our feed costs when they come to us. There is the cost of the farrier work that needs to be done on all three horses. Idalena likely
needs injections to help with her lameness, which is very costly. We hesitate to make our best guess at Idalena's condition and eagerly hope to get a veterinarian to examine her as soon as possible to determine what is causing her pain and to get her out of pain immediately. (When we hit our first $1000 mark we will bring Idalena onto our farm and begin the lengthy process of helping her to heal!) With your
help and time, we will put in the work to rehabilitate these three horses to
the best of their abilities and find them loving forever homes.
All proceeds earned on this campaign will
go directly toward rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming these three horses.
The donations range from low to high because we know firsthand the impact of
just one drop in the horse trough. Anybody, anywhere can give something. If you
can’t afford to donate, then please support us by sharing this campaign,
spreading the word, liking our Facebook page, and loving horses. We have come
up with some amazing perks donated by our volunteers. Unique images of our
horses in the form of postcards, cards, photos, art prints, calendars, posters,
and one beautiful large framed print.
I have set this campaign to end on
Valentine’s Day. Let’s give these horses the gift of love!
Past
Campaigns
Were you a part of the “Help Save Flash”
campaign last year? We raised over $1800 to give an abandoned horse a forever
home.
http://igg.me/at/HelpSaveFlash/x/3504716
With Gratitude
Have we seen you at one of our bake sales?
Have you liked our Facebook posts? Have you been to our “First Saturday Barn
Tour?” Did you sample our homemade Gravenstein Apple treats from our own farm
apples? Did you buy your sweetheart a painted horse shoe last Valentine’s Day?
Did we wrap your presents this Christmas? Did you make it to our recent
fundraising dinner on the farm? If your answer is yes, THANK YOU!
You too can be a horse rescuer! Donate today!