Our Rescues
Updated 4/07/09
 Princess on the left, Redford on the right. This was taken the night of the auction, they were tired and hungry! We got home at 4:30 am. |
 Princess & Redford only three days after their arrival! They pose proudly with my daughter Rylee (middle) and riders Karen Gallagher (left)and Sophia Delgado (right). |
 Lexi Arab 6-8 Month Old Filly, saved on April 4th! |
 Chevy Grade Filly 6 Months saved April 4th, already has a loving home! |
 Tennessee Tex Tennessee Walker type Gelding 10 years (not verified yet) Gelding. Super sweet! |
These
horses are from our last rescue mission. Each one was in
danger
of going to the wrong hands! We successfully outbid and took
them
safely to our ranch. The foals were super sweet and Lexi has been handled a ton! I have already taught her some voice comands on the lunge line. If you are interested in adopting her feel free to contact me! Chevy got a great home! It was sad to see her go but there are so many horses out there that need to be saved! Tennessee Tex is very quiet in his new surroundings. You could tell that all of the horses were pretty distraught after the auction. The have quickly come to realize that they are safe now! |
| On
March 14, 2009, we set out to
attend the Mike's Horse Auction in Mira Loma, CA. My sister
and I
came
home with two horses that were in danger and heading toward a bad fate.
Right now
horses all over the country are in need of urgent intervention! Rescue
efforts are in demand as many
are being abandoned and left emaciated in rural areas, even in San
Diego! The auction is a dumping ground and while we saw some
nice
well
bred horses with papers and reserve prices we also saw plenty of
unwanted horses. Sadly these horses are at high risk heading
toward
the dark side and becoming slaughter bound! They are being
shipped at record rates across the Mexican and Canadian borders, where
they loose their American rights. In America it is illegal to
slaughter horses. But right now there are a few states trying
to
reinstate the practice of horse slaughter. You might be asking how can you help? What can you do? First and foremost, when you get a horse you are making a lifelong commitment. However, you may face the dread of having to put your horse up for sale. Sometimes older or horses with unsoundness issues end up in the wrong hands. Try to be selective when you sell your horse. Please do not dump your horse at an auction. If you must than put a reserve price on it. If you don't have a horse and you want to help then donate your time or money to a rescue. Afterall, the rescues are the ones who outbid the kill buyers! The rescues are the ones that take a chance on a horse not everyone can. Read up and be current on the laws. You can go to Equine Justice at http://www.equinejustice.org for more information. My sister Dara and I decided that it was time we gave back. We have made a living off of the horse's back. We want to see a change and we want to spread the word! Our horses need your help. We went to the auction and 4 horses now have a new lease on life. Life the most precious gift of all! The auction was swarming with activity when we arrived at 8p.m. There were many horses close to 100. All needing homes. Some where young, some very old, some were jumpy, some were scarred up from a long history, some were in desperate need of medical help, some hadn't seen the farrier for a year! But a little perlino mare caught my eye. Not because she was bright and perky but because she looked like she had just landed on the wrong square. Like a game piece in a board game but this was real. This was all about timing. This was because I was at that place in that moment of time in that town and hour and a half from home..... Skin and bones, her head hung low, her lower lip even further. She was filthy. There was no topline just bones. And more bones. Hip bones I didn't even realize how much the could protrude. As my interest grew, so did hers. She walked over to investigate further. Her hazel eyes seemed lifeless when she first looked at me with her pupils just darts in the green gold mist. Her eyes were encircled by burnt pink skin. Her nose pink too. It was then that I realized she had and interest in me when she flipped her ears forward. I want to bid on this one my enthusiasm bursted out probably a little too loud! Loud enough that passerbyers chuckled like I was crazy. Maybe I was but when a cowboy leaned in and said that one won't go for much...I knew I had to get her out of there. In the meantime, we browsed the rest of the horses. And even had time to go back to our truck and get some carrots to divide out. We broke them up and filled our pockets. My sister had her eyes on some of the other horses. My daughter too. We were running around in a frenzy. Our intention was not to go up and get horses but to get horses out of the kill buyer's hands. Our friend had picked out several horses and a couple of Arabians. In that part of the country Arabs and Thoroughbreds are the least desired. But the kill buyers love the big horses. Thoroughbreds and heavier built horses are in the most danger. The auction yard was filled with family's and rescue groups and just plain people looking for a good riding horse. The downer of the night was a friend of our friend got his truck broken into and everything of value got stolen. Two thousand dollars worth! And even a horse rescue and medical kit! The nerve of some people. The auction yard is a dark place, I worried about our truck and trailer. It wasn't until 11p.m. when the horses finally started. We sat next to a rescue group that outbid a kill buyer several times. It was scarry, when the prices dropped under $100 they would start bidding. My little mare limped in with her long hooves. She looked bright though. The bidding dropped to $35, I began bidding. And was going to go as high as I had to. Pretty soon it was a done deal at $150! Dara had attempted to win a big dark bay Thoroughbred. But the bidding went so fast that she got overlooked. Someone else ended up with here and she was heading to a rent string. There were only a few more horses and then finally the last horse. A big red horse with a blaze face was ridden in. The kill buyer nodded his head, it was then that I noticed Dara raising her hand. What? I mean that was a good thing but I didn't remember her talking about this shaggy horse. The battle began and Dara ended up with the gelding. I went out later to see him and he was taller than I thought! Our friend ended up rescuing two Arabs. One a nice leggy two year old gelding and the other a chestnut mare that was only $60! We got our horses home safely. But the funniest thing was when my mare saw our trailer. She perked up and just jumped in. It was then that Rylee and I named her Princess. I will be posting before and after pictures. Right now I have a couple of pictures, the one at the top is her in the trailer and the one here is Princess after her first bath. She has been an angel letting me bathe her, pick out her hooves, and clip her. She leaned into the clippers as I hollowed out her ears. She is dead lame right now but thrush was so bad that there is next to nothing left of her frogs. We have started aggressive treatment as time is on our sides to beat the thrush! She had her hooves trimmed yesterday. She is on bute and resting. She will need lots of tlc, grooming and hand walking. If you are interested in helping my email will be at the bottom. Read about us in the San Diego Ranch and Coast News, published April 2009, http://www.sdranchcoastnews.com/cmv_dm_pages/cmv_dm_feature/ft2.html
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