A Horse Rescue Organization
Our new shelter in the arena went up recently, and we all love it! Rain is predicted for this week-end and the timing is perfect. Before this shelter was constructed, we had to move horses around to keep everyone covered. A great addition to the Sky Ranch, and with a little additional fencing to allow each horse to eat in peace, it will give us room to add another horse. We are thrilled!
Bonnie and Belle were draft horses on my grandparents’ farm in Michigan. As a small child in the 50’s it was a great thrill to sit on them as they munched hay in the barn. They were very large, and my cousin and I probably felt like flies on their backs. They hardly seemed to notice.
Though I was too young to be very discerning, I never saw anything that felt like abuse or neglect involving these stately beautiful creatures, but they were clearly not pets; they worked on the farm, pulling plows and wagons and whatever was needed to plant or harvest crops.
These years were a time of transition to mechanized farming, and Bonnie and Belle started doing less work as the tractor was used more often. My grandfather followed them with a small plow in the garden behind the farmhouse, but they were slipping into retirement as I reached my pre-teen years. And then they were gone. Sold to someone, and I never knew the details. I’m sure such sales were happening all over rural America as the tractor took over, and the use of draft horses plummeted.
In the urban environments, horses became superfluous also. In the late 19th century, every item shipped by rail needed to be collected and distributed by horses at both ends of the journey. In the 1820’s horses overtook travel by foot as the most used means of transportation in urban areas. This required tremendous numbers of horses and the horse population skyrocketed. Then in the 1890’s, the automobile became the rage and took over as the primary means of getting around the city.
The large numbers of horses used in wars, as recent as World War I, required the production of large numbers of horses. Between 1914 and 1917, about 1,000 horses were sent every day by the ship from the United States to Europe to “work” as soldiers.
World War II was the first highly mechanized war, and though large numbers of horses and mules were used as cavalry, field artillery draft animals and in supply trains, by the end of the war, mechanization eliminated much of the need for horses and mules.
The decline in the “usefulness” of horses in the United States, and in much of the rest of the world has left them with the purpose of fulfilling human’s needs for making money (horse racing) or recreation, which can include pretty serious competitions. They are not “necessary” to keep the economy afloat.
Indiscriminate breeding has lead to too many horses and too many with physical or behavioral faults that render them unsuitable for domestic use. The cost of ownership has doubled or even tripled, while the resale value has been reduced to less than half.
Though perhaps the standards of horse care have improved over the years, with more focus on humane treatment of animals in general, horses are still in peril. There are too many “unwanted horses” and not enough places for them to receive the care they deserve. Slaughter and euthanasia are not acceptable solutions. What can we do? I wish I knew the answer.
Our horses at Sky Ranch, and the horses and other animals at rescues and sanctuaries all over the country, have been given a “second chance”: a chance to be restored to the magnificent whole creature each was meant to be. And I believe those of us committed to that restoration of health and offering a safe place to live out life are given a “second chance” by being able to provide that kind attention another being may need to survive and thrive.
I doubt there are many, if any, persons out there who have not been given a helping hand, seemingly from “out of the blue,” and I will even go so far as to say that most, if not all (even those considered the most dastardly!), have offered a kindness to another being with no thought of receiving something in return. But the wonder of it all is that we do get something back! Looking at Digger yesterday, not having seen him for a few days while I was out of town, I was struck by how strong and healthy he looked. Digger is by our vet’s best guess at least 30 years old, and he may never be as well muscled and vital as a horse of younger years, but he looks good, and he greets us with an enthusiasm in the morning that has replaced the dull eyed stance of his first days here. What a thrill to witness that!
For every horse who gets a second chance there is a person, or more likely persons, who in being part of that recovery and renewal process, get a “second chance” also. A chance to “do over” the times when we looked the other way or just didn’t have the gumption to do it right. These wonderful horses who come our way give us a second chance every day. Here’s to second chances!
Something about watching a horse run…not out of fear, but just to get somewhere when the horse feels good!
Lately when I’ve been bringing Ditto and Digger out of the lower pasture for dinner in the barn, I just open the lower pasture gate and get out of the way. Snitch, of course, runs up to the gate by the barn, tossing his head and kicking and bucking; just anticipating getting into the barn with the other horses and digging into his hay and senior feed. But Digger has been the surprise. He has been rather quiet since he arrived, allowing himself to be gently and slowly led to the destination. Apparently the energy that was going into getting back to a good weight and good health is now being re-channeled.
Recently his Thoroughbred genes have been showing up as he runs up to the barn gate with the beauty and power of a much younger horse. (We guesstimate that he’s at least 30 years old.) Witnessing his exuberance and return to health makes mucking out paddocks and hauling wheel barrows full of mud laden manure, thanks to the rain we have been waiting for, more than worth it.
Thanks to the rain we’ve had recently, grass is popping up all over. The horses’ heads are down and they are doing what comes naturally. Sometimes it’s hard to wrap one’s mind around “naturally.” We are trying to get the five horses out together during the day to give them a most natural environment, but it isn’t always comfortable, at least for me. For example, we recently put Digger, our newest horse, out with Snitch, Party Girl and Spirit. Spirit has decided he needs to keep his distance from them and chases him away when he tries to join the group. Spirit isn’t “wrong,” she’s just being a horse and following her true nature, but it’s difficult for human me to see Digger left out. What to do?
People have been studying horse behavior for eons and have come up with lots of ideas for managing that behavior in a humane way. But I’m still not sure we humans “get it”….we aren’t horses after all so how could we? (I’m not even sure, despite all of the information out there, that we have it down as to our own human nature, so it’s not surprising we haven’t figured out what it’s like to be another species.) We may try Digger with Sheldon and see if that can be a good pasture relationship, or we make try some other combinations and see how the horses get along. We definitely don’t want any horse getting hurt as they sort it out. But no matter how we proceed or try to interpret what’s going on, the true nature of the horses will prevail.
I am not a horse and perhaps can never know the true nature of another species, and I may not be able to figure out what is truly “best” for the horses, but maybe with an open, loving heart, and a watchful eye my best guess will suffice.