Yup, they lived here in this junkyard.
No shelter – wire and junk everywhere, no clean water… a total “survive if you can” scenario.
It began with a neighbor who reported that there was a small herd of 10 horses trapped in this junkyard. None of the males had been gelded and several of the females were pregnant. There were three yearlings, three pregnant mares, and four studs of varying ages. All were malnourished, very skinny and miserable.
No one could do anything to help them...
Here is the very preggers and skinny Momma, followed by her skinny colt.
A photo from Animal Control...
THE OWNER
Clearly the owner was a hoarder or collector. Of course, the owner wouldn’t surrender them. He would prefer to sell them… Sheesh. Same old story, different venue.
And do you know the worst part? These starving horses were owned by a hay broker. In fact, his hay trailer was parked in the yard with his band of unfortunate horses. The owner had containers of hay right there!!
They were eating the scraps from the hay container. See the jutting hip bones... this is the only 'shelter' available. The minis stood under it. The Percheron had none.
THE CONDITIONS
From what I have been told, there was no clean water for the short horses. They were forced to drink out of this gacky pond. It is no wonder that they all have dysentery…
There was absolutely no shelter except the minis could hide under the hay trailer when it was parked in the yard. There was no shelter for the pregnant Percheron and absolutely no food.
Junk scattered everywhere…
And, what just blows me away – when the Animal Control officer requested that the owner feed his horses some of the hay he was selling – do you know what the owner did? He angrily opened the doors to the trailer and as expected, the very hungry horses were sniffing and putting their noses inside the trailer. Do you know what happened…? They were swiftly and directly smacked in the face by the hand that starved them. “Get yer noses outta my hay!”
Lovely.
This is the water source. it is no wonder that they are all sick.
RESCUE
Luckily, Beauty’s Haven Farm and Equine Rescue was working behind the scenes with Animal Control to come up with a scheme to rescue these poor equines.
The owner finally agreed to give up 6 of his 10 horses. BHFER immediately went into action placing them all into Foster Care.
These two were left behind for the owner to make money. She is very pregnant...
THE 4 THAT REMAINED
The 4 that remained were in desperate condition. One was a very skinny Percheron mare who is very pregnant. The second is a mini stud, the next a very, very pregnant and skinny wormy mini mare with her wormy and belly distended yearling colt who was still nursing (no wonder the mini mare is so skinny…).
All of them looked horrible. None of them had ever seen a farrier or a vet. Ever.
Luckily, they appeared to be gentle.
This is the very pregnant draft, Faith, who was finally give a small amount of hay... note the yuk water ponds.
FAITH, RED, GLORY AND TUCKER
Through powers of persuasion that lie secretly between the owner and the Animal Control officer, he agreed to surrender the last 4 horses a few days ago.
Yay!
BHFER swooped in and gathered them into their wide open arms…
The Percheron was named Faith. The mini stud was called Red. The mini mare was named Glory and her yearling colt became Tucker.
This is poor Glory after her bath - so skinny and pregnant
Faith snorfeling grass at the rescue
This is sweet Red with his wormy belly, scours on his backend and a mouth full of food
LET THE CARE BEGIN!
These four were just rescued this week (!) and already, all were given baths to get rid of the mountains of dingleballs and yuk they had acquired. All of them were groomed voraciously. The vet was already out to check their general health, take blood, check teeth, check hooves, ultrasound the pregnant mares, Red was gelded and every horse was given a game plan for recovery.
Wowee. Moss doesn’t grow under their feet at BHFER!
Red having his surgery with Tucker in the background
All of them had to be trenched because the worms were so bad…
Tubing Red to get rid of all the worms safely
Glory being checked by the vet - notice her nice grooming!
Tucker receiving much love and a bath
A job well done.
But, much care is still needed. The mares are so underweight that delivery will be difficult. The little mini mare is a wreck and her baby has been drinking what little colostrum she may have so BHFER needs to bank some more from somewhere – provided the baby survives. All of them will require farrier service for a little while until they are fit. They all need lots of groceries. They all need their teeth done.
And, we cannot forget the babies that are due… No one knows what will happen here. Little Glory is going to deliver any day and she is in really poor weight. Faith is hundreds of pounds underweight.
Tucker and Glory wolfing down some feed
CAN WE OFFER HELP?
Can we add to the success of Faith, Glory, Red and Tucker by preparing for the births and helping them all have proper feed/care? Can we help them with their dentistry so they can chew and digest the new feed?
Can we have the cushion ready when those foals drop?
Let’s cushion all the blows and help these lucky 4 (and the 2 on the way) lead a life they deserve!
The two pregnant mares, finally rescued and grazing together
HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!
I think very comforting and heartwarming to see the people who know how to safely rescue these faithful animals ! God bless them
Linda Horn, you took the thought right out of my mind. That last picture of the two mares…just brought tears to my eyes. LOVE STORIES LIKE THIS! Redemption! Oh how I wish there were SO many more like these. Good job BHFER! Will donate what I can. Keep up the good work!
Unfortunately, I recognize the abused-horse-in-junkyard photos all too well – right down to the piles of disguarded lumber, sharp metal objects, and coils of barbed wire. But I’ve also helped rescue terribly neglected horses from wealthy abusers with beautiful homes, new vehicles, shiny bass boats, ATVs, and other expensive human “toys”.
It’s good to hear this low-life surrendered the final four, but I hope the neighbor keeps an eye out for any “new arrivals” at his house of horrors. There’s little chance they’ll be treated any better.
The last photo reminds me of the final sentence of “Black Beauty”:
“My troubles are over, and I am at home; and often, before I am quite awake, I fancy I am still in the orchard at Bertwick, standing with my old friends under the apple tree.”
I’m thrilled that you are also a fan of BHFER! It has got to be one of the best rescues out there. Theresa is a saint! And, they do it right — rehab and train the horses, adopt them out when they are ready, send them kindly over the Rainbow Bridge if that is the best thing.
I am a monthly contributor, and I urge everyone to help out if you can.
So sad what humans do to animals under the guise of being “animal lovers”…
I am glad the were rescued.