On Christmas Eve, I posted about the “Miracle For the Holidays”. This was when Jill Starr from Lifesavers and Madeleine Pickens saved 235 of the Pyramid Lake horses who were destined to ship out the very next day. Wonderful! Here is a link to that story… Lifesavers also saved 48 momma and baby pairs.
What I didn’t tell you about were the ORPHAN FOALS from those auctions.
ORPHAN FOALS…
There were orphan foals. Orphan foals had their mothers ripped from them.
Below is the unspeakable fact that is rarely admitted…
Mares that have babies old enough to be humanely weaned (3 months +) are stripped of their babies and driven through the Auction.
The remaining shocked and upset ‘orphan foals’ are then put into a holding pen where they are either bought by kill buyers to fatten up and slaughter in a few months… or someone saves them.
Ugly, awful and true.
Orphan Foals at the Auction yard.
Heart breaking... Mothers ripped away and these new orphans looking for comfort.
SOMEONE SAVED THEM!
There is an Equine Angel out there who was informed of the orphan babies at the auction. OMG. There were 22 newly torn from their now forever gone Mamas who were standing in an open pen, shivering with fear, in very inclement weather.
The Equine Angel went crazy working on raising funds to pay the auction house for the babies. She had 48 hours and she did it!
But, those babies were given only 24 hours to be moved out of the auction yard. Once again, the Equine Angel moved in and had the babies secured in a temporary holding facility a short distance from the auction house.
New orphans...
REALLY BAD WEATHER
As you may have heard on the news — or perhaps you lived it like we did – the weather on the West Coast during that period (Dec 21-27) was terrible and record breaking. The winds, rain and snow were at epic levels.
No matter the weather, those babies had to be moved. They had to be moved out of the temporary holding facility and over the Sierra Nevada mountain range into California. Yikes. This was next to impossible. No one in their right minds would trek over those mountains during blizzard conditions.
But, it had to be done.
Look how little they are... with tags still on their little rumps
A WHOLE TROOP OF ANGELS
In a feat blessed by the Gods of Horses, somehow, enough wonderful people got together and got it done! If you can imagine, the ONLY break in the weather happened on Christmas night…
Here is a quote from the Equine Angel:
There were many “angels” involved in the rescue of this precious cargo (babies) – people who gave up holiday time with their families, who volunteered their time/talent, who braved wintery conditions, endured long drives, etc. All they asked was that their costs be covered. They willingly provided their services in order to get the foals to safety, going on blind faith that they would be taken care of in the end.
Tiny orphans.
EMERGENCY ANIMAL RESCUE
In case you haven’t heard of Emergency Animal Rescue, here is their link. These wonderful people help out in emergencies, just like they say they will. And, if you can believe this, the Director of EMERGENCY ANIMAL RESCUE drove 1200 miles, on Christmas, to save these babies and move them out of Nevada, over the mountains to California.
Remarkable.
Good People.
WHERE DID THE FOALS END UP?
Of course, the Equine Angel had to find several rescues to take on that many babies at once. Luckily, her good relationships allowed her to secure 7 Rescues who were willing to help on short notice and during the holidays… Here is a quote:
The foals went from the auction house to a layover (private, rented
corrals) in Fallon. When the weather cleared for a day, 6 were delivered
to Hooves & Angels (rescue #1). During a subsequent clearing in the
weather, 16 were transported (in 2 loads) to a lay over in Sacramento
(Shiloh Foundation).
Sunday, Pregnant Mare Rescue (rescue #2) picked up 4 foals at Shiloh. Monday, 12 foals
were transported to 4 rescues (High Sierra Wild Horse Sanctuary, Under the Angels Wings Rescue, Serenity Center for Change & Villa Chardonnay – Horses with Wings).
Handsome
LET’S HELP THOSE THAT HELPED THESE BABIES!
So, our Bucket Fund for January goes to these orphan foals. I would like the HORSE AND MAN GROUP to help repay the angels for their selfless commitment to help these babies. And, I’d like to help feed these babies. I’d like to support the rescues who participated in housing these babies and who are also dedicated to teaching them manners and horsey etiquette so that they may later be successfully adopted into forever homes.
PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE BABIES AND THOSE THAT SAVED THEM
Let's support those who are helping these orphan babies!
Click here to donate to our January Bucket Fund, the PLR orphan foals! They deserve a great, full and healthy do-over after such a horrifying beginning.
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The Pyramid Lake Paiute tribe was being wonderfully responsible in donating these animals, they are not one of those tribes with a casino, but they were in past times horse people and they do care.
Just a reminder that these are NOT BLM mustangs. They came from the Pyramid Paiute tribe. These are horses that are owned by the Paiute tribe and they are the ones that took them to the auction, not the BLM. These are feral horses from tribe stock that they allow to roam free and apparently breed at will.
I am very glad they were rescued and I wish the Paiute tribe would be more responsible in the breeding of thier horses as they are only contributing to the unwanted horse population.
thanks for rescuing and thanks for your wonderful comments;Anne
As a participant in this event, I was astonished at the hard and tireless work these organizations and individuals endure. One of the rescues that I dropped foals off at really didn’t care which ones she got. She basically said “the first two that go in the pen are the ones I’ll take.” She could have chosen, but to her they were all special and deserved the same protection as any of the rest of them. Even those that may have been “prettier”. It just didn’t matter. And I must say, they WERE all very special, and scared. But now, because of all these people, they have a life and an opportunity to bond with a rider. Pretty cool, pretty cool indeed.
When you read about what they do with the mares and babies, kind of reminds you of the Holocaust in a way. Thank you for helping them all.
Happy holidays and thanks for the inof on the orphaned foals; amazing how callous grown usda men women are to these foals;
amazing how angelic and lifesaving the rescues are; just amazing!