We posted a new Youtube video about Captain’s reunion with his mommy. Now you can watch Cappy and his mom’s first few moments together after a long separation. Click here.
The big day had arrived: the horses from the slaughter pipeline had been dropped off at a holding area at 2:30 am and were ready for us to pick them up. Trailers were hooked up, volunteers showed up with their rigs, and the journey began.
It was so neat seeing the caravan of mercy heading down the road.
After a bit of a drive, everyone arrived and got their first look at the horses. There were a total of 18 horses and 1 mule. Originally there were going to be 38-40. The good news is, we didn’t have to pay the full transportation cost, but each horse’s price was higher than expected, but still very reasonable. They just weren’t able to get a trailer load to bring to the dropoff. We are so sad that more horses were not able to make it, but thankful in one way that the horses that did come had a much easier trip because they were not so crowded. This still leaves some funds to rescue more horses from the slaughter pipeline in the near future.
One of our biggest fears was that there would be horses down and be unable to get up. When the staff arrived, there was one horse laying down who didn’t really want to get up.
Tawnee gently haltered him and found that his front leg was extremely swollen. He was able to get up and was carefully loaded into the trailer.
Then it was time to load all the other horses.
They were confused as to why they had to get into more trailers. We wished we could tell them they were safe now, and that everything was going to be OK.
Horse group after horse group ran down the alley…
…and hopped into the waiting trailers. They were all so willing to get in, it was as if they knew they were going to a better place.
Finally all of the horses were loaded up into the rescue rigs. They watched with excited eyes to see where they were going for sure.
Tawnee stroked their foreheads and softly talked to them. Soon they were off down the road towards the vet office.
Finally the caravan arrived at the vet office and began preparing to unload.
About this time, the media arrived. Channel 12/24 Action News and Mercury Register sent reporters to find out what was happening.
As the camera’s rolled, the horses were unloaded.
What a relief it must have been for the horses to come around the corner and find yummy food waiting for them. They just couldn’t wait to start eating!
Below are pictures of each of the horses. There are a total of 18 horses and 1 mule. Enjoy!
They sure were enjoying drink after drink too. Wonder how long it had been since they were allowed to drink water?
Finally the excitement settled down and they just started relaxing, eating their food and looking around.
Then it was time for the reporters to get the information they needed.
This mare tried to tell her story to the Mercury Registry reporter, but just couldn’t find the right words. She is such a loving girl, and loves telling us “Thank you!” in her own special way over and over again.
After the media left, it was time to get down to figuring out what was going on with the horses that had urgent health issues. The poor guy that was down got x-rays to figure out if he would be OK.
Another horse has an old injury that refuses to heal. It is a combination of proud flesh and hoof growth.
Others had runny eyes and goopy noses.
One of the horses has an Arabian freeze brand hidden under his coat. Tawnee shaved it down so we can trace his identity.
The sweet mare who kept telling everyone “Thank you!” over and over again was telling Tawnee “Thank you!” once again.
We thought she might be pregnant, so she was going to have an ultrasound to find out.
Thankfully, their was no baby tucked in her belly.
By this time the x-ray results had come through for the poor guy with a hurt foot. Just so you can have reference, this is a normal xray.
This is the poor guys leg. As you can see, it is clearly shattered and is in horrifying condition.
It was a very long day, 3 of the horses that came in were in critical condition and had to be humanely euthanised. We were thankful that in the end they knew love and kindness. They are all so grateful that you made it possible to be saved a horrible death in Mexico somewhere. As the sun began to set, the horses were settling in, ready for their first calm and peaceful night in who knows how long.
You can watch the great TV news clip, they did a really good job. Click here.
The Oroville Mercury Register did a great news article on the rescue too. To read it, click here.
Thank you all so much for your support. A special “Thank you!” goes to Donna A., Sheri B., Nancy F., Christina S., Judy H., Marie J., Trudi R., Margarette O. for their very generous donations over the weekend. We would like to thank the 3 people who each donated a bale of hay. We still have to raise the funds for 597 bales! Please donate a bale, click here.