On Friday a number of our staff attended the Spring Jubilee Tennessee Walking Horse show to protest the soring of the horses.
As contestants and visitors drove to the show, they were greeted by a large group of people concerned for the welfare of the horses.
We are really hoping that this makes an impact and that the Big Lick horse shows will stop awarding wins to sored horses. These shows should only feature flat shod horses with a natural gait.
One of our volunteers, Kimberly, who thanks the donors, braved a very serious downpour when all the other protesters sought shelter. Nothing was going to stop her from speaking up for the horses. We were all really hoping that this rain storm would cancel the show, but the storm blew by.
After the rain stopped, a group of protesters headed into the show. The show was being held on a public park. There was no USDA inspectors at the inspection station to check for signs of soring. The horse that won the Big Lick show had been disqualified many times before by USDA inspectors for soring violations. He was at this show and won the event. To read the news story, click here.
For the first time in history that we know of, a camera was brought to the side of the TWH show and interviews were taken to expose what goes on at the shows. This has never been allowed before, but since it was done at a public park, there was nothing the very angry show organizers could do.
Some of the Big Lick lover bystanders got extremely riled up. This video is worth watching to see the mindset of those who support this animal abuse. To watch the video and sign a petition to help stop this abuse, click here.
Saturday night, Tawnee found out about an auction that was streaming the auction online and she could bid for horses! It’s the first time we have bid on horses online, and she was able to rescue one horse. Kali, named on our Facebook page, is a skinny TN Walker filly.
When Jonathan, our trainer, went to pick her up the next morning she was far skinnier than the auction pictures made her look. To watch her rescue video, click here.
Poor girl! She is emaciated and her eyes looked so lifeless.
She settled right in and she enjoyed a nice yummy treat. It’s so sad to see a young horse in such a horrible, emaciated state.
Kali soon found herself at the farrier getting her hooves trimmed up.
Her hooves desperately needed trimming and one of them was in horrible condition.
By the end of the trimming her hooves looked so much better. She was such a good girl for the farrier too!
Jason was hard at work getting the form boards set for the concrete under the quarantine barn. This section of the barn will hold the special padded squeeze chute.
A couple horses at the auction went through as no-sales. The auction owner worked it out to sell them to us below slaughter price. He didn’t want to see them ship to Mexico. They were a gelding and a registered TN Walking stallion.
Tawnee sent out an email asking for help to rescue them, and all the needed funds were raised within 2 hours. They were both very lucky horses.
Jonathan went to pick up the gelding and arrangements were made for Tawnee to come down the following morning and pick up the stallion to take him to the vet for gelding. The gelding that Jonathan picked up from the auction was so happy to see the nice big pen waiting for him. He couldn’t wait to explore the pen and eat some yummy green grass!
The next morning Tawnee headed down to pick up the stallion so he could get gelded and she was going to pick up Kali for a health check too.
While Tawnee was on the road, Jason, Darin and Kimberly were at the courthouse. It was the arraignment for the person who we believed starved the horses and Ivy we rescued in December. To read about the horses and the case, click here.
The DA served a motion for the person to pay a security bond for the horses, which will be ruled on July 6th. We are hoping that the court will order her to pay the bond, and that by mid July the horses will be turned over.
After the court took a recess Jason and Darin talked to the DA about the case. We are really hoping that justice will be served for these horses and Ivy!
The DA gave a copy of the motion to Jason to review. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!
Meanwhile Tawnee had arrived at the trainer’s. Diamond, who Jonathan has been training, was spending time with her future family. After the adoption, Jonathan is going to be spending time with the two of them so Diamond’s training will continue.
Kali was led out of her pen so she could go to the vet. She looks like her belly is much fuller than she was a few days ago when we rescued her from the auction.
She loaded right up in the trailer and had plenty of hay waiting for her to eat on the way.
Tawnee and Jonathan headed over to the auction to pick up Pusher’s Flashy Beam (Flashy.) He was very nervous and scared acting. It was easy to see that he is a castaway from the Big Lick industry.
Tawnee found a scar on his leg that is probably from soring. No doubt that is why he ended up at the auction. A Big Lick show horse cannot have any scaring on their legs. He has a great pedigree and no doubt he would still be in the industry if it wasn’t for this scar.
He was a little unsure about getting in the trailer, but with some coaxing he hopped in.
Then Tawnee headed to the vet.
Flashy is such a beautiful boy and looked so wide eyed when they arrived at the vet.
The vet sedated him and soon Flashy wasn’t acting so flashy anymore.
The operation went smoothly and Flashly laid on the ground, sleeping the sedation off.
Kali was examined next. Her blood was drawn for bloodwork and a fecal was taken. After her examination we were happy to hear that she is simply starved with no life threatening underlying medical conditions.
The bloodwork showed that she is a little anemic, and the fecal showed that she is full of parasites. A rehab plan was worked out for her.
After Flashy was awake and on his feet he loaded up in the trailer behind Kali.
Soon Flashy was back at the trainer’s place and back to his flashy self.
Tawnee went to check out the other gelding that was rescued. He is such a pretty boy!
He does have a scar on his withers from a bad fitting saddle. What’s sad is, his owners had to know the saddle wasn’t fitting him well, but kept on using him anyway. There is no way this could have happened without prolonged, numerous injuries.
Tawnee was trying out some different camera angles and she thinks this one turned out quite well.
This guy needs a name! What do you think his name should be? The Facebook comment, with an appropriate name for him, with the most likes will be chosen as his name. Click here and suggest a name for him.
Tawnee took Kali to our temporary shelter facility for her rehab. She is such a sweet girl and we can’t wait to see her filled out, healthy and happy.
We would like to invite you to check out our Ebay charity page. There are quite a few different items on there, and we get a percentage of every one that sells. To see it, click here and scroll down a bit.
Thank you all for your support!