Generally when the sun sets the critters are all settled down, munching their yummy hay, resting peacefully and the inside chores are done. This evening was different, as the sun was slipping behind the hills the rescue rig and 3 staff were on the road.
Another rescuer, Shari, was on the road heading to the auction as well. She would be arriving before Jason, Tawnee and Steven, so she would be sure to be there to bid on the horses.
The auction was very busy with lots of people there, making it a little confusing to bid. Shari thought she got about 10 horses, but amazingly she rescued 14 instead. This was more than we were expecting to rescue, and went above our rescue budget quite a bit. Shari has a big heart and was more concerned about saving lives instead of keeping track of budgets and trailer space. After the auction, when they realized how many horses they rescued, Shari headed home to get her truck, trailer and husband so she could transport the unexpected horses to the shelter. Jason, Tawnee and Steven were busy sorting the horses, getting them ready to load up.
About 12:30 am they were finally leaving the auction, heading on the long drive of over 150 miles to the shelter.
Jason very rarely has to buy fuel at 2:55 am. In fact, he never has that he can remember. It was hard keeping the eyelids open, but they just had to get the horses to the shelter safely.
The horses all traveled very well, and were wide eyed with wonder as they watched the road go by.
Finally at 4:00 am, they were backing up to the unloading chute at the shelter. Judylynn had worked very hard to get everything set up for them and was up waiting for the trailers to arrive.
One by one the horses hopped calmly out of the trailer. It was a very long night for everyone and no doubt they were thirsty and hungry on top of it all.
They headed down the chute into their waiting pen.
The horses were very happy to find nice yummy hay spread out waiting for them. After looking at the auction paperwork we realized these 3 horses are all related. On the right the chestnut is the mother, and the two horses beside her are her daughters from the same sire. They are all registered Paints. All the other horses were settling in nicely too.
The poor roosters at the shelter were all woken up the commotion and bright lights. They decided they must have slept in drastically late and that the morning chores had started already. They all got busy crowing, as if trying to make up for lost time. Little did they know that it would be the shortest day they had, as soon as the rescued horses were settled in the lights were going off and it would be dark again.
Shari’s trailer was unloaded next. All the horses in her trailer are boys, two off the track Thoroughbred geldings and 1 Paint stallion. It took a lot of work at the auction to find the right traveling companions for him where everyone got along. Thankfully it all worked out and they traveled very nicely together.
The stallion had a nice stall waiting for him. He has some pretty amazing markings, we’ve never seen a horse quite like him. Shari and her husband headed back at their home, it would be many more hours until they got any sleep.
The next morning some of the horses eyes were still droopy and sleepy looking. It had been a very long night for everyone, but especially the horses with all the stress they had to go through.
We would you to meet all 14 horses that were rescued thanks to all those wonderful people who donated to save their lives.
This is a 10 year old albino gelding. His name is Tide.
This is a 10 year old registered Paint mare. Her registered name is RC Just Bill Me, we are going to call her MeMe.
This is an almost 4 year old registered Paint mare, daughter of MeMe. Her registered name is Bill the Bar a Double. We are going to call her Double.
This is Double’s full sister, a registered almost 6 year old registered Paint named RC Just Bill the Bar, who we are going to call Bear.
This is an older TB broodmare who was never raced at the track. Originally she was born in Canada, and her name is Duckchess.
This is a named Windy, she is a mare.
This is very elderly horse named Gramps. Sadly he has some serious health issues. We will be evaluating him for quality of life.
Gramp’s feet are extremely long, you can tell it is awkward for him to walk and they are causing him pain. He also has scabs on the side of his lips where a bit goes. You can tell someone has really jerked this poor boy around.
This is Blaze, an 8 year old mare.
This boy is named Dusty, he is an 18 year old QH gelding who seems very sweet and well mannered.
Most likely he was dumped at the auction because on his left hind he has an injury that has proud flesh. His old owners probably just didn’t want to deal with caring for him.
This is Uncommon Sense, a soon to be 4 year old off the track Thoroughbred gelding. He was mainly raced at Golden Gates fields and won his owner over $23,000 before being dumped. He actually won his last race before being dumped. His barn name is Sense.
This is Officer Bavetta. He is almost 4 years old, off the track Thoroughbred gelding, owned and trained by the same people as Uncommon Sense. He has won almost $20,000.
This is Galloway, a 4-6 year old stallion. We couldn’t help but think of the Galloway cattle when we saw this guy. We have never seen a horse like him before. He will soon be a beautiful gelding.
This is an older QH gelding who has health issues and chokes easily on his food. His name is Alphonso. We will be getting his choking issue checked out and hopefully resolved.
We would like to thank each and every one of you who donated to enable us to rescue these horses. We were not expecting to rescue quite as many as we did, if any of you could make a donation to help with the extra feed and medical costs it would be greatly appreciated! To donate, click here.
