 |
Born in the Kill Pen
|
On April 14, 2011, I received a phone call from the operator of our local kill pen. A kill pen is a holding area where horses are held until they are transported to Canada or Mexico to be slaughtered. I have a working relationship with the operator and he calls me on occasion when he has a special case. The horses ship to Canada every Sunday morning. Two days prior, five horses were dumped at the pen by an unknown person. In the middle of Saturday night, one of those horses gave birth inside the kill pen with about 100 other horses in it. Horses with newborn foals are not allowed at the slaughterhouse, however, I've heard stories about kill pens just killing the babies and shipping the mares anyway. Fortunately, this was not the case. The operator called me they delivered the mare and foal to us. Of course, since he is a businessman, these horses came to us at a cost of $400.00. Fortunately, one of our board members, Joel Kasper, stepped up immediately to bail them out and get them to our farm. They were named Faith and Spirit.
|
|
|
It was immediately apparent that Faith had suffered a lot during her life. She has several old injuries including a capped hock, tendon damage to her knee and a HUGE scar that wraps around her front leg near her elbow. She also has all the "markings" of an Amish Carriage Horse; the swollen hind legs from trotting long distances down cement and asphalt and she seemed to have been "robbed" of her personality. Fortunately, after several months rest and upon a recent vet examination, it was determined she is absolutely sound enough to be a family and trail horse. Her personality has shined through and she is the sweetest
horse on earth. She deserves to live the rest of her life in peace and happiness.
horse on earth. She deserves to live the rest of her life in peace and happiness.
|
|
 Faith and her new girl. 9-18-2011 |
On September 19, 2011 Faith was adopted by Jennifer Strong and her family of West Branch along with another one of our rescues named Major. She will spend her life as a trail horse and receiving the love and care she deserves. Spirit will stay with us for a while. We plan to take him to events and possibly take him to shows.
 Spirit 5-16-2011 |
|
