SAYING GOODBYE is SOMETIMES THE KINDEST & HARDEST RESCUE
It's not all rainbows and unicorns.
Some people want the horses to remain in the wild......Meet an incredible colt! I debated posting but people NEED to know what is going on.... You will need to read all the way through.... This colt's fate was sealed before we were asked to help him: which we did not hesitate to do, we brought him into the rescue and did all we could! In the end......Vets authorized euthanasia, nothing could be done to 'fix' this baby, not even specialists could fix him.. he was suffering in pain.
The controversy lies within the wild vs feral horses vs public land vs private lands. Some people want them to remain in the wild on private lands (there is no public land for them here) and there is no law forcing people to fence horses out, just cattle. All equines and such are required to remain within their own fenced acreage according to legal RCWs. I will tell you our experience with these horses when we get them in.... they are way over breeding, too many for ANY area to sustain, they are on private lands, not public and they are NOT protected by any laws. There are no recognized/protected wild horse herds in WA state. We are not native American lands: Reservations are a sovereign nation, what they do with their wild horses, none of us have control over.
These horses are controversial, we only help when asked & it's needed. What we see every year:
Starvation
Worm infestation
Tick infestation
Birth defects
Tragic injuries
We live in a SELENIUM DEFICIENT area, these horses are NOT getting any nutrition: they have a foal... they breed back right away and are feeding a foal while pregnant with another as well as infested with parasites...EVERY SINGLE YEAR they fight for food in the winter and many parish terrible deaths.....The stallions fight brutal bloody battles, we have received reports of them battered and some dead from the fights....
We are a recognized Non Profit Horse rescue but we will not step on toes, we will step aside to those few that are here who are wanting to save them by leaving them in the wild. It's not people shooting them that is the main problem, it's mother nature... if you saw what we see every year how they suffer out there "free and wild" you would change your mind and help them get safe.... There are many thousands of horses in need. We are here to help.
Some people want them to remain in the wild... Meet this colt, he came from the wild, one of MANY that did not make it... and many more that will not if they remain on the same track they are on.
For those wanting to save them by leaving them out running "free and wild"... time to step up....
Yearling Wild Colt
These horses are so controversial where we live.
Many don't believe they are starving & suffering, no matter how many videos and photos are posted.... All we want to do is help them but there are those who want them to stay 'free and wild' & we don't want any trouble.
There are thousands of domestic & wild/feral horses in need. We are here to help the horses.
Yearling wild colt
WHY WE RESCUE
The ANGEL Horse
WHY WE RESCUE I woke up this morning with this weighing heavily in my heart and felt it was time share her story.
This is a true story I hope everyone reads all they way through.
Rescue is about saving lives, loving for and caring for animals (in our case special needs Great Danes and wild pregnant mares bound for horrible deaths) Sometimes, things happen differently and this is a story about *Saving a life*
We were called into the mountains, many know about the famous Artie starved horse who made a miraculous recovery but few know the story of his partner and friend up in the high mountains with him. When we arrived to look at the "starving loose horse" we were originally told it was one and did not know if it was a wild or domestic. Upon arrival, we were told a second horse had been "found" but one of the people said it was injured and they could not go over and see it again, too horrific. Most times very graphic injuries can heal so we went over to her. We've seen alot, we've saved ALOT that were given a death sentence but this was different. PLEASE PICTURE THIS IN YOUR MIND: Here stood this incredible beautiful emaciated mare, she tucked her hind legs a couple inches forward and her left front leg inches forward, but the right front leg was stuck in place: why? She had been attacked by likely a cougar, from her should down to her knee the skin, tendons and muscles had been torn away and she stood there on a stump of just a bone. This sweet angel did NOT understand WHY that leg wouldn't move with her to greet us. She nickered and we shook our heads at each other, her colour was pale, she'd been going in circles fending off predators for God knows how long, the ground soaked into a bloody worn dust bowl and she wasn't going to make it another night. I gently pet her and whispered, "maybe..........." she was so very sweet but I knew and my partner in rescue knew the truth of her fate: he gently stroked her forehead, she placed her head into his chest and he loved on her, rubbing her ears and neck, but it was getting dark: her fate was sealed. She was in incredible pain, her eyes begged for an end to her incorrigible suffering. He backed up, brushed her forelock away with one last loving gentle touch, the sun set, the hunter handed him the rifle and he whispered to her "I am so sorry you special lady, you deserved better in life." The shot rang out and she went down instantly. My friend gently pet her and moved her head kindly saying he was "so sorry" and "Goodbye"
THIS WAS A RESCUE - a dying horse with pleading eyes that would have been eaten alive by predators over night, but these are the stories no one talks about. I wrote down the notes from that night and put them away. It took me many months to write this, it still makes us cry to think what happened to her and knowing there was no way to save her life but to let her go to Rainbow Bridge, gifting her freedom. I thank God for the people who found her and notified us, took us to her. I thank God she didn't suffer any longer... but our hearts will always hurt, she is forever a part of what we do and WHY WE RESCUE.
We later found out, she was Artie's sidekick for many years.