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When we went to collect Grace (see  https://honeyspledge.org/2013/05/08/saving-grace-one-year-on/  ) we met her paddock mate, a lovely bay standard bred gelding. He was penned in a yard, frantically running in tight circles, clearly in fear. Grace had moved into a shed to keep away and watched nervously.

After a short time we made contact with the standard bred and held him with a headstall and lead rope. He immediately quietened. We found that he too was for sale. We were told he had been put under saddle by the current owner (the husband). Having a close friend who did a lot of work with standard bred horses we decided to see if we could reduce the asking price., which was way above the market. We were able to do so, but because the float was not suited to the two large horses, we left the gelding, advising we would be back as soon as we could to collect him.

After settling Grace we set about finding a short term foster home for the gelding until such time as we were able to look at further training for him. A home was found and we made a date to collect him.

The  day it was wet, cold and windy and we nearly postponed. However we decided to go ahead and thank goodness we did.

We found the gelding in the paddock, not just shivering but  shuddering uncontrollably with the cold. He was drenched and the lack of shelter gave him no protection. He loaded easily onto the float. The lady went to find the horses’ rugs, which her husband had put away, not believing in their use. We threw the old rug over the horse to try to give him some protection on the journey.

Fortunately we did not have far to drive and on arrival we took him straight into a stable, rubbed him down and put a warm, dry combo rug on him. He closed his eyes, clearly relieved to be given some respite from the cold.

The foster home suggested we name him Jake. He stayed around two months gaining condition and confidence. However he developed a weeping and inflamed eye. We were aware he had an old injury but it became apparent that there e were serious issues with his eye and he received vet treatment.

In the week he was due to travel to us his eye worsened, and so we took him direct to our own vet hospital for further assessment.

They diagnosed a seriously ulcerated eye. Jake was given pain relief and admitted to the hospital. The next day his eye was removed as the damage was too great and the risk of further ulceration and pain was too high.

Jake quickly recovered and came back to us for paddock rest. We traced his history and he was a successful harness racer. We ge the sense though, that Jake has had to submit all of his life. We made the decision not to retrain him under saddle. We felt Jake just needed to live out his life in total freedom.

We found hm a fantastic home with an experienced horse person. His first paddock mate was to be another gelding with one eye, Jack.

So Jake again loaded onto the float and made the journey west. He immediately settled in and was sharing Jack’s hay.

He now relishes his freedom, making his own choices. He is Jake the independent and we love him dearly for that.

Today we are celebrating the first year of Grace joining our family. This is Grace’s story.

We first saw Grace on a Facebook page. She was advertised in ‘Gumtree’. The advertiser was honest that she was not in good condition and they were struggling to provide her with the feed she needed. She was obviously an older mare. We shared the post hoping someone would be able to take her in but there were no takers.

On another forum Grace was the subject of a lengthy post which was berating the owner for her condition and that there was an asking price of $500. Unfortunately there were gross exaggerations regarding her state with claims she was’ drooling green slime’ and had a uterine infection, a leg injury, and so on.
After a few days we telephoned and spoke to the advertiser. They had had people to see Grace but they were only willing to take her FTGH (Free to good home). Anyway we negotiated a lower price and made a time to collect her.

The advertiser explained that Grace had been in poor condition when they had purchased her. They felt sorry for her and wanted to bring her up to condition and do some gentle riding. They had got a vet out who explained that Grace was much older than they had been told, too old to ride, and would need specialist hard feeding. Unfortunately this was beyond their means and Grace’s condition remained poor. So they decided the best outcome would be to sell her.

A good friend drove with me. Grace was yarded with a paddock companion. She hid in the shed as he raced around obviously distressed. We caught him and he immediately calmed. We noticed he was a standard bred and also found he too was for sale. Our float was not suited to taking both horses so we loaded Grace, she raced up the ramp, and left, asking that they hold the standard bred.

Grace travelled and unloaded beautifully. On arrival her face was full of wonder, gazing across at the paddocks.

Click on link below

Grace Arrival

 

Immediately we gave her a light feed and found her a rug. Immediately she half closed her eyes in bliss….a look we see every day.

The RSPCA made contact as the mare had been reported through the forum. We were able to assure the RSPCA that the mare, though underweight, was not in any immediate danger. She had been seen by a vet and would be undergoing worming, feet and teeth to start her rehabilitation. The leg wound was an old scar, there was no indication of infections, her hooves needed basic attention and she had a sarcoid on her face, a common condition in light coloured horses (and one which the advice is generally to do nothing). We asked the RSPCA to contact our vet for confirmation and thanked them for following through on the report.

Grace settled in immediately. I found her a warm snug ‘combo’ doona rug, and over rug…..she looked like a snug teddy bear. She was just so happy to be fed and warm.

She is a darling girl who has joined a small herd of two other mares, Maggie and Queenie, and the aged gelding Louis. She has obviously been a brood mare and the decision was made that she should become a Honey’s Pledge resident as she has seen many homes. This is her forever home now.

Although the previous owner came in for much criticism we see that they were always honest regarding Grace’s condition, did not send her to the market or abattoir, did not simply give her away to an unknown person which may have put her at a great risk of being sold on for slaughter, they were willing to negotiate a price and wanted a good home for her. They have taken a great interest in her progress.

Grace spends her days wandering the olive grove, coming in twice a day for her feed. She is very keen on her rugs!
Two weeks later we returned for the standard bred…….his story ……https://honeyspledge.org/2013/05/25/loving-jake-one-year-on/

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One year ago to the day I sobbed for joy and relief in a bleak windowless courtroom in northern Melbourne.

A heart wrenching, time consuming, and expensive battle that had been waged for nearly two years was over, and we had won the right to continue to care for Cody.

Cody is a beautiful black quarter horse gelding. Timid and gentle, most of his life he has lived on a remote property in New South Wales, and since the death of his mother many years ago, without the company of another horse. He did however have the company of a herd of cattle, many of them ageing.

By a sequence of events that do not need to be retold here, Cody came into our care. What was to be a three month temporary placement lengthened to nearly a year. At the end of this time we received the only contact from his alleged owner stating he was to be collected and trucked, together with the cattle, in the care of another, to Darwin.

As part of the ensuing events we discovered Cody was still legally owned by the brother of his original breeder. When contacted they readily agreed to the legal transfer of his ownership to us.

We thought that would be the end of the issue, but unfortunately we were dealing with a person who did not have the interest of the animals at the fore and was determined to drag everyone involved through the legal system, regardless of what was best for the animals concerned.

Unless we were prepared to relinquish ownership of Cody, and abandon him to be sent by truck to Darwin, we had no choice but to fight this case.

There was an image that spurred me on. Losing this case, or capitulating, would mean I would have to stand by and watch Cody loaded onto a cattle truck, calling to Ginger, our chestnut mare rescue of 10 years. Cody has bonded strongly to Ginger, is never far from her side, and always looks to her for reassurance and comfort.

The very thought of the distress their separation would cause each of them, and Cody especially, was unthinkable.

The case was set to be heard over five days. Fortunately by day 2 it had been decided in favour of all three defendants.

The relief was dizzying.

So Cody is living out his days with us. He is happy as long as Ginger is nearby. He loves to gallop in with the herd, relishes his hay, and enjoys a warm rug in winter.

There are many fights worth fighting in this world…and Cody was definitely one of them.

As a postscript, the defendants have had to bear the cost of this vexatious litigation.