I guess I have to tell our rescue story.
Back in 2002 I got back into horses and drug my daughters with me. I purchased a large draft cross mare that had them running scared. My youngest fell in love with an old grey mare at our boarding stable. First she got a pair of boots and lessons on her. Then the barn owner told me that she was for sale. I jumped on it and paid a thousand dollars for an 20 year old grey mare with a few teeth all bad . Panama McCoy! A Real McCoy daughter! And a lover of everyone under the age of 12. How in the world did a horse with the bloodlines of this mare get to Alaska? Her million dollar barn went broke. The horses were auctioned to the highest bidders and all of that high dollar stock became worth whatever horses were going for the pound. A trailer with 10 of them made it to Alaska. I thank God everyday that it did.
My daughter had a rough go of it for awhile. Magic, her barn name, was her rock, her shoulder, her life. She told that mare so many secrets. She learned from that little mare and my daughter taught other children on Magic. They barrel raced and took a N.B.H.A reserve championship! Magic was 26 years old and dusted horses a quarter of her age. Yet after running a race like that ? A quick saddle change and a 8 year old could hop on her and she would adjust to walk thru the poles.
The Spring she turned 28, she looked great. She had made it another winter and was rearing to go. I visited with her one morning and just a few hours later I got a frantic call. She had flipped her gut and I had to make an awful decision. I raced to the barn, told her goodbye and had the vet euthanize her. I can honestly say had she had proper dental care before I purchased her she would probably still be with us, her kin live well into thier 30s, she was feeling her oats and kicking up her heels. The special feed we fed her hangs in the gut instead of being spread evenly like natural forage. Due to her lack of teeth, she did not forage.
I bought her from people who own a world wide famous night club here in town. It was just pure laziness and lack of concern that she was in the shape she was. We rescued her from rich people. Twice.
I guess my point is that you never know what is under that undernourished unloved coat of ratty moth eaten hair. Our lump of dirty snow turned out to be a million dollar horse. In the literal sense and the figurative.
