A small horse rescue organization was contacted regarding two mares that were within four hours of being shipped to a place of horror – the slaughter plants in Mexico. The situation was most urgent because this rescue group was the last hope for these two innocents, but doomed horses.
The trip was long and stressful for them. The transport took two full days without food or water. They arrived at the rescue anxious, fearful, very hungry and dehydrated. An appointment with the veterinarian was scheduled a couple of days later. They were wormed and vaccinated.
He deemed them to be in fairly good health despite being somewhat emaciated. Both mares appear to have whip marks on their shoulders, rears and back legs that have nearly healed. Their hooves are in terrible condition and will need to be trimmed and medicated, but Nova and Celestial will be given a few days to rest before the farrier is called.
The vet confirmed that Nova is pregnant and should deliver very soon. He believes Celestial could also be expecting but could not establish she is gravid. If she is, we may all have to wait another six months for the new arrival. Gestation period for a horse is eleven months. As an aside, there is a disturbing trend underway, where people send their pregnant mares to slaughter to get more money per pound because of the weight gain!
Both horses are settling into their temporary quarters nicely and doing great! They have been placed in a quiet area where they can de-stress. Right now, all they want to do is eat. They are on a special diet of oats twice daily, alfalfa and unlimited grass hay. They are observed to be happily munching on their oats and hay. The rescuer reports how she loves the look of thanks they give her in their big brown eyes. The mares have already bonded and spend time grooming each other.
A few days after their arrival, wonderful news amid the nightmare these two mares escaped from! A gorgeous Appalousa was born early Monday morning at about 3:30am. Welcome into the world King so Right! A male that appears to be in perfect health. The mother will not let anyone approach the foal for now. Within a few days when Nova realizes that her baby is safe among these strangers, she will permit her rescuers to meet her new son.
Celestial and Nova will enjoy their new lives in this safe harbor until totally healthy prior to being offered for adoption, and King so Right is old enough to be separated from his mother. This will take time and money. They will require more veterinary care down the road and special diets to replace the hundreds of pounds each horse lost from starvation.
Slaughtering horses is a business. Each horse that enters the gates of hell is doomed. They are shipped either to Mexico or Canada. Quoting Steward M. Powell, Hearts Newspapers, Saturday April 5, 2014, “Texas border crossings to Mexico have handled 400,267 slaughter-bound horses since 2007 including horses auctioned in Texas and elsewhere.”
Please make a generous donation to Animals Abused & Abandoned here, to help pay for emergency veterinarian services and large quantities of nutritious food so that more innocent and abandoned horses like Nova and Celestial, and little ones like King so Right, can be saved from a brutal and terrible fate.