animals. To the day I die, no one will convince me that slaughter is humane, even if they fix the transport.” Megan thinks her work is similar to what paramed-
ics go through. “My parents were theatre producers. That is very high stress and takes juggling things around all the time. As long as I know I can do things to make this work, I’m ok. I used to get so stressed out. It’s not easy and defi- nitely exhausting. There are times I think I want to just stay home this weekend because what’s the point. Then I end up buying a horse I can make a difference with.”
Requirements for Success And yet thanks to groups like Omega Rescue and Auction
Horse Rescue, good things do happen. Horses like Pacino and Hudson are living proof. Sometimes those success stories take persistence. A few
months ago, for example, Omega brought to New Bolton a mare who had cancer under both eyes and on her muzzle. The diagnosis determined there was no way to get rid of the cancer, but Kelly persisted. She learned that the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania had been using a red light treatment on humans to treat cancer, but it wasn’t FDA approved. “We used the alternative therapy on her and three
months later, she was cancer free. She is a beautiful horse. When I saw her in the kill pen, she had given up on life. She accepted that her fate was sealed,” Kelly remarks. Success in the rescue trade takes two important talents:
learning the ropes and making friends with the enemy. Kelly is quite pleased that she has had a breakthrough
with the Amish community near the New Holland Auction. (It was over fifty years ago that Snowman, an Amish plow horse, was rescued from slaughter after his sale at the auction.) After years of being turned away, Kelly and local organization Saddlebred Rescue recently ran the first Amish horse care and maintenance clinic held at the PA Auction Center. “We brought in a vet, a dentist, a farrier and a nutritionist. It was incredible. I feel we accomplished a lot,” she says.
Real Solutions Needed Omega Rescue and Auction Horses Rescue are two examples of numerous organizations across the United States with the same noble mission of rescuing unwanted, slaughter-bound horses. And sport horses that have been cast aside are not immune to ending up in these situations. Slaughter, Kelly says, will never be a good solution to the
problem of unwanted horses. Instead she would like to see less and more careful breeding, together with humane and affordable euthanasia clinics as a viable alternative to the suffering. “I don’t think slaughter can be done humanely. It used
to be practiced by a skilled butcher. Once things became automatized, it became cruel. People ask me, why do we not find a sanctuary, but there just aren’t a lot of them. Often euthanasia is the best for everyone. I don’t like it. It’s pain- ful to go through. But I see horses shipping whose owners
Warmbloods Today 17
didn’t want to face reality of the prospects their horses have,” says Megan. Last summer, the summer camp kids at Diamond L Riding
Academy made treat bags for all the horses in honor of Pacino. When discussing Pacino’s story, the kids gave exam- ples of what they thought was normal for their horses, but not for all horses, like proper farrier and dental work. “They learned that not all horses are treated like ours, and some horses are thrown away. They felt especially good making a treat bag for Pacino.”
Lori Eberly
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