24/ DECEMBER 2012 THE RIDER The Miraculous Five Are Stars at the WHHR Christmas Open House By Kelly Bowers
Whispering Hearts Horse Rescue in Hagersville recently held their three annual Sunday Christmas open houses. I was happy to join them on November 25th on a sea- sonally chilly day.
Brenda, Dave and their dedicated group of volunteers greeted well wishers, served up apple cider and cookies and sold Whispering Hearts calen- dars, apparel, decorations, treats and draw tickets. Visitors got to tour the facility, meet some of the horses, and got a head- start on Christmas shop- ping.
Despite the tempera- ture, hearts were warmed by the sights and sounds of the horses and ponies who
1 2
And the help has been pouring in, though there is still lots more they need. Brenda also took a minute at the open house to announce that the Scotia- bank Simcoe branch made a generous donation to buy hay, knowing they would need more for the new horses.
house with the news that WHHR took in five severe- ly neglected Quarter Hors- es on Nov 15th and sup- porters who had been fol- lowing the story were able to see them.
The four stallions and a mare were seized from a racing quarter horse breed-
death as you can get while still alive. Emaciated, cov- ered in rain rot and open sores, infested with internal parasites, and with rot- ting over grown feet and burr-tangled tails, the five were removed from the farm but the vet kept them for a week because he did not think they’d survive the trip. They travelled a great distance, nearly four hours to get to WHHR, because this is the kind of case Whis- pering Hearts is best at. These five were the worst of a whole herd but forty-five horses were left behind.
are lucky enough to be in this safe and loving envi- ronment.
There was extra excitement at the open
ing farm and were all origi- nally given a body score of zero by the investigating agency. That is as close to
When the “mirac- ulous five” arrived, they were so far gone that they needed more help. A call went out for dewormer, blankets, medicine, medical bill pay- ments, beet pulp, and funds for that ever precious hay.
The horse in the sad- dest condition was the 6 yr. old black stallion who was skeletal at only 719 pounds. He went down the first day and was unable to get up. They used straps to support him from the ceil- ing long enough for him to
3
doing better for now, earn- ing his name, Milagro, the spanish word for Miracle. I had the pleasure of meet- ing him (hugging him) and his herd mates on Sunday. They also have names to match their demeanour. The 10 yr. old chestnut stallion is Titus. The 7 yr. olds are Pelaiah and McGllynn (named for a friend) and the mare is 6 yr old, Nevaeh (heaven spelled backwards).
eat and gain enough strength to stand on his own but he has been down again a couple times. He is
The horses are all very sweet and enjoy human contact, especially being grooming and blan- keted. In the past two weeks, they have ran full blood profiles with faecal counts and they are very slowly bring- ing them back. All five have skin infections, emaciated 0/9 BCS, internal parasites, neglected hooves, very low blood counts on everything including sodium, magnesium, calcium, glucose etc and need their teeth floated (filed). Brenda is trying to make sense of the condition these horses are in, saying. “I understand there is hay shortage and the race horse industry is taking a hit, but there is no excuse to allow ani- mals to deteriorate into such an emaciated and debilitated condition - although I know this is not
4
typical of Ontario horse race industry, it is an exception to the rule.” These five horses are all 300 to 400 pounds underweight. Brenda says that if they survive, it could take up to a year to bring them back to good health. So, keep your eye on the WHHR Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/ groups/25909115447 to follow their progress. For more photos, they can be found in “The Rider’s
5
Photo Gallery” on FB.
1) Dave helps blanket the new arrivals 2) Funds were raised by volunteers selling treats and decorations.
3) Brenda gets into the Christmas spirit 4) Milagrao stands with Brenda and support staff. 5) Each QH arrived 300 to 400 pounds underweight. Photos by Kelly Bowers
2013 Merhow Equistar XL, 7’ wide, 7’6” high, 2 horse straight load bumper pull, Aluminum skin, Dexter Axles/ brakes, rear ramp with dutch doors, 2 escape doors, removable dividers, spare tire, 8 Year Warranty MSRP $14,200 • Sale $12,900
2013 Merhow Alumastar XL, 7’ wide, 7’6” high, 2 horse straight load bumper pull, all aluminum frame including floor, roof and skin. Front dressing room, rear ramp with dutch doors, LED lighting, Dexter torsion axles, 8 Year Warranty MSRP $15,700 • Sale $14,500
2013 Merhow Alumastar XL, 7’ wide, 7’6” high, all aluminum frame/floor/exterior, 3 horse slant load goose neck, rear tack, 8 year warranty, 4’ short wall front dress MSRP $23,454 • Sale $19,995
2013 Exiss 6310LQ, 3 horse slant with Sierra 10’ Short wall living quarters, 6’8” wide, 7’ interior height, all aluminum frame and floor, MSRP $51,049 • Sale $39,900
2013 Sooner SR720 stock trailer, 7’ wide, 7’ high, all aluminum, centre swing gate with slider, calf gate, 20’ belly MSRP $24,042 • Sale $17,750
2004 Featherlite 24’ gooseneck equipment float, tandem 7000lbs axles, 4’ pop-up dovetail, elec brakes, low miles, very good condition…$5,500
Telephone: (519) 443-8622 Toll-free: 1-877-808-8388 Waterford, ON N0E 1Y0
www.halnor.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68