It may take a little while for all the pictures to download
but please be patient, they are worth it.
Slaughter:
American Horses are not as protected as we would like to believe... At the last
local horse sale in Los Lunas, 900 unbranded wild horses went to the killers.
If they are not on BLM land, they are not protected. It is legal for
ranchers to pay land owners a small fee per head to round up the wild horses,
then run them through the killer auction. And please be aware, that, yes,
the BLM does some things to make sure the wild horses in their care go to good
homes, but it isn't enough... an adopter only had to have title to a horse for
one year, and then said owner can do anything they want to with that horse,
including take it to the killer sale. This is unacceptable. We as a
country DO NOT have horse meat on our menus, so why to we allow our horses to go
to slaughter to be shipped to other countries to end up on someone's dinner
plate? The quest for the "all mighty dollar" has caused
unacceptable suffering and cruelty to our horses.
Due to overbreeding and poor
breeding practices in the
Miniature horse industry, HollyBerry
Farm will no longer breed
Miniature horses. Because
breeders are so focused on size,
the rate of dwarfism has
increased, as well as the foal
mortality rate.
Until better "Standards of
Perfection" are set, this will
always be a problem in the
Miniature horse world. Believe
it or not, Miniature horses are
destroyed
at birth if they are
considered "incorrect",
Perfectly good miniature horses
are being sent to slaughter and
suffer just as much abuse and
neglect as the "big" horses.
The miniature horses on my farm
will have a
permanent home with me...
some will be made available for
sale to qualified homes only.
As we are able to rescue minis,
they will be made available for
adoption to approved homes.
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NOTE:
All rescue horses have
adoption fees based on what I had to do to get them, Vet costs and extra feed
and supplement costs. We will never "give" horses away... Any money received
goes into the next horse in need."
Riley
4 year old Tenn.
Walking Horse Gelding 15.5hh
Registered with the International Pleasure Walking Horse Assoc. (Please add link
to Sore No More)
Green Broke, kind, willing, easy to teach, willing to go the extra mile for the
one he loves!
Pleasure home ONLY!
Adopted
Congratulations to
Tom King of Farmington!
Tinkerbell
3 year old full Arabian,
unregistered.
Black/Bay
Well started but not for a beginner!
This little horse will make a great trail horse! She is all business and needs
an advanced rider. She was under fed when I get her... very skinny! She also had
some injuries due to a fall on her right side. She has a ding on her right hock.
Sometimes it bothers her, but I can't get the swelling to go down... she is not
lame... The lump is about the size of a golf ball.
Unfortunately Tinkerbelle passed on over the rainbow bridge.
Jabez 9 month old bay wild colt
AIHR # A-3614
Jabez was
found at a local horse trader's. He was only a baby, and he had been
tossed in with a herd of larger, older, hungrier horses. Jabez was run
through a barbed wire fence. As he lost condition, he was simply ignored
by the owner of the sale yard. We finally came along and asked about
taking him home. The owner said he was suppose to go the killer sale, but
if we "girls" wanted to "mess" with him, that would be fine,
we could just come pick him up. The "wranglers" forced him into
the trailer and in route, I called the Vet, who meet us right away at Jabez's
new home. Jabez was in absolutely horrid condition. He was
severely underweight, dehydrated, and his barbed wire injury on his hind leg,
had been there so long, he hardly had use of it at all and the infection and
proud flesh were incredible. The Vet tranquilized him and we cleaned up
the wound, found it had rotten all the way to the bone, treated him for
infection and parasites, both internal and external, Jabez was covered from head
to toe in lice, he had serum scald wherever his leg drained and fungal
infections under all the matted hair.
Click to enlarge
Over the next several weeks, we continued to treat Jabez, feed him and had to
deworm him with several different dewormers frequently. He had to have
several Cryo Surgeries on his leg as the proud flesh really got wild as the
wound started healing. Now, several months later, Jabez is very happy!
He is in good weight, although he could still stand to gain a few pounds.
He has full use of his leg and will only have a small scar. Throughout the
treatments, he became pretty leery of me and anyone trying to catch him, but
that is ok, we will get over that with time. He does try to be very
friendly and will come right up to visit and be "scratched" as long as
you don't have a halter or a needle! He is very lively and full of spunk.
Now he runs and bucks just because it feels good not because he is trying to run
away from something out of fear. The first time I saw him do that, I
cried... I was so happy! Jabez seemed very pleased with himself, I think
he shed a tear too...
Jabez is of the Spanish Barb type. He has a straight face, short back,
deep chest, sturdy legs and body. He is Silver Bay with a huge white star
and snip. He is very intelligent and eager to learn and be friends.
He hasn't much training at all due to his long recovery. We have simply
been focusing on him getting well and being happy and able to use his leg. Jabez
has just recently been gelded.
Jabez today
Maybel: Greener Patures
Maybel
was found on the side of the road next to her mother who had been caught in a
cattle guard. Maybel had previously been hit by a car and was very thin.
She had a broken pelvis and was having trouble breathing. She was standing
next to her mother who had broken both front legs in the cattle guard and was
bleeding to death. Several Police Officers and a Livestock Inspector were
standing around arguing about who's job it really was to shoot the mare.
The Livestock inspector finally did. This mare undoubtedly suffered
tremendously. The filly was brought to me to care for and try to save.
She was
covered in blood, her mother's, and was very thin and week. We tried for
several days to save her life, but she had a tracheal injury that finally killed
her. She and her mother were running loose on the highway due to
"free range" laws in place in New Mexico and on the Reservation.
Maybel was around 8 months old. She had no body fat, was wormy, had a
fractured pelvis, a bullet wound in her shoulder and tracheal injury. She
had a big "spark" in her eye and tremendous will to live. After
a week of incredible effort by everyone involved, but especially Maybel, she
died. Maybel will always be remembered, not only because of the shape she
was in, but because of her awesome spirit.
During the time Maybel and her mother were on that road, hundreds of people
drove by without paying any attention. How long did it take these horses
to get into this condition in the first place? How many people ignored
them then? They didn't get this way overnight! Sadly there are
horses wandering around like that all the time, and people just pretend they
don't exist. In the law's eyes, if no owner comes forward, no one is held
responsible for horses in this condition, yet if someone like me tries to help
them, that is illegal in this state. It is still on the books as horse
thieving. Even if there is no owner and the horse is in such bad shape
that if there was an owner, they wouldn't deserve to get the horse back anyway!
Yet, people like myself and everyone that helped with Maybel, simply cannot and
will not look the other way. We have to rescue and rehab very quietly.
Now, we work directly with the local Vet and that makes legalities much easier.
The Vet has control over medical issues involving care and placement and that
allows us time to wade through the red tape and allows us to care for the horse
in spite of the red tape.
Summer 2000
Spanish Mustang: Flurry - 9 month old wild Appy
colt AIHR # AA-3592
Flurry
was brought to a sale lot off the Navajo Reservation. He was caught out of
the wild along with two other colts. The people that lived in the area
needed money so they rounded up what they could from the wild herd and brought
them in. The owner of the sale lot gave $75.00 each. The other two
colts sold right away. I purchased Flurry.
Flurry was thin and wormy. This happened to be during the Spring, so
the horses had just gotten through a tough winter. All he needed was to be
dewormed, fed and loved.
Flurry's first experience with humans wasn't a good one. He was pulled
from his home environment, loaded into a horse trailer, unloaded, left to fend
for himself, and then when I came along, he was loaded again, driven to a new
place, unloaded into a pen... and then the good care started. Flurry was
very frightened at first, but, he came around amazingly fast. Within days,
he was coming up to us, letting us scratch his face, then his neck, before we
knew it, we were able to halter him for the first time in his life, brush him
all over, and lead.
Flurry has been with us ever since, and about a month ago, we had to load him
in another trailer, because we were moving to a new location, we asked him to
load, in hand, and within minutes, he was in the trailer, happy as could be.
No stress whatsoever. He unloaded just as easily. The intelligence
these little wild horses have is incredible... they never cease to amaze me.
You ask them to do something, they think it over, once they understand, they do
it, and you never have to teach it again. Flurry did get frightened while
he was in the trailer, the guy that was helping to move him, got into the
trailer with him, of course, Flurry felt caged in and did what his instincts
told him to do, and turned and kicked the fire out of Kory! I have never
seen a horse kick and reload, and kick again, so quickly! His name fits
him... Flurry. The next day, Kory was working in Flurry's new pen, Flurry
came right up to him, put his face up against Kory's arm as if to apologize,
they have been friends ever since.
When
we first got Flurry and he was still afraid, he got himself wedged under a pipe
panel, he had the common sense to lay still and wait for help. He never
fought, thrashed around, nothing, he just kept still and waited. When I
found him, I had to push on the top of his head to get it out from under the
panel so he could get himself into the right position, he was accepting all of
this, and when he was sure he could get up, he did. No injuries, no
stress. As any horse owner knows, this is a very valuable, rare trait!
Flurry is all white, with gray mottled skin. He has black
in his mane and tail and tiny gray spots on his rump. He has some browning
around his pasterns. He is a very handsome fellow, although keeping a
young boy in a white coat clean, is impossible! Flurry is all boy!
Mess and all! He is of the Spanish Barb type, and I will be sending
samples off to a lab for DNA analysis to see what kind of "markers" he
carries. Flurry was just given AA status with the American Indian Horse
Registry! He was recently gelded!
Spanish Mustang: Sophie
Sophie
first came to us in the Spring of 2000. She was very thin and scraggly.
She just appeared one day, out of the blue. Of course we tried to feed
her, and take care of her until we could find the owner. We had no luck,
and even contacted the Livestock Board. They gave us all sorts of trouble.
They said they would have to haul her to a sale yard 3 hours away, advertise
statewide to see if the owner could be found, and then if no one came forward,
she would be sold. They tell me that 85% of all horses that go there, end
up at the "killers". After a month of arguing with the Livestock
Board, her herd came back and we took her to them, they all had a happy reunion,
and we thought all was well and done. Her herd, was running wild on the
edge of the Navajo Reservation. They would come up to visit us when they
were hungry. By the time we turned Sophie back out with her herd she had
gained at least 100 pounds and had lots of extra feed supplements and
medications to get her in good condition. If you asked me, the Livestock
Board owed me money for keeping her and taking such good care of her! The
next time we saw Sophie, was on the 4th of July of that same year. She had
cut her chest open on some barbed wire, came up to our place and put herself in
her old pen and waited for us to return! I then decided I would do
whatever it took to be able to give Sophie a permanent home. Again, we
contacted the Livestock Board... they gave us even MORE trouble. They said
if we wanted a chance at purchasing her from the auction, we should haul her
there ourselves, follow her through, and bid on her. Oh yes, we would have
to advertise her statewide again... By this time, she had gained another 200
pounds, and we had taken care of all of her veterinary care, which included
anesthesia, suture, and antibiotics for her laceration. So, for a grand
total of 3 months and at least $500.00, we took care of, fought for, and
strongly pursued the right to keep her. In the end, they still wanted us
to take her to the sale! I finally got smart, and asked if all this would
just simply "go away" if I "turned her loose" again... the
officer stated that yes, it would go in his follow up report that we were sick
of dealing with the Livestock Board, saw her herd again, and turned her loose.
He also unofficially told me that if I continued to find these rescue horses,
that he did not want to know about it! Two months later, I had him come
out and write an official hauling card, on Sophie, the gray appy mare that I
purchased from a friend. :-)
Throughout the Winter, Sophie grew and grew... boy was she a mess! A
face only a mother could love! She just warmed my heart every time a saw
her! She very quickly became friendly and very social. She is also
one of the smartest horses I have ever known. Her wild instincts are very
sharp, she thinks things through. The does not just simply react to
things... she has to think them over, and once she understands, she is totally
willing to do whatever you ask.
Spring came, and Sophie started to shed off that nasty winter coat! As
the old hair came off, (it was over 2 inches long) we were very pleasantly
surprised to watch her blossom into an incredibly beautiful horse! She is
very Spanish typy... her movement is very Arab. Sophie has a beautiful
head, arched neck, short back, strong, sturdy legs, deep chest... where did all
this come from, from a simple stray horse? Could she be a Mustang...?
A true Spanish Mustang? We will soon see...
Sophie has a few very tiny spots. White sclaras in both eyes.
Mottled skin. She is gray with black points. A large white blaze on
her face. Her mane and tail are also very thick and curly. Sophie
stands out from all the other horses... something about her is very different.
She is not like domestic horses. Her body style is very different as well.
She does not, by any means look modern. Her intelligence stands out
as well. One time she got herself caught under a pipe rail fence, instead
of struggling, like I have seen domestics do, she just laid there waiting.
When we got to her, she was very calm and allowed us to help her without any
fuss. When she got up, she was a little stiff, but otherwise unhurt.
When it came time to trim her feet, she did very well and accepted everything
that was going on within minutes of being asked. We also moved all the
horses to a new location, when we tried to load her to go to the sale, she would
not load for anything! When it came time to load her to move her to the
new location, she loaded right up without a single hassle. Sophie has a
very easy going, lighthearted personality. She is always happy, willing,
and eager to please. She will begin training under saddle this season and
I will see how she likes Dressage.
Sophie was just given AA status by the American Indian Horse Registry!
Jasmine & Magpie - Another one of our rescues
Jasmine and Magpie were rescued from the Los Lunas Horse Sale.
They were headed for slaughter. Magpie is a wild mustang, she was rounded up (we
heard cowboys bragging about this) via helicopter and vehicles...her entire
heard was rounded up, stuffed into very small pens, overcrowded, over stressed,
exhausted, hungry and terrified. Magpie is only about 4 months old, during the
auction she got
separated
from her mother. She lost her mother, was weaned and lost her entire herd and
way of life in one single day. We couldn't tell who her mother was, if we could
have, we would have bid on her too... we could see all of the mustangs the
"killer buyers" had bid on, stuffed into holding pens, awaiting the
double decker trucks. We later learned that 900 mustangs went to slaughter that
day.
By definition of mustang, I mean "wild horse" not BLM
horses... None of these horses were branded... Yes, there were livestock
inspectors there. The inspectors approved them for sale and sent them on... they
also sat down and had lunch while the mustangs were being run through...900
Jasmine is a very old mare... We believe her to be at least 20. She is tame and
domestic. Jasmine most
likely spent her entire life serving humans only to be thrown away. She got old,
she got injured... who knows... Someone just decided for what ever reason, that
they didn't want her anymore. Jasmine was in horrible condition... she needed to
gain 200 pounds just to be thin! She also had a huge abscess on the side of her
face. I am not sure what it was from... or how old the injury was, but it
was painful and infected. We were told that she wouldn't make the 2.5 hour trip
home... why take the chance? Because the least we could give her was a chance,
and if she couldn't recover, a dignified, peaceful euthanasia. She didn't
deserve to end her life at the killers.
Both horses made it home safely. Poor little Magpie was
very frightened and upset. She called and called for her mother all night. She
then decided to adopt this old mare as her only trusted friend in the world.
Over the next few weeks, she got a little bit more comfortable. She has gotten
used to us being around, and enjoys visiting with us, but we still can't touch
her... she will need time. Jasmine on the other hand, is very friendly and happy
now. She knows all about blankets, and grooming, and oats and treats... at one
time in her life she was obviously cared for. She does have a long road to
recovery but is
coming
along nicely. She has gained some weight, and her face has just about healed.
She does seem to have some sort of back injury, but hopefully with some weight
and strength in her body, it will improve. Jasmine has also adopted Magpie, she
even lets her "nurse"... she is very protective and watchful of her
new baby...
Both Mother and Baby are happy now. Magpie is getting more and
more social as the days go by, she even whinnies at us if it is taking us too
long to get there with the hay. Jasmine is much more active and always happy and
interested in what's going on. Magpie and Jasmine have both recently been
adopted by Hank Grizzle.
Stewart -
Stewart was rescued from a pony ring... he was VERY thin and
malnourished, had numerous skin problems, and was VERY standoffish... Not so any
longer! This little guy has blossomed into the MOST friendly pony I have EVER
known! He wants to be involved in EVERY thing ALL the time! He has also taken on
the job of being the Mini horses "personal trainer"... He keeps
everybody very busy and well exercised... and he takes his "job" very
seriously!
It is very sad that this little guy's personality was stifled
for his first 3 years... When we first picked him up, he just didn't want too
much to do with anything, or anybody. He even paced circles in his stall, I
guess that is just how stressed he was... he left big rings in the dirt in his
stall... He started to warm up as he felt better and got some food in his belly.
It also helped a lot to get the skin issues under control. His skin was very dry,
itchy, scabby and just plain yucky feeling. That has improved a lot with regular
grooming and a good diet and all the fun he has playing with the other
horses.
Lots of people may think that pony riding rings are all fun and
games, but that isn't always true for the
horses. I know there are reputable
people that run good businesses and take good care of their ponies, but that
just isn't true for all of them. Many of the ponies are started under saddle way
too young, work all day with their head tied to a post, and walk in endless
circles all day. Some of the ponies are sick, injured, too old and even
sometimes ready to give birth! And they still get worked VERY hard. Lots of
times it is on hard concrete in hot parking lots, with very few, if any
breaks.
Please reconsider the next time you plop your child on the backs
of one of those ponies... Do the ponies look happy and healthy? It is rare to
see any that do look like they enjoy their jobs... Are they interested in their
surroundings? Are there other ponies to take the "next shift" to give
relief to the ponies that are being ridden? Is there a place for the ponies to
eat and drink and get out of the hot sun and off the hard pavement? Do the
ponies look dull and lifeless? Every time we give business to rings that don't
look "perfect" we are supporting a business of misery and extreme
physical labor...
Ponies like Stewart, should be happy and be enjoyed by people
and ponies should enjoy being around people... it should be a mutual thing...
not exploitation (sp)... Stewart is an absolute JOY to be around! And that is
how it should be! We have recently hooked Stewart up to a cart and lo and behold
he drives. We are offering him for sale for $850 to a good home only.
Stewart Today
