She Came to Miracle Called Miss Piggy…We Shall Call Her Beauty
This beautiful horse is the reason Miracle Horse Rescue is working so hard to help these beautiful creatures. To some they may see a horse that no longer has the ability to serve a useful purpose. What we see is a beautiful animal that gave so much to man and her reward? cast away, no longer wanted.
As she stepped off the trailer, we were a bit shocked at her condition. Her eyes are bright and her spirit high whinnying to everyone who would call back to her, and naturally they did welcome her into their special herd. She was filthy and smelled, her feet had not seen care in quite sometime and were long, dry and brittle.
Beauty arrived the 29th of May, at about 3:30pm. In her new stall surrounded by others who came to Miracle Horse Rescue for various reasons she nickered to everyone. The first order of business after a she had a cool drink of clean water was to fix her feet, because if they don’t have good feet you don’t have a good horse. She stood patiently as her feet were trimmed looking at her new home and softly nuzzling her handler. Once this job had been completed the others were now letting us know that it was time for dinner, and even Beauty got into act displaying her impatience for her dinner.
She was given her hay, with an additional treat of Beet Pulp and vitamins. We stood and watched her as she shyly began eating watching the others to ensure that they were not going to intrude on her meal. She settled in nicely.
May 30th, 1:30pm Beauty was going to get her first bath. She walked into the wash rack with no problems, a bit nervous but holding her own. The first order of business was to shed off the long shaggy hair that she still had covering her, this was quite the process. Her eyes closed and she dropped her head slightly, relaxing and allowing the curry comb to soothe her. Once the shedding was complete it was now time for the bathing. As the hose was turned on she watched curiously, cool water running, slowly starting a her feet and moving up and across her thin body. Lots of medicated shampoo and a soft brush moved around washing away grime, and cleaning old sores, Beauty let out a loud sigh as if to say this is wonderful. We have seen a great deal since Miracle Horse Rescue has been in operation and have had to tend to each horses ailments, but this is the first time that we actually felt sick to our stomachs at the odor that was emitting from her body, which was not her fault. This process of washing her body took about 45 minutes of concentrated effort. When it came time for her mane and tail this we knew was going to take awhile as they were matted. We started with heavy doses of shampoo, rinse, and shampoo and then applied conditioner. Some of the mats were so bad that they were to the crest of her neck. These have to be removed with a razor comb, but the job was completed. Beauty stood in the warm sun, drying and being brushed out and though still very thin, she looked 100% better than she did upon her arrival.
Beauty is between 20 and 25 years old, and is of mixed breeding. She is very sweet and patient. We have however seen that once some of these horses get healthy they have shown us their spunky side, which we are looking forward to seeing in her.
June 10th, 2003, twelve days after Beauty's arrival she had to be put down. This angers all of us at Miracle Horse Rescue. Our veterinarian said there was no hope. Due to her having been in a state of starvation prior to her arrival here this had wreaked havoc on her internal organs. She was having kidney failure along with a multitude of other symptons.
We asked ourselves over and over on this day, "How can people not see what they have done?" "How can you walk outside and look at a horse and only see a shadow of what they once were"? It does not make sense but one thing we do know is that it is cruel and heartless.
We watched this horse daily and cared for her ensuring that she had a proper diet, clean fresh water and tender touches daily. Though she tried she no longer could fight and was tired. This was also a very hard lesson for our fourteen year old volunteer who chose to hold Beauty's head in her lap as she passed on to a far better place. She said she wanted her to go, feeling her small hand stroking her face and speaking soft gentle words assuring her it was okay to leave us. That was a very touching moment, when a child or shall I say a young woman realized that no matter how hard we tried, we could not undo or fix what another human being had done to this magnificent creature. This picture is branded into our minds. I hope that this does reach many of you and that if you know someone who cannot care for an animal properly that you will let them know that they need to ask for help. Do not let an animal suffer due to pride.
This was not easy to do, but we know that Beauty is running in green pastures with all those that have past before her. She will never know the pangs of hunger again. Though only at Miracle Horse Rescue a short time, she was cared for as if she had been with us a life time. She truly will be missed.
