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Meeting the Girls.
News from July 2005. WE HAVE JUST RETURNED FROM VISITING THE FARMS IN ALBERTA, CANADA. Exciting? Yes! but also devastating. For a horsewoman it should have been the best trip ever, being in the middle of hundreds of beautiful horses, but due to the actual reason for going, the trip does not bring back the best of memories. We are haunted by images of feed lots, horse auctions, cattle trucks, slaughter houses and the faces of all the mares, babies, and stallions who will wind up in them! They will never know a loving family that spoils them with carrots, or little girls who braid their manes. They will never know the excitement of being the center of a child's world. There are too many horses, all born in the wrong place at the wrong time. The victims of a very hidden drug industry. These perfectly good and well bred horses all deserve better.
Let me tell you what we saw. My friend Vikki, accompanied me, I had tried my best to educate the both of us prior to the trip to understand what we were getting into. It's political, it's guarded. It's all about money. The over breeding of horses in Canada to make Premarin at the PMU farms is nothing like I have ever seen anywhere. It would be irresponsible and financially impossible, but since it was supported by a billion dollar a year industry it has survived. For three solid days we visited farm after farm, pasture after pasture of absolutely amazing horses. But this was only 6 farms! I can personally tell you that the horses that we saw are good as any horses I have seen at even the top breeding farms. Driving up to a grass filled, tree lined otherwise deserted looking pasture, we stepped out of the truck loaded with buckets of oats and called out for the "girls". "Here girls!", "Come on girls!" Suddenly over the hills, and out of the brush ears and faces appeared. All colors and ages, sometimes up to 50 each, with babies galloping along side. Some of these mares, most only halter broke, have known nothing more than pasture breeding and "pee lines" and being hauled around from pasture to pasture for forage and breeding in the spring. One of the farmers who his having to sell his "girls", is now driving a gravel truck to make ends meet. His now empty PMU barn, that once housed hundreds of mares, stands vacant - urine collection harnesses are piled in the corners never to be strapped on again. On the outside, the facility looks industrial, on the inside it resembles a dairy barn for cows. It was very sterile, a well managed around the clock operation where the farmer often lived right next door. The property is now for sale, among the many other farms in the area. There are farms in Manitoba and other areas, still in full operation, but 50 farms as of May 2005 in Alberta are closed. The farmers and the "girls" are out of work. It is a desperate situation for all.
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Pouring the grain into a huge circle, each mare lined up to eat, her little one by her side. We were able to identify the ones that I had already selected from photos alone, by brands, colors and markings. Some I recognized immediately and called them by name. "Oh you're Jacklyn! and you must be Target!" It was so wonderful to have many of the same mares on my first list walk up to nuzzle me as if to say "It's me, Newfies Sugar Bar, I've been waiting for you!" They seemed to want to say, "Please look at me and look my beautiful baby". We made notes on paper and video and immediately marked any mare that was extra friendly and foals that were extra curious. I have 6 hours of video to remember them all by. I worry about the older mares over 10 years of age. My eyes deceived me many times and I couldn't help taking a welsh pony cross mare, Sundre, who is 12 years old and never been ridden!
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It was an unbelievable task sorting through hundreds of mares and foals, and registration paperwork... but thanks to our host and one of the breeder/farmers who accompanied us, I was able to get the lineage and history on most of the horses. "Oh this is a nice mare, the farmer would tell us, "I have her mother, and her grandmother, she's pure foundation stock I wish I could keep this one." On a very personal note, I did not realize the emotional effect that it would have on me when I witnessed so many magnificent horses that all have great potential to be placed in loving homes instead of senseless slaughter houses. AND YES THIS HAPPENS. IT HAPPENS DAILY! While we were at the farms one of the famous Spotted Draft Stallions was sold to a neighbor farmer and days later was found in the feed lot. Our tour guide, with her heart of gold, recognized him and negotiated with the feed lot owner to "Please, please let him be sold back". They placed the stallion on the scales and he was bought back for his weight in dollars. Money out of a young single girl's wallet, all because of some huge misunderstanding, a perfectly placeable, once in a life time horse, nearly lost his life! Also in the feed lot our friend saved 3 miniature horses, all adorable and all under 5 years of age. Two have been placed in homes and a three year old 38" chocolate paint gelding is coming with us. The owner - not a farmer, just didn't want to feed them any more and dropped them off at the feed lot to be slaughtered!
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Napoleon Dynamite 3 Year Old mini gelding saved from the Feed Lot! He is now our mini mascot!
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I felt that I had accompolished something important by taking a whopping 30 horses, but the memories of the ones that we left behind will haunt me forever, and soon this list of horses grew to over 60 as threats of slaughter grew stronger. I know many of you can not understand this devasting situation, It is unlike how we raise horses here in the states, but as long as there is a demand for the drugs that these horses produce, there will be an over abundance of horses. And as long as there is an overabundance of horses there will be a strong demand for horse meat. This yearly occurance will continue and too many will loose their lives because there will never be enough good homes for what is being bred and regardless of all our personal efforts we can not save them all! This sickens and effects me deeply.
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Filming and purchasing horses.
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