Kia'’s Story In the world of horse “rescue,” we get calls at least once a week asking us to take in the old, the ill, the broken down, the neglected—, the unwanted horses that someone wants to replace or just “get rid of.” These are not stories with happy endings, and sadly these are not horses that we have the funds or facilities to help. For this we are heartbroken.  Then there are the “rescues” that do not resemble a rescue at all. Those that bring great hope, joy, and happy endings. Such is the case with a mare we rescued and renamed “Kia” (Lakota Sioux meaning, “the heart that keeps giving”). Kia is an ex PMU mare with her own stories—. Stories of things we are not too familiar with as horse-lovers and owners in America. Her stories are about feedlots, auctions, yearly babies, and pee lines.    Kia and the foal she was carrying were not unwanted. Instead, they were wanted, far more than they bargained for. By being born in a world that considers horse meat a delicacy and pregnant mare’s urine a miracle drug for hormone replacement therapy, horses like Kia are in high demand.  And ultimately they face a situation that no one could imagine would happen in North America in the year 2008!   In August 2006 we rescued Kia, already in foal, at an auction in Canada. We bought her because we had to. We had to save her and her unborn foal from a horrid fate— - death at the hands of the killer buyers. The killer buyer acquires horses for the slaughter industry that sells North American horse meat to foreign countries for human consumption.  We fought to save Kia by driving her price higher and higher until our opponent, stopped bidding on her and she was ours. Kia represents the thousands of mares who will give birth between May and June this year and then immediately be bred again. Their foals will need to be placed in homes before auction time in September when these tiny innocents are ripped from their mothers, who are already pregnant again, to be weaned (sometimes prematurely) as the yearly PMU cycle continues and the mares return to the pee barn for winter. Older mares and stallions no longer useful also are at risk at auction time. If these “castoffs” of the PMU industry cannot find homes, the majority will be sold at auction to the killer buyers and on to slaughter. And their stories will end there. But our Kia was not destined for such a tragic end.

Kia In California - February 2007

The story of Kia and her foal begins here with us at Canyon Creek Farm, 2,000 miles from her home in Northern Alberta, Canada. We brought Kia here. because we love horses and we want to tell her story, with the hope that more public awareness will help bring an end to this equine crisis.  Kia is a purebred registered APHA (American Paint Horse Association) mare with some outstanding foundation American Quarter Horse breeding. To a paint horse breeder, that makes her a valuable asset to a breeding program. She is perfect in every way. Even so, because there are so many horses where she was born, fine horses like her are often regarded as no more than a commodity. In fact, there are so many born each year that entire herds of these beautiful animals are sold to an industry that desires them, not for their breeding potential, but for their meat.   We brought Kia to our farm in October 2006. She traveled with a load of 13 auction babies and arrived in great condition. We had outbid the killer buyer to save them all. After Kia settled in, we had our vet give her an ultrasound so we could estimate a delivery date for her foal and make sure we addressed our rescued momma's needs with the best of care.

Safe and Warm At Canyon Creek Farm!

All was well, and our vet figured Kia would foal in March 2007. In the interim she would have time to get used to all of us at the farm. We gave her a large warmblood-sized foaling stall and kept her healthy and as happy as we possibly could. March came and went as we watched Momma around the clock, waiting for the glorious event to finally happen. We even installed a camera in her stall so we could monitor her from the house. Her “fan club” grew and grew, asking every day, “Is the baby here yet?” It was starting to look like Kia was just obese and not pregnant at all! She was big as a house. We waited and waited until she started giving us, one by one, each and every sign of her impending motherhood. Finally the day arrived when she started dripping milk, and we knew her time was very near. She actually foaled that night, and her fan club was on call to witness the event.

When I saw Kia's foal start to emerge, I noticed the little face was bald just like Kia’s. I was elated! This would be her final foal, and I had hoped her baby would resemble her in some way. Then out came more baby—a leg, slightly folded back. I had to help here and there. I needed to gently pull with each contraction. Kia was standing, and I stood behind her trying to grasp a fetlock through the slippery sack, with no success. Her baby seemed too large. I said, “Call the vet.”

Then suddenly, in a moment so sacred, in this stall full of humans, Kia dropped to the ground and began pushing her baby out. Together we all shared in the miracle of birth and this beautiful gift of equine motherhood, with a new colt at her side.

From the moment Kia's baby was born, she looked around to greet him. She immediately starting licking and talking to her baby as if to say, "Hello little one, I am your momma. I will raise and protect you. You are my baby and I love you." Tears welled in everyone’s eyes. Our attending vet stated that our rescued mare was a "textbook" mother because she immediately bonded to her foal and so would risk her own life to protect him. Yes, this is what a mother horse should do. And she has done this before probably eight times in her 10 years. Eight foals born, eight foals taken away.   Yet she is so forgiving that she let us share in her most vulnerable moment. How could we show her in return how important and special she is to us?

Hello little one!

She stood next to her colt, with glistening eyes wide open, head to head with her beautiful son. They posed for the cameras, in a bond that only a dam could demonstrate toward her foal. She had come a long way since first arriving at Canyon Creek as such a frightened and unsure mare.

Hi def Baby!

Kia had accepted everyone into her stall, allowing us to assist with her birth and even accepting the camera equipment we brought in to capture the birth on video and film. We hoped to show the world this blessed event—not to be invasive but to educate and inspire. Never did Kia offer us one doubtful look as she lay helpless birthing her foal for the first time in a foaling stall, instead of the pasture. She proved then and there that a horse can learn to trust again, even though humans had not treated her so kindly or with such honor and respect as she received now. She actually seemed to appreciate our concern and attentiveness.

Kary greets baby, she's a pro at all aspects of motherhood both equine and human!

Now that we had saved her and her colt, we needed to make them both a promise. Our promise is that this will be the “final foal” for Kia, and her final foal will never be taken away from her. That’s a promise worth making—on a dark May night in Southern California, standing in awe of this beautiful sight—and a promise worth keeping.

Vikki and Terry can't contain themselves any longer!

Pat greets the baby now that he has "found his legs" Now we’re blessed every day with the joy of watching Kia’s young colt grow and explore his new world. He may not be free to roam in the new spring timothy pastures in Canada. He may not have the freedom to meet and play with all the other foals being born in his herd. But he is here with us. He represents so many other little lives who need us to help bring them to safety, too, as the yearly cycle continues. He reminds us that our hard work has just begun. We know we have been called to this work and believe our efforts are blessed to change lives, for horses and those who care for them. The horses have taught us about their plight. Now we want to help them. We want to teach children to be kind to animals, and we want to teach adults that our world is in need of more kindness.

We want to share with the world the story of Kia and her colt, a story full of hope and compassion for each and every new life, and each and every new day! Please join us in welcoming a new life into the world! Thank you for reading Kia's story, Tammy Craven, Founder Canyon Creek Farm

A forever home at last!

This Dream of never having to say goodbye again, has come true for Kia and her colt, born on May 17th 2007. Both horses were adopted together and donated to Canyon Creek Farm by the Waller Family who share in our dream of saving these amazing horses. Their generous Donation includes a yearly sponsorship towards their care as it is our belief that these two lucky equines represent the true mission of Canyon Creek Farm as together we continue to save and unite and honor their lives through stewardship and education!