When the three big horses arrived at Amethyst Acres last August and got off the trailer, I thought we had made a terrible mistake agreeing to board them. All three were colts, two-to-four years of age, that had been running in a herd without human intervention most of their lives. They were undernourished, unkempt and their hooves looked like broken pie plates. And they were huge! Much bigger than anything we had ever worked with at our farm...the largest was over 18 hands.
They came bounding off the trailer and two of them immediately jerked away from their handlers, stampeding off and almost trampling Mark who was leading the way to their stalls. By the time we caught them, got them safely into their stalls and took a deep breath, we were both shaking like a leaf. This was my introduction to the Shire breed and the Shire/Thoroughbred cross, and it was a rough beginning.
These three had been rescued from a feedlot in the mid-west by our client Gerri Wenz of Windward Farm in Glasgow and were part of a group of 19 Shires and Shire/TB crosses that were saved from the threat of slaughter by a quick-acting group effort. Not mean-spirited at all, they were gentle giants, but clearly without the basic ground manners you would expect even a weanling to have mastered. An 18-hand stallion that doesn’t know how to lead can be very intimidating, no matter how much horse savvy you think you have!
They came with numbers on their halters to identify them. There was no information about their age or breeding, except that they were from a farm that raised both Shires and Thoroughbreds and crosses of the two. After a few days of interacting with the big guys, we gave them barn names that seemed to fit their personality.
Marley, the largest at over 18 hands, was named after the Reggae singer Bob Marley because his mane was in massive dreadlocks…and his forelock extended the length of his enormous head. He was the calmest of the three and looked the most like a purebred Shire, with beautiful feathers around his feet. And he seemed to have had the most handling. But he was also the most malnourished. His skin hung off his enormous body and his rear sagged, giving him the appearance of an elephant.
Elmer was the second largest at 17.3 hands and he also looked and moved like a purebred Shire. He was scared of everything and would quickly shy away if you tried to touch his face. He was also badly malnourished with the most neglected feet I had ever seen. But he had the most comical whinny that sounded just like Elmer Fudd’s laugh, so Elmer it was.
The third horse was only 16.3 hands, and looked and moved much more like a Shire/TB cross. He was in the best physical shape, but was also very head-shy. I’m not sure where the name Zeke came from, but it seemed to fit him.
The first few weeks were a “crash course” for the big guys in leading, grooming, picking up feet, getting shots and being gelding, taking baths…and mostly, just learning to trust humans. And somewhere during all these lessons, I fell in love with Marley.
Marley was truly a gentle giant with an incredible spirit. Always the calmest of the three, he also seemed to have a wisdom about him…even though you couldn’t see his eyes for his forelock! We had started looking for homes for the three guys, but decided that we wanted to keep Marley here with us. And so in mid-September, he officially became my “big grey horse.”
Over the next several months, the big guys gained weight and became very comfortable with their new routine…and their new human friends. Mark started Elmer and Zeke under saddle and promised to start Marley for me in the Spring when he had more time. Elmer and Zeke had really filled out and looked very healthy. Marley still looked a little malnourished, but what a sweetheart…he would follow me around in the field like a puppy, and come to the fence for carrots every night when I called him. And he was such an awesome creature that everyone who visited the farm fell in love with him.
One morning in late February, I awoke to find Marley lying in his pasture. I knew something was terribly wrong because he always waited by the fence for his breakfast. We spent all day trying to save him but by evening he had given up and we made the decision to end his suffering. Bloodwork later revealed that his liver had failed him…probably a result of years of malnutrition and neglect. Mark has worked with horses since he was 10 and seen several put to sleep, but this was my first. We buried him on the hill overlooking the farm and I still get tears in my eyes when I think of his big head and long forelock…he was the biggest, sweetest horse I have ever known and I still miss him terribly.
It took me a long time to open my heart to another horse, but after Marley left us, I found myself spending more time with Elmer. Of the three, Elmer had been the most afraid of human touch, but he now seemed to crave human interaction. He loved to be groomed and had started putting his head in my chest when I entered his stall, as if asking for a hug. Elmer was now closer to 18 hands and Mark and several of our Pony Club friends were regularly riding him…but I had never been on him. My first ride was this past August, almost a year to the day that the three big guys arrived.
In September, Mark and I made the decision to keep Elmer. He will live out his life here with us at Amethyst Acres and be my riding horse. Zeke has become the faithful riding companion of a young girl in Southeast Virginia. It still amazes me when I think that someone thought these horses should be slaughtered.
If you would like to know more about the background story of these horses, contact Gerri Wenz at 540-258-1100. For more information on the issue of horse slaughter and horse rescue in general, you can visit www.equineprotectionnetwork.com, www.saplonline.org, www.habitatforhorses.org, or www.equinerescue.com.
It is critical that horse enthusiasts, and others in the 6th District and throughout Virginia, speak out on this issue. You can help pass The American Slaughter Prevention Act by contacting Representative Goodlatte and making him aware that he is NOT correctly representing your views.
Representative Goodlatte can be reached:
By e-mail: bob.goodlatte@mail.house.gov
By fax: (202) 225-9681
For further information on this bill