When I was 15 years old our house phone rang with the call that no owner ever wants to get, "your horse is colicing, come quick". Three hours later I was loading Sage onto a trailer headed for the hospital. It was the worst fear I've ever felt in my life. I unloaded him at the hospital, got to spend five minutes with him before he was led away for surgery. I guess every horse owner always fears something like this, colic surgery. Even the decision if the surgery should be done is something people fear, this was my best friend, my soul mate, my one in a million. I'd have given my left leg if it meant him being okay. If surgery was what he needed, that's what he would get.
We were sent home to wait for the phone call to let us know how it went. I lay in bed staring at the ceiling praying that god would bring Sage out of this okay. He was only six years old, he could not die so young, could he? It was a few hours before the phone rang, my mom spoke with the surgeon and found out their were complications, Sage had previous surgery that we were never told about when we adopted him. It was the worst news we could have asked for. Four hours later Sage came out of sedation and coliced again. We had no choice but to let my best friend go. I got to say goodbye, I clung on to him and told him he would be ok without me, I'd be strong for him. I kissed him goodbye and watched my best friend go to heaven. As I walked out they handed me his halter and his tail, something that I did not understand at the time. The vet told me it's something they do when you lose a horse, you take their tail. I held onto that tail with everything I had, it was all I had left of him, a halter and a tail.
It took months for me to get back to normal. I slept with his halter every night, I'd lay in bed tracing his face in my mind, trying to rememeber everything about him. I slowly started going back to the barn to spend time with my paint mare, Lexus. It was nice being there but seeing his empty stall hurt me to the core. I felt empty without him. I had to do something positive to help myself get past the loss.
I started doing research and found out about slaughter and horse rescue and 6 months later I was pulling into New Holland Horse Auction to rescue my first horse. That day I rescued a TB mare and a pony. It was the best feeling in the world, it was a natural high that I needed to feel again. I went home and started doing more research about opening my own rescue. It was hard work, 24/7, I was in high school at the time and was juggling graduating and getting my rescue off the ground. There were bumps in the road and road blocks but I got my 501(c)3 my first day of college. During this period I rescued 20 horses from auctions and feed lots and placed them all in new homes.
It's been seven years since I started this amazing organization and since then I've rescued 140 horses with the help of some amazing volunteers. At some point along the way I sat down with my parents and told them that after college I'd be working full time running the horse rescue and putting my future as a special education teacher on hold. I loved teaching but my soul belonged to my horse rescue. Every inch of me was born to rescue horses, I love every stressful second of it.
My days now consists of taking care of 25 needy horses, many of whom have serious issues whether mental or physical. I muck 17 stalls, somedays with a volunteer, somedays alone. Feed, water, sweep, rake, fix fences, and other random farm chores. I watch our trainers school the horses and take endless pictures to ensure the perfect picture that a future adopter will see on the internet and fall in love. I wrap legs, meet with the vet for routine exams, chat with the farrier as he's tacking on expensive shoes onto our newest horse that came in from the auction, and try to keep everything in order. I've become a very good horsewomen, I can spot lameness from a mile away, I can treat wounds and clean cuts, I can talk new adopters through rough spots with their new horse, and I can anwser pretty much any question people throw my way on a daily basis. During the day I anwser e-mails, make appointments, pay bills, order feed and hay, and juggle the daily tasks of running a business.
I have met many amazing people along the way, my amazing fundraising coordinator, my exercise riders, my great volunteers. I've met two of my best friends, both of whom have adopted horses from Project Sage. I've also met some of the worst people, I've chatted with kill buyers to ensure good prices on horses out of the kill pen and I've met people who throw away their horses like they are garbage. I've seen hundreds of horses loaded onto slaughter trucks and seen people do things to horses that I never thought imaginable.
This road that I've been on since I was 15 has been an amazing one. I've learned that horse rescue is not a 9-5 job, it's all day/every day, it's holidays, birthdays, family parties, and everything else you can think of. People who you thought were important to you seem to slip away as you stay at the barn late to watch a colicy horse or miss a party because you have to be up early to feed the horses. But, it's worth it for the good times, watching the horses leave for new homes, seeing updated pictures of the horses that have succeeded, and seeing happy people and loved horses. I've had tons of success stories, something that pushes me through the rough times which seem to be more often then I'd like. When I began Project Sage I never thought about the heart break and the long sleepless nights, I never thought I'd spend many nights in a sleeping bag checking on a sick horse every two hours in the freezing cold, and I never thought that days off and holidays off were something I would never see. Horse rescue is a thankless job but a job that I'm proud to do everyday. I couldnt imagine not waking up and taking care of 25 happy horses everyday. Not everyday is a good day but the good days make it worth it.
So that's my very short story of how I got to where I am. 23 years old and running a huge horse rescue, I never though this is where I'd be at this point in my life, I guess dreams really do come true!
Hope your resting easy Sage, love you buddy
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