by Jennifer Welch
“Hey stranger – going to that horse sale today?”
This question popped up on my computer screen one early Friday morning in May. It was the same day as the auction for the Fairplay horses that were being held down in Salida. I had, in fact, considered going to the sale even though my husband strictly forbade it. I understood his position on the matter – we have a lot of mouths to feed as it is. And I have a hard enough time working the two horses we already have when summer farm chores are in full swing. But when I saw this message pop up on my screen, and when I considered my options of acting or not acting, I immediately knew I would be hauling the trailer down to Salida and possibly returning with more mouths to feed whether it made fiscal sense or not.
Earlier in the month, 34 horses were relinquished from a ranch in Fairplay. They had been fending for themselves throughout most of the winter in South Park’s harsh climate. By the time they were collected, a handful of mares and foals had declined beyond the point of return and were humanely euthanized. What remained was a sizeable herd of 29 horses needing help in avoiding one of the worst possible fates: slaughter.
The woman who sent me the message on Facebook is no stranger. Her name is Sharon. She is a social media companion, a blogging buddy, a conscientious woman farmer from half a continent away. We correspond through messages regarding each of our small, diverse, woman-powered farms. We offer each other advice, encouragement and support in our endeavors. So when she messaged me about the Fairplay horses and said “I think there’s a horse there with my name on it,” I knew I would do anything to help my friend. “I think there’s a horse there with my name on it, and I feel pretty sure you could tell which one it is just by looking …” I had a feeling she was right.
Since then, some people have openly criticized Sharon’s desire to rescue a horse from half a country away. Some people have ridiculed me for helping her accomplish it. Personally, I don’t believe it matters what other people think, and I told Sharon just as much. “Life is supposed to be full of adventures, and I think you picked a good one. Chin up.”
I brought home two horses that following day: a six-year-old mare and her four week old filly. That was four months ago. We have worked hard to put weight back on the malnourished mare as she continued to nurse her foal. We are almost to the point where she looks like she hasn’t starved a day in her life, and her filly has grown tremendously as well. It is extremely fulfilling to assist an animal in regaining it’s health and offering a life beyond the feedlot, none of which would have been possible for me to accomplish without help from Sharon.
Some time after our conversation about the criticism she had received, Sharon confessed to me that she had been considering her options regarding the horses. She refrained from beating around the bush and asked me if I would be interested in keeping the filly while she kept the mare. I agreed to talk with my husband about it, considering this whole ordeal had started with the explicit restriction from acquiring more mouths to feed. Lucky for me, my husband has grown to like the filly, and so we have agreed to add one more member to the family. After all, life is supposed to be full of adventures … and I think we picked a good one.
Jen Welch lives and writes in the Upper Arkansas River Valley, where there is no shortage of good adventures from which to choose.
