RC: Re: Rescues...

[Maggie Mieske <mmieske@netonecom.net>]

I have been reading some of these posts about rescuing animals and I
applaud all those who do...I have done so in the past and it can be
rewarding and heartbreaking both.  Yesterday I had an unpleasant
experience as the farrier's wife...we went to trim and shoe horses for a
fellow who sounded pretty nice over the phone.  Says he also owns horses
in Texas and they are at the trainer right now....QH racehorses.  To
make a long story short, this man shouldn't be allowed to own a slug! He
had two ponies foundered so bad, I could have cried except I was too
mad!  One was so bad that the bottom of her feet literally pointed
straight out forward...it took us an hour to trim her.  Since the man
haggled over our prices to begin with ($15 for a trim, $35 for shoes on
the front and $55 all the way around), I didn't dare tell him it would
cost double to trim the ponies or he might not have had us do them.  We
did them and charged the same rate but I told him we gave him a break. 
He informed us that an old man he used to get only charged $7 or $8 a
trim but he died last year.  Hmmm....if he had many clients like this
guy, it was probably from a broken heart!  He also had a little Arab
stud he keeps locked up in the barn, in a stall so deep in muck, he can
barely raise his head.  He also has a nasty growth on his shoulder. He
was the best behaved of the bunch (I don't hold a thing against those
ponies..any resistance they gave which was very little couldn't be
helped!).  This guy has 16 animals there...the house is a beautiful
brick ranchstyle house and the barns and outbuildings are falling apart
and in spite of rolls and rolls of chain link and nice high tensile wire
laying around the yard, he has binder twine in places for fence... at
least it's not barbed wire!  Oh well, now that I have spouted off, maybe
I'll make some phone calls and see if someone can pay this fella a
visit.  I doubt it as most of the herd looks great.  It's only 3 or 4
that makes me want to weep. I noticed those are the ones locked away
where no one can see them.  Well, keep rescuing what you can folks!!!  
Maggie


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