Re: [A/S] Little Pull Shade in the Main Door

[hhamp5246@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 8/31/01 3:00:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time, zolloam@lcc.net 
writes:

<< Hunter, you must tell us the stallion story sooner or later :-) >>

Okay, okay... I keep telling the story offlist to those who keep asking, I'll 
tell it once on list to get it over with....
Please, don't everyone write followups on the list.... it really has nothing 
to do with Airstreaming, no matter how hard you try to link it.


Last Sunday I went to my regular hay guy.... with some hay that I had bought 
from him a few months back. They hay was crap.  He didn't have any decent 
hay, but sent me to another guy's farm... said e gets shipments of hay 
brought in.

I drove over. There were lots of horses there and many people milling around. 
The guy was obviously a horse "dealer"

I spoke with him about hay and ordered some very overpriced timothy from 
Ohio. When we finished and I was about to leave a trailer pulled in.... a jet 
black horse was unloaded and the guy led him toward us.  The horse was 
walking like Bozo the Clown... taking huge exaggerated steps.  I was 
confused, but then I saw his feet... they were almost a foot out in front of 
him.... then someone said he was blind. I saw that he was a stallion.

I went over to him and bonded...... he was so sweet, so kind. If I didn't 
know better I would think he was someone's 30 year old pet gelding. 

I left there sobbing, I knew his next trip in a trailer would be his last.. a 
ride to the slaughterhouse. A hell that no animal should have to endure, much 
less a confused blind horse.

I came home and cried all afternoon.  At 5:00 I fed my dogs and horses, came 
in the house and called the guy.....and I bought him.

I raced over there with a check bcause he was going early in the morning with 
a trailer load to Canada or Texas, where they slaughterhouses are....he said 
I could leave him there overnight (I lost my horse trailer in the divorce)

Okay, at least we wasn't going to die.... at a slaughterhouse. My intention 
was just to bring him  here to the farm and have him put quietly to 
sleep..... without the horrors of the trip or the slaughter.

I called Horse Haven, a local rescue.  I told her about the horse and she 
wasn't very optimistic. She told me about UT, suggested it would be easier to 
have him put down there.... they would dispose of the body.

I called UT and spoke with a vet, he was nice enough to offer to come to the 
horse and examine his eyes...

The next morning I was headed out the door to rent a trailer and to meet the 
vet back where the horse was. The phone rang and it was the rescue lady from 
Horse Haven.
She said she would bring her trailer and meet me there too. We all got to the 
horse, the vet brought 3 vet students.  

Everyone was as taken with him as I was.  He is such a good guy.... so calm, 
so friendly.

The upshot is... he lives!!  The Horse Haven woman took him to their shelter 
and is hoping to get him placed.  The vet offered to geld him for free! He is 
also trimming his feet.

You can see him..... http://www.horsehavenoftn.com/Adoption.htm 

I named him Ebony. 

I have asked them to take off the part about repaying me for buying him.... I 
was mortified when I saw that!

Anyway, that's the short story. It was a horribly emotional situation. 
Knowing where he was headed, thinking I had to kill him the next day 
etc.......

He will spend the rest of his days eating grass.... and be put gently down 
when the time comes. It's like that starfish story..... I know I can't save 
them all, but I saved this starfish.

Hunter