Padre at Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary

[pet]

The Power of Networking – The Story of Padre

One Horse at a Time only recently started exploring the wonderful world of Facebook – and what a wonderful world it is. We are currently doing a fundraiser for our brand spanking new Gelding Assistance Fund – A woman posts on our page that her rescue had “rescued a stallion who was being starved. How can I apply for the "gelding fund"...?”

I gave her the email address to formally request assistance. I received the following email with information about the horse that she rescued.

Hi Penny...

This was a horrible, horrible situation. This poor boy was pastured on an isolated field and no one even knew he was there. His previous owner was (is) mentally ill and would not acknowledge that anything was wrong. The horse was literally near death when a neighbor noticed him. This precious horses was eating the trees to stay alive (pics attached). The day we were contacted I tossed a bale of hay in my truck and went out to investigate. The property was so isolated that we couldn't even drive back there. We had to tote the hay about a quarter of a mile through the woods. When we finally saw him it was even worse than the neighbor had
described. You could tell that he had once been a gorgeous and proud stallion. His mane hung below his neck and he had the most beautiful eyes. But this emaciated soul could barely lift his head...he was so weak. His mane was matted and his coat was dull and sparse and covered in
rain rot.

We contacted the sheriffs office immediately and, after a period of legal wrangling, the horse was placed in our custody (during which time I drove out every single day and made sure he had hay and water). Getting him to our sanctuary was another interesting process. We couldn't drive back to the property with the trailer. We parked as close as we could and then had to walk him through the woods (and we had NO idea if he would load!). But all went well and he is recovering, "safely in our arms"...

He has been receiving proper care and nutrition for almost a month now and we feel he's strong enough for the surgery. Thank you to everyone for your help.

Melanie Sue Bowles
Founder/Director
Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary

http://www.horsesofproudspirit.org
http://proudspirit.blogspot.com


I had sent Melanie our application for assistance and she had returned it. We had our Board vote underway. I called her vet and got a wonderful reference.

While all of this was going on, Sheila Horton of Have a Heart Horse Rescue, one of OHAAT’s very good friends, was kind enough to send out an email to all of her contacts with our gelding assistance Karma Balm fundraiser link. I was included in the mailing and replied with a gracious thank you and let her folks know that we had the SECOND gelding assistance request for a horse in Arkansas. Within minutes I receive an email from one of her friends, asking me if this horse was in Mena. I replied yes.

The power of networking continued to unfold. This person goes on to tell me how the plight of the horse first surfaced on a local message board…..The first message shows up on January 2, 2010. A poster by the name of Rooster tried telling the animal control officer who referred them to the humane society, who referred them to the sheriff and then that became a dead end. There are 2 horses – a stallion and a mare. Rooster has called the sheriff’s office 20 times over the past three years about the horses. No help. The horses are REALLY REALLY looking bad.

For about five days, folks try to think of ways to save these horses – who can they call, etc. Well, the person who asked responded to me from Sheila’s email on our fundraiser, emails me again when I tell her yes the horse is in Mena, Arkansas:

Penny,

I'll be darned, I just knew.
. . .

I had been reading about the situation and "rooster's" frustration
getting help for the horses, really kept at it. All I did was email
Proud Spirit because I thought they didn't know about the situation
. . .

As soon as they could, like within 24 hours, Proud
Spirit had food on the ground and water in the frozen trough; twenty
four more hours, and the two horses were at Proud Spirit!

(Anyway, two of my ponies are buried on the property where Proud Spirit
is now: 300+ acres of the most gorgeous land you've ever seen. The two
ponies were cared for there by the land's previous owner.)


Amazing – the power of networking. Amazing – you never know where the ripple in the pond that you tossed a stone in will come ashore.
For those of us who can’t afford to donate to good causes all the time, please know that your cross posting, your emailing, your bumping, and yes even your prayers, have a bigger impact than you can ever imagine.

Interesting post script – a few years back, I became a fan of Ivory Pal, an incredible Palamino Walking Horse Stallion, owned by Rafael Valle. Over the years, Rafael has become a great friend in the fight against the horrible crime of soring of our beloved horses. Awhile back, he suggested I get a book called “Hoof Prints – More Stories from Proud Story”. Well I did, and was entranced. So I was introduced to this wonderful rescue before. This is the second book, Melanie Sue Bowles has written. The first is called the Horses of Proud Spirit. Also a wonderful read. I highly recommend both. Proceeds of the books go back into the rescue – they currently have 74 rescues on hand – all well cared for based on professional references.


Padre

[pet]

the poor boy was eating tree bark ...

[pet]

another pic

[fxtrtrgrl]

Incredible amount of ignorance and/or neglect. Padre should be very happy now in his new surroundings.

Lyn

[Rowdy]

I missed something. I'm so happy about Padre, but...what about the mare???
- Rowdy

[Mr. Midnight's Mom]

THe mare also went to Proud Spirit - she is doing fine.

[Rowdy]

That is wonderful news. Thank you!
- Rowdy

[Mr. Midnight's Mom]

Melanie says they named her Sissy.

[pet]

They picked a royal name for the mare, "Sissy" was the affectionate form of the Austrian Empress Elisabeth

[Mr. Midnight's Mom]

Way cool! Brigitte! Empress Sissy! I love that!!! By now Mr. Padre should be gelded !!! Have you guys checked our their website? JUST beautiful - rolling meadows and lovely horses. Melanie's books are great too - I highly recommend them.....I'm so glad we were able to help