Equine Residents
Georgia
Georgia is a 19 yr. old Quarter horse mare she has Cushing's disease and is insulin resistant. However she does not allow these diseases to affect her. She is still very sweet and loves attention....has been a sanctuary resident since its beginning.
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Oscar
Oscar has been a resident of the sanctuary for almost one year. In this photo he is enjoying a winter ride with volunteer Nicki.
Oscar is a 26 year old pony who has had quite a few homes that we know of in recent years.
Though gelded, his very stud-like behavior requires that handling and turn out issues be handled with forethought and care. He is thriving at EFES, and though he winks at one of the girls occasionally, he stays out of trouble with private turn out - resident gals in view but removed from temptation. His second last owner told us he was a "problem" with other horses and took him to a sale - exposing him to an unknown fate. The last owner purchased him at the sale and said he was in very bad condition at purchase. After a short while he was again offered for sale and was purchased by the sanctuary in November of 2008. If not accepted into an experienced environment Oscar's fate would have been auction bouncing from home to home until his luck finally ran out.
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Princess Lizzie
This is Lizzie NOW - its hard to believe she is the same pony shown in the lower photo - you've come a long way, Lizzie......safe and at home, Lizzie greets children and receives tons of TLC from volunteer, Caitlin Walsh. There are countless ponies that serve children for decades who end up with little or no care or on the floors of slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada....a poor reward for their noble and dedicated service to man.
This is Princess Lizzie when we responded to an ad for "Old Pony, $100. No shelter, and please look at those horribly long and curved hooves. Unknown at the time was a poorly healed fractured back leg. Lizzie came to Eden Farm and immediately received a box stall and much needed medication to keep her on her feet - the pain was unbearable for her. Neil Martin, the farrier who attends horses at Eden, stopped every 2 weeks in the beginning to gradually reshape her damaged hooves. (She was being sold as a riding pony - and its awful to imagine anyone expecting this 30 years plus angel to do that job with those hooves.) She got immediate dental care, a large box stall and lots of thick bedding - equine senior diet, and all the other things that go into care for the resident horses at EFES.
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Beauty
"Beauty" (aka Forever Perfect, reg. TB name) came to us in September of 2009. Through tattoo research we learned she was born in California in 1991 and had one unsuccessful racing start. The rest of her history is unknown until the past four years when she was owned by a woman in Sunbury, Penna. Beauty spent several summers as a camp horse and quietly served as a safe and loving mount for children. When the present economic conditions forced the owner to sell, Beauty came to EFES. At the end of the month she was slated to go to auction, and Beauty's chances would not have been strong. She most likely would have gone from loyal children's friend to a dinner table somewhere in Europe. We welcome her as an ambassador on the farm and hope she can continue to teach children via her gentle and kind nature.
Photo of Beauty in Sunbury, before arrival.....
Beauty arrived at dusk one evening. The man who transported her told us he had taken a load of "kill" horses to a dealer .
The dealer rejected two of the horses because they were too thin, not enough profit. Two others were rejected because they had injuries which would not support their transfer to Mexico.
The able, fat, horses were kept for kill.
This is a common practice. . . . we don't slaughter old, sick, cattle for food - - old, sick and thin horses are generally not accepted either. Those 4 rejects were sent back to the auction to be recycled once again to some unknown fate.
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Boost
Boost came to the sanctuary in 1995. He was purchased at the tail end of a local auction. Skin and bones, dehydrated, covered with rain-rot, his plight was evident. Had he been taken to one of the larger, "supervised" auctions, his owner would have been prosecuted, most likely. A tattoo trace reveals this TB was born in Kentucky and raced at Churchill Downs, going to lesser and lesser claiming races as he aged. There is an absence of information for the 2 yrs prior to his fortunate entry into the sanctuary - what happened to him during this time remains a mystery. Fully rehabilitated, Boost now enjoys
a safe and happy life .
The picture on the left of Boost was taken after spending a month at EFES with proper care . . . so you can image how bad he must have been when he arrived. The picture on the right is Boost today its hard to imagine its the same horse in both pictures
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Owlette
Owelette is a 30 yr. old TB mare that came to EFES approximately 5 years ago. She had been living in a small shed within a housing development on Staten Island. She had no real turn out area. She was somewhat of a problem child on arrival, distrustful and anxious. She has settled into her safe routine here and is much loved.
Owlette is a granddaughter of the great racehorse, Secretariat. She raced claimers for several yrs before being retired to the breeding farm. What happened next is a complicated tale of insane human judgment and circumstance.
We are grateful for her entry into our group of horses.....
