Post by hollynanne on Jul 13, 2009 12:05:30 GMT -5
Hi everyone! My name is Hollyn. We currently live in Jacksonville, Florida, but are moving to Oak Harbor next week! My husband is a pilot in the Navy, and I am a stay at home mommy to Jack and Lexi (and a variety of pets!).
Alex and I met at Iowa State, where he was an Animal Scince/Pre-vet in Equine Breeding and Nutrition. I was an Agricultural Engineering student with an emphasis on Equine Confinement Structures (i.e. barns and farms). He was picking poop in my horse's stall, the day we met! He thought I was a Barn Princess (he was right) and I thought he was a dorky redneck (I was right!). We've been married 6 years.
We have had a variety of rescues and two non-rescues.
Mickey (black/white paint/perch) was picked up at auction, because the "Amish" couldn't break him. He taught us about patience and to take things reeeeaaallly slow with some rescues.
Sandy was a retired 29 yo QH western pleasure World Champ and brood mare. Our barn owner inherited her with the farm, when she bought it. She took her to auction, so her kids "didn't see her get sick and die." (maybe her kids should see what a kill floor looks like instead... grr...) At the last second, she chickened out and made my husband (who was working for her) walk her through the ring. Alex no saled her at $90 (this was in 2002, when horse prices weren't nearly as bad as they are now). Alex bought Sandy for the no-sale price and they were good friends, until she started going downhill. Sandy was quietly euthanized on a sunny Saturday morning. The best possible outcome for such a great mare.
We have moved and moved and moved in the past few years, with Alex's training. When we moved to Jacksonville, last November, we thought it was going to be for awhile (3-4 years, at least). I was without horses for 3 years, and was REALLY starting to get the itch. Alex said no, but I said yes (in the end I won)!
I came across the Horse Protection Association of Florida in Micanopy, Florida. Morgan Silver is the director. She's a wonderful, compassionate, no-nonsense woman with an extensive showing carreer under her belt, before starting HPAF.
I was "just looking" (haven't we all been "just looking" when w found a horse!!) around the website, when I saw her. They called her Lady. She wasn't much to look at, just your typical Thoroughbred mare. She was skinny, but you could see pretty good conformation.
We went down to Micanopy and met Morgan and a couple other horses she had up for adoption. We then went to another farm (her 'overflow' farm) to meet Bella/Lady. From the moment I met her, I knew she was my girl. Just something in her eye said that she was really a good girl that wanted a family.
Alex checked out her legs and back. She has a scar on her back, from what the vets think was a barn fire at some point. She is tattooed and raced 8 whole times.
Morgan said that she was a seizure from the county in September 2008. Noone has inquired about her or seemed interested in adopting her since then. Bella and her pasture-mate (another Tb mare) were being fed dogfood, while all the other pets on the farm were going without food. They kept these mares, because the owner's daughter wanted to (and I am so not kidding...) "take them to the track in Ocala and race them to make money."
Stupid people should not be able to own pets of any kind, much less horses...
Alex took our barn owner's truck and trailer back down and picked Bella up. She's a monster to load (still is), but we think that's because of all of her owners (and apparently the list is quite long). She came to us Jan 23, 2009.
Here are a couple of pics...
Six-ish weeks after she came to the rescue farm
The day Alex picked her up
One of my first rides on her (long and low? not our forte!)
New pics to come...
That's my story. That's my girl.
Bella rocks!
;D
Alex and I met at Iowa State, where he was an Animal Scince/Pre-vet in Equine Breeding and Nutrition. I was an Agricultural Engineering student with an emphasis on Equine Confinement Structures (i.e. barns and farms). He was picking poop in my horse's stall, the day we met! He thought I was a Barn Princess (he was right) and I thought he was a dorky redneck (I was right!). We've been married 6 years.
We have had a variety of rescues and two non-rescues.
Mickey (black/white paint/perch) was picked up at auction, because the "Amish" couldn't break him. He taught us about patience and to take things reeeeaaallly slow with some rescues.
Sandy was a retired 29 yo QH western pleasure World Champ and brood mare. Our barn owner inherited her with the farm, when she bought it. She took her to auction, so her kids "didn't see her get sick and die." (maybe her kids should see what a kill floor looks like instead... grr...) At the last second, she chickened out and made my husband (who was working for her) walk her through the ring. Alex no saled her at $90 (this was in 2002, when horse prices weren't nearly as bad as they are now). Alex bought Sandy for the no-sale price and they were good friends, until she started going downhill. Sandy was quietly euthanized on a sunny Saturday morning. The best possible outcome for such a great mare.
We have moved and moved and moved in the past few years, with Alex's training. When we moved to Jacksonville, last November, we thought it was going to be for awhile (3-4 years, at least). I was without horses for 3 years, and was REALLY starting to get the itch. Alex said no, but I said yes (in the end I won)!
I came across the Horse Protection Association of Florida in Micanopy, Florida. Morgan Silver is the director. She's a wonderful, compassionate, no-nonsense woman with an extensive showing carreer under her belt, before starting HPAF.
I was "just looking" (haven't we all been "just looking" when w found a horse!!) around the website, when I saw her. They called her Lady. She wasn't much to look at, just your typical Thoroughbred mare. She was skinny, but you could see pretty good conformation.
We went down to Micanopy and met Morgan and a couple other horses she had up for adoption. We then went to another farm (her 'overflow' farm) to meet Bella/Lady. From the moment I met her, I knew she was my girl. Just something in her eye said that she was really a good girl that wanted a family.
Alex checked out her legs and back. She has a scar on her back, from what the vets think was a barn fire at some point. She is tattooed and raced 8 whole times.
Morgan said that she was a seizure from the county in September 2008. Noone has inquired about her or seemed interested in adopting her since then. Bella and her pasture-mate (another Tb mare) were being fed dogfood, while all the other pets on the farm were going without food. They kept these mares, because the owner's daughter wanted to (and I am so not kidding...) "take them to the track in Ocala and race them to make money."
Stupid people should not be able to own pets of any kind, much less horses...
Alex took our barn owner's truck and trailer back down and picked Bella up. She's a monster to load (still is), but we think that's because of all of her owners (and apparently the list is quite long). She came to us Jan 23, 2009.
Here are a couple of pics...
Six-ish weeks after she came to the rescue farm
The day Alex picked her up
One of my first rides on her (long and low? not our forte!)
New pics to come...
That's my story. That's my girl.
Bella rocks!
;D
