Rosie

There is an "unwanted horse problem" and the root of is not just one thing. Just as with any complex issue, there are many layers. But certainly it is perpetuated by indiscriminate breeding.

Too often "spent broodmares", mares who have given birth year after year until their bodies can no longer produce a foal, will end up at auction where they are at high risk of entering the slaughter pipeline. It isn't unusual to see them in poor condition, sometimes even pregnant. They often haven't been handled or had proper vet or farrier care, just kept in a field running with a stallion. It is so heartbreaking to see them dumped at auction.

That story is Rosie's, who was taken to auction and thankfully ended up in the hands of the good people at Horse Sanctuary at Finn Farms. She was in very poor condition, underweight and malnourished, ears damaged from frostbite, failing tendons due to DSLD, infested with parasites .... and pregnant!️ Years of baby making and neglect had left her depleted. But her rescuers were determined to help her carry her baby to term if her body would allow.

On April 2nd she gave birth to a healthy colt. But their time together would be brief. In early June, despite maximum doses of pain medication, Rosie could no longer be kept comfortable. She was lovingly given the Last Act of Kindness and we are grateful to have been able to support her rescuers with our Humane Euthanasia Grant.

NOTE: DSLD is a progressive, degenerative connective tissue disorder involving the deterioration of connective tissue that cannot be reversed. The suspensory ligaments gradually lose their structural integrity, becoming weakened and elongated, leading to characteristic dropped fetlocks, lameness, and eventually severe disability. Horses with this condition should not be bred as genetic are considered to be a primary causative factor.