When I hear stories about horse rescues that are as inspiring as this one, I am compelled to share them. This one touched me deeply, the story of a very lucky thoroughbred named Rally.
I met Michelle, the woman who rescued Rally, though an Internet group of people who love Barbaro and who are active in rescue and support of the passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.
Michelle knew a woman who was looking for a horse to purchase. She started calling her contacts to find a good match for this prospective buyer. Someone told her about a few horses up for sale, and one in particular intrigued her. He was described as a lovely horse, a 3-year-old who had been retired from racing because he ran too slowly. He had been sold to what was considered a "good home," but it turned out that this "good home" was far from that. Michelle was warned that the horse might now be "quite thin."
The owner, an 86-year-old man who had suffered a minor stroke, invited Michelle to visit. He showed her Rally's portfolio, which included stunning photos of a magnificent deep sorrel thoroughbred. These photos had been taken prior to the old man's purchase. They were very outdated.
As they walked to the backyard, which was mostly weeds and swamp, Michelle began to get a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. The man directed her to the pen where Rally was kept. All that Michelle saw, however, was a pair of ears sticking out from a big, thick bush. She said a silent prayer that Rally was still alive.
The old man called for Rally, and Michelle could see his ears perk. Rally jumped up from lying deep in the middle of the big bush and sounded the biggest whinny that Michelle had ever heard. As she looked over Rally's rail-thin body, though, Michelle's heart sank. He was literally starving to death, was seriously lame, and had wretched sores all over his body from neglect.
Looking back at that first meeting, however, Michelle realized that the two of them fell in love with one another in that moment. She tenderly removed ticks from his ears, and noticing a full bottle of fly spray hanging on the barbed-wire fencing, she immediately began to spray him to alleviate his suffering from the biting flies.
Rally could barely walk. He had abcesses in both his front hooves. He could hardly stand. This was certainly not a "good home" for this lovely horse. His big brown eyes spoke to her with the silent words, "Save me." Michelle listened to Rally and bought him on the spot. He was 16 hands tall and weighed 800 lbs.
After many long months of doctoring, nutritious meals and tender loving care, Rally responded. Over a year later, he is doing beautifully. He weighs over 1,200 lbs. now. Rally is the great-grandson of the famous champion racehorse Secretariat, and looks very much like him.
Rally has truly inspired Michelle. He has made her a stronger person and has changed her life forever. Apparently they rescued each other in many ways.
Rescuing any animal in need is an act of love and compassion. This story just made my day a lot brighter. I hope that it touches you too.
1. Thank goodness for Michelle, and those like her who take these poor neglected horses and nurse them back to health. FOB's are an amazing group of people who have enormous hearts, and are willing to stick their necks out to help these animals. Many have been helped and saved from slaughter because of this group, and I am proud to be an FOB myself!
Posted at 7:16PM on Jul 5th 2007 by Vicki Jasch