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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us April 28, 2005 Saving horses comes naturally By John Darling Tidings Correspondent The 10 horses she found on the Internet were thin, starving and with broken spirits. They were “slaughter bound” — that is, about to be written off and turned into pet food. But Kathy Farmer wouldn’t let them go. Kathy Farmer , left, owner of Neal Creek Ranch, and her daughter Courtney check and feed the horses. Farmer, who rescues horses, nurtures them and adopts them out, talks to Feather the horse who started it all. Photos by Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings At a cost of about $800 each, Farmer had them driven here to her Neal Creek Ranch, where, after an additional $1,200 each in veterinarian bills, she turned them into healthy steeds with sleek coats — animals healed and ready for adoption to good homes. “When they arrived last year, they were very weak and afraid of people,” says Farmer, who had to plunge into credit cards to pull off the feat. “They were left in the pasture (in Nebraska) to starve. The woman who saved them from slaughter couldn’t afford to feed them.” How did the foals get in such a tight spot? One reason — the need for PMU — pregnant mare urine — used to manufacture female hormone replacement drugs for women going through menopause. “These babies are not wanted. They only breed the mares to get the urine,” says Farmer, who found the creatures at Epona Horse Rescue (www.eponahorserescue.com). Many unwanted foals are now being used in Asia and Europe as human food, she adds. The happy ending on the story is that the horses, now grown or nearly so, are being adopted out — one adopted animal remaining on her ranch, where the owner comes out to ride. The rest went to good homes, with emphasis on “good” (Farmer checks references and inspects the new locale). None are for resale or to help land owners get EFU (exclusive farm use) zoning. Farmer rehabilitates horses tagged for slaughter, often after they were used to produce pregnant mare urine, which has pharmaceutical qualities. The nice thing about abused horses, Farmer discovered, is that, with lots of TLC, they readily rehabilitate — emotionally, physically and socially — are sweet, loyal and grateful and “are so much more a true friend than those who’ve been spoiled all their lives.” One, a sorrel quarter horse named “Baby Doll,” went to 12-year-old Cathryn Gilbreath in Shady Cove. “It’s probably the best thing that ever happened to our daughter,” says her mother, Emma Gilbreath. “Baby Doll was one of the sickest, but because of Kathy’s care and nurturance, Baby Doll has a wonderful temperament and is Cathryn’s best friend. They’ve grown together and she’s going to use the horse in 4H.” The horses give as good as they get, returning unconditional love in their role as therapy animals for several local people who come out to Farmer’s ranch to brush, feed and walk the horses. “It’s true, that old saying — horses are honest,” she says. Rescuing horses is no trot in the park. One foal, rescued from Manitoba, arrived “with just skin draped over the bones.” Despite intense medical care, it died of infection shortly after arrival. With 14 horses on hand now, eating three $8 bales of hay a day, it’s “hugely expensive” and, as Farmer put it, “these loving horses are ready to go to loving homes.” The cost to adopt? Between $800 and $1,000, and if you keep it at Neal Creek Ranch, another $175 for boarding and full care, which includes shots, a $20 hoof trim and $13 worming every other month. Farmer confesses to being a softie for horses and usually will take drop-offs that owners can no longer care for. “My friends say, ‘Why do you do this, getting all these horses from Nebraska?’ I say, ‘Well, because no one else was going to do it.’ It’s work of the heart. I mean, look at these guys. Can you watch them starve and say it’s not worth my money? I can’t not do it.” Kathy Farmer can be reached at 488-1479 or [email protected]. 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