My Last Post: Censorship

“In those wretched countries where a man cannot call his tongue his own, he can scarce call any thing else his own. Whoever would overthrow the liberty of the nation, must begin by subduing the freedom of speech; a thing terrible to public traitors.”
- Cato, quoted by Benjamin Franklin

We need to have a serious talk. Things are going to get a little political. Long-time readers will know that I never talk politics, but I have to right now because content creators like myself are being directly threatened by this situation... and so is the horse world, and the entire free world, for that matter. Let's dive right into things. Remember, you can click the underlined links on every story to learn more.

Do you remember that blog post I did on Amanda "Jo Jo" Everhart? I exposed her phony horse rescue. I detailed her lies and scams, including how she claimed to be a veteran, how she sold crippled horses as sound, and how her many Go Fund Me campaigns went directly into her own pocket instead of to help animals. Well the main post on Amanda got taken down by Google (who owns the Blogger platform). It got completely wiped from my account. Not just unpublished or hidden, so that I could still have access to it, but totally deleted. They did it without any prior warning, and without telling me. One day, I went to go edit it, and it was just gone. Why? Because Google didn't think it was ethical. I have no idea how many other blog posts of mine have been taken down-- again, Google doesn't tell me. They just make things disappear. That should scare you.

 

In 2016, Google deleted the blog of Dennis Cooper, a famous writer who lost ten years of work, including a novel. Why? Because Cooper writes poems, plays, and novels about homosexuality, fetishes, drugs, love, prostitution, pain, loss, punk music, death, etc.

Google has censored news articles, ads, blog posts, videos, and creators from its platforms. The majority of these are conservative (including Alex Jones, Tulsi Gabbard, Praeger University, etc) but plenty of leftist content has been banned too. A group of LGBTQ vloggers recently sued Google for censoring their content on Youtube. Even when Google doesn't outright ban content, it alters search and display algorithms, making some content harder to find and less likely to appear in your news feeds. 

Google is even directly influencing politics. At various times, it has worked with the governments of oppressive countries, including Egypt, China, and Pakistan, to censor search results within those countries in order to suppress political dissent. It seems to be happening in America, too. In November of 2019, both Google and Facebook banned posts and videos containing the name of a whistleblower in President Trump's administration, citing their "coordinating harm policy." On the other hand, neither platform censored people vindictively posting the names and addresses of family members of police officers involved in inter-racial shootings.

In July 2019, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee held hearings about Google's censorship, during which Dr. Robert Epstein, who has a PhD from Harvard, testified that, "In 2016, Google’s search algorithm likely impacted undecided voters in a way that shifted at least 2.6 million votes to Hillary Clinton, whom I supported." Here's his full article, with many more disturbing revelations: The New Censorship. 

Other examples of recent censorship:

• Youtube and Facebook have taken down videos of medical doctors urging an end to lockdowns, and doctors promoting the use of hydroxychloroquine. This includes a video by doctors Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi, which was promoted by CEO Elon Musk.
  
  
• Instagram has banned or blurred photos of people at gun ranges, saying they "promote violence." Facebook and Instagram don't allow retailers to run ads that promote the sale or use of firearms (even within the context of US military members or hunting).
  
  
• Recently, Google and Apple banned Parler, the "free speech app" from their app stores, and Amazon shut down its servers. They claim this was because some people used Parler to help organize the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol. However, other people used Twitter and Facebook to organize the January 6th riots and many prior BLM and Antifa riots, and those platforms were not shut down.  Amazon owns about 1/3 to 1/2 of the internet, by the way.
  
  
• Facebook has banned posts selling animals, including sheep and cattle. Selling "weapons" (even pocket knives) is also not allowed.
  
  
• Fundraising sites like Patreon, GooglePay, and PayPal have blocked companies like Gab (a free speech Twitter alternative) from collecting donations.
  
  
• Twitter has temporarily or permanently blocked many users for their views, including rapper Zuby (for replying "ok dude" to an account later identified as belonging to a trans person) and of course, President Donald Trump.

Now you may be saying, "Well ACTUALLY..." or "Well TECHNICALLY..."

Yes, it's true, private companies are under no legal obligation to allow free speech. 

The First Amendment states that the government can't restrict speech. It doesn't say anything about Twitter or Google:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

HOWEVER...

                      Here are six reasons to fight for free speech:

1) Free speech isn't just a legal term. It's a cultural value. Americans have a deep and abiding faith in free speech. From our founding fathers to the American Library Association, free speech has been enshrined in our country as a basic human right. From Nazi Germany's book burnings to China's ban of Tienneman Square photos, we recognize that restricting words and ideas is tyranny, pure and simple. Even when companies aren't forced to allow free speech, there is a tradition of allowing it. (Or there used to be.) 

2) Because Google, Facebook, and Amazon control such a large swath of the internet, there aren't viable alternatives. Any alternative that is created is wiped out by Big Tech (as with Parler). That means that in effect, they are monopolies. We have laws that prevent other large corporations (like utilities) from abusing their power. Shouldn't we do the same for Big Tech?

3) There's a legal argument to be made for enforcing free speech based on the distinction between a "platform" and a "publisher." A publisher is responsible for all the content it publishes-- for example, you can sue the New York Times for defamation, if you want. A platform is not responsible-- you can't sue Facebook for what your mean neighbor posted about you (or even when a terrorist threatens you). This rule is laid out in section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Congress created it so that companies could facilitate “forum[s] for a true diversity of political discourse.” In other words, it was a trade-off: tech companies would help us all have free speech conversations with one another, and in return, no one could sue them. This is a very valuable gift for companies, amounting to billions of dollars saved on lawsuits. But if Big Tech isn't allowing free speech, should they still be protected from lawsuits? Senator Ted Cruz reasoned that, “in order to be protected by Section 230, companies like Facebook should be neutral public forums." That means that they could still moderate content like spam and actual threats of violence, but they shouldn't be allowed to delete political content they don't like.

4) Even if you agree with every single one of Big Tech's bans so far, there WILL come a day when YOU are censored. We saw this recently with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. Rowling is politically pretty far left, and has been vocal about it--  but she has recently been on the receiving end of death threats, book burnings, and tons of nasty letters. Why? Because she dared to say that perhaps feminism is endangered when men can demand to be recognized as women, and perhaps young girls struggling with self esteem issues shouldn't be pushed into becoming "trans."

5) You can argue that some speech is centered around "bad ideas." But the solution is to debate and defeat those bad ideas with logic, not to forbid people from talking about them at all.

6) While you can argue that nobody is forced to use Twitter or Facebook or Google, everybody is supposed to obey the laws. And our laws are increasingly violating the First Amendment. Why? Culture predicts law. Although we pretend we are a logical society built on laws and principals, in reality we tend to experience cultural shifts and then create laws to accommodate them. When we allow our culture to slide towards censorship, our laws will soon follow. For example, New York City recently banned the act of calling anyone an illegal immigrant. Even if the person is an illegal immigrant. You can also receive a $250,000 fine for telling someone to "speak English." NYC also banned any kind of "discrimination" based on citizenship, even though they acknowledge that it's actually required by Federal law:

 "The NYCHRL acknowledges that different treatment of individuals based on immigration status may be explicitly required under federal or state law with respect to hiring. ...employers are not permitted to knowingly hire or employ individuals without work authorization. Federal law allows employers to prefer to hire a U.S. citizen or national over a noncitizen..."

Scary stuff. Ready for some more?

Here are three people who were recently fired from their jobs because they either wanted to keep politics out of their jobs, or they talked about politics in their private lives:

This month in Flagstaff, Arizona, librarian Ron Kelley received an email invitation from the ALA to join the Black Lives Matter movement. Mr. Kelley replied with an email in which he argued that libraries should remain neutral and apolitical. He was fired from his job, which he had been at for nine years.

Pennsylvania school principal Amy Sacks shared conservative memes on her personal Facebook page. They did not call for violence, and they did not include "hate speech." She was fired from her position because the posts were deemed “offensive, unacceptable, and unprofessional.” (If you click the blue link, you can see them for yourself.)

In Windsor, Vermont, a school principal created a post on her private Facebook pageabout Black Lives Matter, saying in part, “I firmly believe that Black Lives Matter, but I DO NOT agree with the coercive measures taken to get to this point across…” She was fired.

What Can You Do? 

Use These Free Speech Social Media Alternatives:
Gab (Twitter alternative)
Telegram
MeWe (Facebook alternative)
Parler is coming back! 
BitChute (Youtube alternative)
Minds (the "anti-Facebook")
Signal (Messenger alternative)

Cancel Your Amazon Accounts
Amazon "owns" 1/3 to 1/2 of the internet, including Amazon Prime, Audible, Goodreads, Shopbop, Twitch, Whole Foods, Kindle, Alexa, Echo, Ring Doorbells, half of the servers that host all websites on the internet, and much more. Cancel any accounts you have with them. Tell them you oppose their censorship, their data collection (spying), and their deals with China. 

Buy Local
Even if local products aren't as good, they can't get any better if they don't have the money to do so. Shop locally, or pretty soon, there won't be anywhere local to shop!

Stop Using Google
This is the toughest one. Google owns Android, which means it owns 85% of the smartphone market. It also owns Fitbit, Blogger, Youtube, Adsense (which controls most internet ads), and of course all of the Google features-- Google Maps, Google Docs, Google Drive, and Google Search. 
Alternatives are tough to find, but possible. For your search engine, use DuckDuckGo or Bing. Buy a refurbished used smartphone, or if you have to have a new one, buy an off-brand. Take your documents off of Google and put them on a thumb drive or external hard drive. 

Stop Watching Mainstream Media
There are no unbiased news organizations left, only opinion peddlers. Turn off FOX, MSN, CNN, and all of the others.
Subscribe to your local newspaper, and promote local news networks.
Here is a program to remove mainstream media from Youtube search results.
Try following one of these independent news sources.
You can also try Daily Wire or  OAN (both right leaning, but they're open about it).

Get Involved in Local Politics
Run for school board. Run for city council. Get on your library's board. We need people from all walks of life to stand up for our freedoms-- and it all starts on the local level.

Cancel Your Facebook and Instagram Accounts
Facebook owns Instagram, and both platforms are heavily censored. If you can't entirely delete your accounts because of your job, limit what you use them for.
You can also try this "Facebook Container," which works with Firefox and prevents Facebook from tracking you around the web.

Further Reading & Watching: 


Don’t Let Google Get Away with Censorship

The College Fix: Censorship on America's College Campuses

Here are six videos of Democrats calling for violence or physical confrontations that are still active on Twitter

Video: How China Censors the Internet

Video: On Incitement to Violence: A Dangerously Expanding Definition & a Free Speech Impeachment

Video: Virginia Police Chief Fired for Charging BLM Statue Vandals

Boston Removes Statue Of Lincoln Emancipating Slave

Credit Card Companies Restore Donations To Conservative Group After Backlash

Persecution in America
 

Video CEO of 'unbiased' social media platform, Clouthub, speaks out against censorship

Video: Forbes: Why Big Tech's Censorship Is A Big Mistake

A Contagion of Hatred and Hysteria (Anti-Lockdown Doctors Receiving Death Threats)

  USC Professor Suspended After Speaking a Chinese Word That Sounded Like a Racial Slur

YouTube to Issue Strikes Against Creators Who Mention Election Interference 

UW Madison to Remove Memorial Rock Because of 1920s Nickname at Cost of $30- $75K
Words You Can’t Use on College Campuses: Crazy, Thug, Lame, Third World and More

Video: ‘If It Was Black Lives Matter’ | Joe & Kamala’s Upside Down Capitol Raid Reaction

Facebook to Give Lesser Punishment for “Hate Speech” Against White People Than Against Minorities

WordPress deplatforms popular blog The Conservative Treehouse

Google Play bans third-party app for YouTube alternative BitChute

Twitter blocks medical journal after it published a positive study on Ivermectin treatment for coronavirus

 West Virginia Campus Police Chief W.P. Chedester was forced to apologize for having a “thin blue line” flag visible in his office during a Zoom call. Students and faculty called for his resignation.

Video:
Johns Hopkins Newsletter Questions CV Deaths, Then Quickly Retracts | ‘Spreading Misinformation’

Processor Normal Wang, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, demoted after saying doctors should be judged on merit, not race.

Mark Herring, a Dean of Library Services at Winthrop University, was censored and harassed for using the phrase “Wuhan Virus” in a library journal op-ed.

Leslie Neal-Boylan, Dean of Nursing at UMass-Lowell, lost her job after sharing this “racist” email with students and faculty: “I am writing to express my concern and condemnation of the recent (and past) acts of violence against people of color… I despair for our future as a nation if we do not stand up against violence against anyone. BLACK LIVES MATTER, but also, EVERYONE’S LIFE MATTERS.”

Reclaim the Net https://reclaimthenet.org/

"Freedom is no freedom if it is accorded only to the accepted and the inoffensive."
"It is wrong that what one man can read should be confined to what another thinks proper."
"We believe that what people read is deeply important; that ideas can be dangerous; but that the suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society. Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours."
 -- American Library Association Freedom to Read Statement, 1953

OR Rescue Trainer Revealed as Convicted Animal Abuser

I don't normally write about happenings outside the boundaries of our fair state, but this one was too unbelievable to let go.

Roughly 2,000 miles due west of us lies Oregon. Much like us, they have lots of gorgeous nature, too much mud, and one large city full of excitable, pink-haired persons of indeterminate gender that can yell sexismracismhomophobiafacism faster than a caffeinated auctioneer. Also much like us, they also have many horses and horse rescues. The similarities don't end there.

Recently, we had our first Midwest Rescue Challenge, a special competition for rescue horses only, in September 2018. The Oregon Rescue Challenge began just a few years earlier, in 2015, under the name Rescue Revolution.

In a rescue challenge, trainers apply to work with horses from participating rescues throughout the state, and after 90 days, compete with them in a multi-disciplinary show. The trainer gets exposure and goodwill, the rescue gets a horse or two trained up, and the horse becomes way more adoptable. Sponsors like local businesses and civic organizations pay for advertising and facilities, or donate silent auction items, raffle prizes, etc. If the venue is large enough, vendors can come and sell stuff. Crowds come and see all the adoptable horses in action, plus pictures of more at each horse rescue's booth. Swag is sold, donations given, connections made-- it's like a mini Horse Fair, but just for rescues!

Stick figure illustration for my stick figure budget. 

These kinds of events are an amazingly good idea. We need them because far too often, the public thinks of all horse rescuers as either shady, fast-talking, redneck liars out to make a profit, or as PETA-inspired, crystal-healing, animal-hoarding lunatics. While those do exist, I'd like to think that most a good number of horse rescues are legitimate, and can work together to promote the good work that they do. And rescued horses themselves should be promoted as hard as any breed. Rescue horses are just as talented, athletic, and lovable as those that come straight from a breeder. Yes, the horses, rescue organizations and trainers alike can benefit tremendously from the positive PR of a Challenge. Everyone goes home a winner. It's a great thing.

Naturally, of course, the first thing humans do with a good thing is screw it up.

It has just becoming widely known that Oregon Rescue Challenge (ORC) has allowed a convicted an animal abuser to participate in its competition, and was (is?) all set to let him do it again in 2019.





In 2007, Geraldo Morales kicked and beat a three month old foal so hard, he broke its neck. As it lay in the dirt, he kept on kicking it. He then forced a cold water hose up the severely injured foal's nose in an attempt to make it get up. The foal had to be euthanized.

The same year, Morales threw a miniature Jack Russel Terrier puppy through the air like a football, onto concrete.

A full article on these horrors can be found here. Warning: more awful details.

I'm pretty sure the very definition of evil is beating a baby animal.

Now, we all know how hard it is to get anyone charged with animal abuse. Long-time readers will remember our constant struggles to even get authorities to pay attention when horses are starving to death. Yet Geraldo Morales was not only arrested and charged with felonies, but convicted by a jury.

You would think that an organization devoted to helping horses rescued from exactly this kind of sadistic criminal would not want to associate one. But ORC did. They promoted Morales as a top trainer, including him in Challenge PR before and after the event. He even won 3rd place in the 2018 Challenge. But that's not where it ends.

There is an argument that can be made about this situation, and it goes like this:

"OK, so Morales screwed up. He did bad things. But he's changed! He's a great guy now!"

Me personally, I'm not gullible charitable enough to think that the kind of man who can beat a baby foal to death is the kind of man who is going to change much. But some people do think guys like that deserve a second chance. Ok... but shouldn't people have been given the basic facts, so that they could at least give that second chance themselves?

Not according to ORC. In fact, they didn't bother to officially tell any of the participating sponsors, volunteers, or rescues, about Morales's past record so that those folks could make their own decisions about whether to give him horses, money, sponsorships, etc.

Did I mention Geraldo Morales also pleaded guilty to domestic abuse?
He strangled a lady in front of her child.*



Also, while under the influence, he flipped his pickup truck into a canyon, and lied to police about how somebody must have stolen it.



Great guy, this Geraldo. Is the ORC Board of Directors insane?

Oh wait. It appears that Geraldo Morales's wife is on the ORC Board of Directors. NOW it all makes sense! Can you say, "conflict of interest?"

Speaking of morally questionable behavior, it turns out that ORC hasn't filed their yearly tax-exempt forms with the IRS since 2016. According to the IRS, charities which don't file this paperwork for three consecutive years have their non-profit status revoked. I wonder if their sponsors and donors know? As of today, the ORC is still asking for donations of money and services, as well as high-priced sponsorships. And they're doing so despite apparently telling some of their supporters that the 2019 Challenge has been cancelled (no public statement though).






Let's get to what else the Oregon Rescue Challenge Board of Directors has been saying.
Their list of excuses and justifications for the Morales situation is as follows:

• 2007 was a long time ago!
• There were extenuating circumstances that basically excuse his kicking the foal to death.
• It was (somehow) a tragic accident. 
• Only God can judge him, you aren't perfect so you can't judge him.
• Our critics should be ashamed of themselves for being bullies.
• We're/he's helping horses, so you shouldn't criticize, doing so makes you the bad guy.

At least one member of the ORC board (guess who) is threatening to sue anybody that has anything bad to say about Morales for slander-- or even just posts a link to a news article about him. This has got some people scared.



Don't worry, folks. If I had a dollar for every time I have been threatened with lawsuits for outing abusive jerks, neglectful owners, and cheaters, my favorite horse rescues would be rolling in dough from my donations.

In case you weren't aware, slander is a legal term for spoken lies (libel is written lies). To be successfully sued for either, you actually have to knowingly tell a lie.

The fact that Geraldo Morales committed animal abuse, domestic abuse, and a heinous DUI, and the fact that the ORC worked with him anyway, are all 100% true.

To all the good people of Oregon: Don't let anyone from the ORC board try to intimidate you to keep you from telling the truth. They don't have a leg to stand on.

To the horse rescues pulling back from the ORC: Good job.
Maybe your reason is simply that you can't afford to publicly associate with a convicted animal abuser, no matter how reformed he may be.
Maybe your reason is that if the ORC wasn't transparent about this, what else are they not telling you?
Maybe your reason is that you feel that the protection of your rescue horses and volunteers comes first.
Whatever your reasons are, don't be afraid to stand by your convictions. I particularly love Mustang MEND's response to this situation. Very professional.



ORC Board of Directors as listed on their website:

Stephanie Morales -- Barn Manager/Sponsorship
Stephanie@OregonRescueChallenge.com

​Sarah Hockett -- ​Trainer & Rescue Contact
​360-430-1692
Sarah@OregonRescueChallenge.com

Gayle Park --Past-President/Sponsorship
503-833-286
Gayle@OregonRescueChallenge.com

Connie Settle --- Treasurer, Website
541-550-0002
Connie@OregonRescueChallenge.com

Margie Humberston -- Social Media
Margie@OregonRescueChallenge.com

Cyndi Davis President -- no contact info
Colleen Olsen Secretary -- no contact info
Colleen Freihoff Sponsorship Director -- no contact info



Rescues Withdrawn from the ORC:

An ORC alternative has invited rescues to their chellenge.

All About Mustangs
(541) 890-1274
info@allaboutmustangs.org

Mustangs MEND
(541) 666-8112
mustangsmend@gmail.com

Mustangs and MOHR
(503) 623-8430
debsmustangs@gmail.com

Harmony New Beginnings

(503) 569-1969

harmonynbrescue@aol.com

Rescues Still in the ORC:

3 Sisters Equine Refuge
(202) 821-8855
3sisterstotherescue@gmail.com

Project Spirit Horse Rescue
541-891-2921
cwanimalhelp@gmail.com

Warm Springs Horse Network
wshorsenetwork@gmail.com
essethomas@juno.com

HyTyme Equine Rescue
HytymeJim@gmail.com


This blog post was written with help from a wonderful contributor, who is not a part of any of the previously mentioned rescues.

*Supporters of Morales will say that the domestic violence case and DUI were "dismissed." In fact, Morales did plead guilty, and was punished. Court records show "dismissed" because the cases became part of a criminal justice "diversion" program.

Spirit Horse Rescue: Bah Humbug!

What's going on with Spirit Horse Rescue in Janesville, WI? They've gotten a ton of sympathy in the media lately, because they have been ordered to re-home 23 horses before April 1st 2019. What's up?

The answer is that a shit-storm which has been gently simmering for about a decade has reached a boiling point. For years, the horse "rescue" owner DeeDee Goldberg has been more or less hoarding horses, as I said in my 2013 blog post, Questionable Practices at Spirit Horse Rescue.

If you don't want to go read that, here's the short version: although (like many hoarders) Goldberg has the best intentions, she continually take on more and more horses, keeps them in not-great conditions, and refuses to adopt them out. Why? Because she doesn't want to geld them or get them trained, and she doesn't trust anyone else to give them a "good" (Parelli/hippy/organic/snowflake) home. Basically, she's one of those individuals that believes horses shouldn't have to do anything "unnatural" (including taking people for rides when they don't feel like it). Also, she's constantly broke. If you go back and read my past blog post (srsly just do it) you'll see plenty of desperate cries for money because she's out of hay, the vet refuses to do anything more until paid, etc etc.

DeeDee currently has somewhere between 33-38 horses on far less than 30 acres of land. This violates the "one horse per 1 acre" ordinance in her municipality (a very common law and sound horse-keeping principle). She got away with the situation for years, until...

...A Right to Life Animal & Equine Sanctuary popped up near Janesville, run by Porsche Lynn Kettelhut.

On the Right to Life Facebook page, captioned "baby training."
I assume training as in, "train the foal to get her foot stuck in that super loose halter and panic, running on three legs and crashing into a nearby hobo encampment." 

Porsche is your typical broke crazy wannabe rescuer. She took on horses even as she said she can't afford cancer treatments, and is, "not working due to her health issues and has no income at this time..."  She also complains about her neighbors' ATVs making too much noise... in the daytime... out in the country... Arrghh. Look, I can't do a full story on this. At least the horses look well cared for, the fences aren't barbed wire, and it is a registered 501c3... plus, I just do not have time for this right now. Norse Horse is so tired guys. So, so tired.

ANYWAY,

This new would-be rescuer also wanted to have more than 1 horse per acre of land. She assumed this would be okey-dokey, since DeeDee/Spirit Horse was nearby and was getting away with it.

In the summer of 2018, Porsche brought two more horses to join her herd of 4. This meant she had 6 horses and two ponies on 6.3 acres. She applied for a Conditional Use Permit and then a Variant, spending a bunch of money in the process, but was denied.

Spirit Horse had applied* for a Conditional Use Permit back in 2007 and was approved for 27 horses. Spirit Horse applied again in 2010 to have 35 horses, and was denied... but no one enforced the law in their case, and DeeDee accumulated that number anyway.

When Porsche did not give up any horses, the Town of Janesville sued Porsche and her husband for about $14,000 in fall 2018, demanding that the couple not only get rid of two equines but also pay for the Town's attorney fees. A judge knocked that way down to $500 in fines, plus getting rid of 2 horses. The couple refused, so a judge then awarded the Town a $12,000 judgement. You can read more about it at Right to Life's GoFundMe page.

This was a clear case of double standards. Two horse rescues violating the same law. One gets punished, one doesn't. And Porsche was pissed.

She went to the media, and the Gazette Xtra picked up on the story, writing two pieces about the Town of Janesville's hypocrisy. The Town started to feel the heat. Finally, they told DeeDee Golberg that if Right to Life had to play by the rules, so did she.

DeeDee has claimed that Spirit Horse has actually adopted out 27 horses this year. If this is true, I will eat my fucking hat. Many, many people have said that over the years they have called, texted, and emailed about adopting a horse and gotten no response, even when they've sent in the adoption application. I would honestly be shocked to learn of Spirit Horse having done even five real adoptions this year. Certainly, I have not heard even one person come forward and say they got their horse from DeeDee in the past year.

DeeDee also says that most of the remaining 30-some horses at Spirit Horse are all too sickly to be adopted. Hmmmm....

Let's talk about the seven horses actually listed for adoption on the Spirit Horse website, shall we?
It doesn't seem like DeeDee is trying very hard to get them adopted out:

• All of them have been at the rescue for at least a year.
• None of them have adoption fees listed.
• None of them are broke, or they were broke before they came to Spirit Horse but DeeDee has never ridden them.

Stetson-- Morgan, age 8. His picture is labeled "gelding," but when you download his description, he's labeled "stallion," and with DeeDee's history of failing to geld, I wouldn't be surprised if he's still got his balls. No health/behavior problems listed. He's been at Spirit Horse at least 3 years, and he's still not broke. In fact, he's still doing "Groundwork – Beginning." This guy looks fabulous, and if I were in the market, I'd be seriously considering prying him out of the rescue's clutches.

Vera-- Quarter Horse mare, age 15. No health/behavior problems listed. She came from a surrender clinic in 2016, and is still doing "Groundwork – Beginning," despite the fact that her surrendering owner described her as broke to ride for an intermediate rider. This is sad-- here's a horse that could have been worked a bit and adopted out within 6 months. Instead, she's been allowed to sit for two years. Not only is this bad for the horse, who is getting older, less rideable, and less adoptable every month that goes by, this is bad business. Adopting out good horses like this faster could help pay for sick and injured horses who really do need to stay at a rescue long-term.
DeeDee says, "We are taking it really slowly with Vera, and she is beginning to show interest and a bit of trust. With a great deal of patience and slow, careful work..." Yeah, with two years of careful work, this mare should be a dressage horse by now.

George-- Quarter Horse stallion, age 3. "Will be gelded before adoption." Why hasn't he been gelded already? He's Vera's son, so he's been at Spirit Horse since 2016 as well. He, too, is still doing "Groundwork – Beginning."

Autry-- Quarter Horse gelding, "mid-teens." Gut issues and a sore back when he came in, but reportedly broke. He's better now. He has been at Spirit Horse since August 2016, and, you guessed it, he's doing "Groundwork - beginning."

Morgan & Winter -- Appaloosa mares, no other info given. Not helpful for potential adopters.

Hope-- paint mare, age 9. She was seized in a 2010 neglect case, then spent about a year and a half under HSUS guardianship before being turned over to Spirit Horse. So let's give them maximum leeway and say Spirit Horse has had her since 2013. That's still five years ago, almost six. Why is she still not broke? She's of course still doing "Groundwork - beginning."

Oscar-- Mini stallion, about age 6.  He's been at Spirit Horse since October 2017.
 "Will be gelded before adoption." Why hasn't he been gelded already? Has a vaguely described eye issue and "likes to play stallion games." Great.

Do you see where I'm going with this? If Spirit Horse were Spirit Dog, none of the dogs would be neutered or housebroken.

Did I mention that Spirit Horse deliberately took in four wild mustangs in 2017? Yes, despite DeeDee's constant desperate please for funding since at least 2013, despite having so many horses already that she couldn't get them all broke and gelded, she took in four untouched feral horses. And two of them were pregnant mares.

Yes, while other rescues took in (and then adopted out) local horses who needed help, DeeDee shipped in these magical-historical-miracle "Hallelujah Horses." And she did get plenty of great publicity for it, despite the fact that there are 300 more mustangs just like them waiting for homes in a government facility in Ewing, Illinois that nobody talks about, and about 5,000 more across the country. Speaking of publicity, I wonder...

I have heard from a couple of people that when they contacted DeeDee about adopting a certain horse or two, she refused to discuss it, and said that she would be permanently keeping the horses as "attractions." As in, attractions at a circus. Or a zoo. Could this be a reference to the magical mystical mustangs? Are these narrow-chested grade crossbreds with attracting tourists in droves?!

No. Of course not. *sigh*

DeeDee Golberg's solution to her predicament is not to adopt out more horses, or even, God forbid, euthanize a bunch of them. Her solution is:

Yes, if you click here, you can send her your hard-earned money so that she can buy her very own, bigger, fancier farm! She only wants $500,000!

Gee whiz! Can the public buy ME a really nice farm too?! I mean, I have about as good of a track record as Spirit Horse-- I've rescued, rehabbed, and rehomed six, plus that messed-up llama (which has got to count for like three more). Come on guys, it's ONLY a half-million dollar donation based on some sappy sentiments, online pictures, and my promise that I'll be so much better at rescue than I've ever shown myself to be in the past, pllleeeeeaaaaase?!

LOL. On a serious note, Merry Fuckin' Chrismas ya'll.



*Note: When I say "Spirit Horse" here, you should know that DeeDee Golberg doesn't actually own the land/farm her rescue sits on. The land is owned by Kelly Cusick, who "rents" (donates) use of the place to DeeDee.

The Secret Behind Kill Pen Rescues (and How Much a Slaughter Horse Really Sells For)

Ladies and gentlemen, step right up, gather 'round! I'm about to tell you a great secret. Once you know this secret thing, you can decode many, many situations, giving you power and confidence.
You can use it to see the truth, avoid bad relationships, and save money.

This thing is one of life's most powerful mechanisms, driving events both insignificant and enormous. Psychologists and sociologists study it, marketers strive to create it, and Hollywood feeds off of it.
It is the thing compelling some of your very own behavior.
You already know this secret, but you don't know that you know it.
Like most great truths, it hides in plain sight.
And today, it is more prevalent in the horse world than ever before, especially in kill pen rescues.

This thing is made up of four key ingredients. By themselves, each of these things can be compelling. Together, they create an absolutely enormously potent force called...

HYPE has made people millions upon millions of dollars with insanely popular, yet silly products such as the Pet Rock, Tickle-Me-Elmo, and Beanie Babies, all of which have caused physical fights between shoppers.

HYPE is why everyone remembers the sinking of the Titanic (1,500 dead) but no one remembers the more recent sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff (9,500 dead) or the much more recent Doña Paz ferry disaster (4,400 dead).

HYPE is why every serious adventurer hopes to climb Mount Everest, but no one has even heard of Chimborazo (technically two miles higher) or K2 and Annapurna, which are only slightly lower than Mount Everest, but much, much more challenging and deadly.*

HYPE is the reason this Guicci brand backpack sells for $1,980, but you can buy the exact same thing direct from China for $187.

And finally, of course, HYPE is the secret behind the success of kill pen rescues.

Let's take a look at how hype is created. Here are the four ingredients:

Excitement: Drama, thrill, turmoil.
This can be positive or negative; it can feel good or bad.

Urgency: Time pressure. A ticking clock. Stress.

Exclusivity: You get to be THE ONE. The one that gets to be the hero, or gets the best deal, the one in the spotlight, the person with a unique experience, or being a part of a special group.

Pathos: Emotions, especially feelings of guilt, sorrow, empathy, pity, and compassion.

Let's take a look at how the ingredients of Hype are applied in Kill Pen "rescue" situations. Here's a typical post from a kill pen rescue operator:

At the end of this ad, you are left feeling like you would really, really, like to give the horse a home, or at least donate. You feel sympathetic, guilty, and sad, because you get the impression that this poor "defeated" horse is suffering. And you may be a little panicked because there seems to be so little time ("DEADLINE!" "Slaughter!" "Before it's too late!") You also want to feel like you are a special part of a group of rescuers ("he has NO ONE BUT US TO COUNT ON"), donating money to save this special horse (an abandoned racehorse "robbed of his identity!"). But let's see what the ad would look like without all the hype, and with a shot of plain old truth thrown in:

Now how do you feel? Disgusted? Confused?
Do you feel like a used car salesman is trying to talk you into something?

Most of the time, kill pen "rescues" are little more than a scam. Unfortunately, good people get sucked in very easily, because of those four ingredients that make up hype. We all get sucked in by drama (Excitement), we all feel rather bad for slaughter-bound horses (Pathos), none of us are immune to feelings of Urgency, and we all like to feel we're a part of something special (Exclusiveness).

But you know the very worst part of these scams?

Good people are sometimes the very ones promoting them. The become blinded to the facts, even to the point of believing their own hype. What facts, you ask? Here's one:

1) The price for these kill pen horses is always significantly above slaughter price. This means that in the end, the kill-buyer profits greatly off of kill pen "rescues." Even if each horse only makes them $50-$300 more via the "rescue" than they would get via slaughter, that adds up to quite a profit over time. This is especially true considering the fact that almost nothing is known about the horse as a riding animal, the kill buyer does nothing at all to care for the horse, and by selling to "rescues," kill-buyers save themselves the cost of keeping the horse on a feedlot, or hauling it to a slaughter plant across the border. In fact, the "rescuer" often has to pay the kill-buyer or his agent a large amount of money for quarantine and shipping, further lining his pockets.

Slaughter price varies, but is, at the very most, about 70 cents per pound here in the United States. At this maximum price, a 1,000lb horse in good fat condition is worth $700 to a kill-buyer. Realistically though, the average slaughter-bound horse is worth more like 40 cents per pound, or $400 to a kill-buyer. Yet, kill pen "rescue" horses are often priced at $750-$900. In the pictures below, compare the "packing" price of a horse actually bound for slaughter with the "bail" price of a horse at a kill pen rescue.

Cwt means "hundred weight." 35cwt = $35 per 100 lbs = $2.86/lb, or $350 for an average/large 1,000lb horse.

Now compare that to a kill pen rescue's prices:

The prices for these kill pen "rescue" horses are at least $400 over "packer" (meat) price.

Let's move on to another example...

Here's a gelding at Ryon's Rescue Pen, a popular kill pen "rescue" in this area.

The gelding's front cannons look to be in bad shape, bowed with hard use. Although they talk about the gelding's "good condition" and abilities, there may be absolutely no truth to this, because as per their policy,
'All horses are sold "AS IS; WHERE IS' with no guarantees regarding temperament, age, soundness, health, discipline. There are NO exceptions."

I was easily able to Google this horse's breeder and see his original sale listing. According to the breeder, he's actually two years older and .1 hands shorter than Ryon's has listed him as.

Poor Cole Wimpy is being sold for $850, about three to five hundred dollars more than he'd probably bring at a slaughter house. Is he worth that? Maybe he is. Of course, you can't ride him and see, because unlike real rescues, Ryon's does not allow buyers to try horses.

A real horse rescue gives adopters more flexibility. You are encouraged to handle and ride the horse. If you begin to feel like a horse isn't the right fir for you, an adoption can be stopped at any time. Good rescues also take horses back. But at Ryon's Rescue Pen and other kill pen rescues, once you've even seriously considered buying a horse, you're stuck. Here's the policy for putting money down on horses at Ryon's Rescue Pen:

"If for ANY reason you back out on a horse you put credit card information on, that card will be charged 25% of the cost of the horse plus any board that may have accrued." And of course there are NO refunds, under any circumstances. 

At a real rescue, horses are adopted out with up-to-date vaccinations, hoof trims, and Coggins, and adopters are given a good picture of the horse's existing medical problems (if any) and overall health. At Ryon's Rescue Pen and other kill pen rescues, you aren't even guaranteed a recent Coggins test. If the horse's was consigned without one, you are responsible for hiring a vet to have one done at the auction house.

Here's another fact that people completely disregard in their rush to help "slaughter" horses:

2) Ponies, minis, foals, and severely lame, sick, blind, or skinny horses almost never go to slaughter.

First of all, some basic federal laws apply: a horse bound for slaughter has to be able to stand on its own, can't be blind, and can't be under 6 months old or visibly pregnant.

Secondly, it's just not in the kill-buyer's best interests. Think about it. If you're a slaughter buyer, do you want to fill your trailer with small, skinny, or sick animals that may die on the journey and won't bring much money, or big, fat, healthy ones that will travel well and get you a higher price? Yet kill pen "rescues" often advertise these types of equines as "going to slaughter SOON!" That's because...

3) A local sale to a sucker always beats a long-distance sale to a factory. A kill-buyer, like anyone in business, wants to get the best deal. So he will always sell an animal for the most money he can get. And of course, he can get the most money off of YOU, a caring member of the public. He would much rather take your $800 and make you pick up a horse, versus spending his own gas money to haul a horse to the meat processing plant and make $400. This is why so many kill pens and auction houses cooperate with rescues, or set up their own "rescue" pages to advertise horses. In fact, a "slaughter buyer" is actually just a horse dealer-- they don't exclusively sell to slaughter plants. They'll sell to anyone, and they make the most money from private sales.

"OK," you may be saying, "so what?" "So I paid more than slaughter price, I still saved a horse!" Well actually...

4) For every horse you "save" from a kill-pen "rescue," another takes its place. Sad but true.
  The kill buyer will load up his trailer with the least desirable horses first-- the unbroke, unsound, and older ones. But you can bet that there won't be any empty spots on that trailer. Why waste the space and gas? Besides, the kill buyer has to fill his quota-- he's likely under contract.

The Moral of the Story:

• Don't fall for the HYPE of kill-pen "rescues."
  Don't let the excitement, fake urgency, emotional blackmail,
  and sense of exclusiveness get to you.
  
• Don't impulse-buy a "slaughter-bound" horse from these rescues
  dealers, don't donate to them, and don't support local horse rescues
  that work with them.
  
• Good people get sucked into the HYPE and try to help, but they
  just end up making slaughter-dealers richer.
  
• Spend your money on adopting a horse from a real 501c3
  non-profit rescue that has put time and money into that horse,
  and knows its health, training, and temperament.
  
• If you can't resist the excitement of buying a slaughter-bound horse,
  go to an auction yourself and buy one instead of paying a dealer extra.
  
• If you absolutely can't resist buying from a "kill pen rescue,"
  be aware that you are supporting a horse dealer, not a real rescue.
  
• Did you buy a kill-pen horse? Quarantine it.
  The horse is probably sick from being surrounded by many
  strange horses. Don't trust anything the dealer has said
  (or not said) about the horse's age, training, temperament, or soundness.

Want to read the saga of a woman who bought a kill-pen "rescue" horse and got in over her head? Click here. Her $350 horse ended up costing $2,200 to quarantine and transport! You could adopt 2-3 horses from real rescues for that price, and you would actually have some confidence in the rescue's descriptions of the horses.

Read more about kill-pen rescues here, here, and here.

About 72,000 horses went to slaughter in Mexico last year. In 2018, as of today (6/12/18),  29,220 horses have gone to slaughter in Mexico.   Source.

*Annapurna is the mountain with the highest fatality-to-summit rate (32% of people who go up never come down). The mountain called K2 is only 778 feet lower than Everest, but only 302 people have ever reached the summit it and lived to tell the tale, vs Everest's roughly 3,000 conquerers. K2 has never been climbed in winter.

Jo Jo News and Mini Rescue (Finally)

Hey folks, it's been a while, sorry about that! I find that as the months and years go by, I'm spending less and less time blogging, and more time doing "real world" stuff. That's probably good, but I miss all of you wonderful readers. Today I'm going to make it up to you somewhat-- you're in for a treat, because we have a bit of a double feature!

She's Baaaaack!

Yup, it's Amanda "Jo Jo" Everhart again. If you haven't read my main blog post about here, go do that here and catch up. If you're well aware of the insane depravity already, read on (but maybe go click that link later, because I've added and reorganized things).
Jo Jo is trying to re-start her scammy "horse rescue" somewhere else in Wisconsin. I'm not sure what to be more appalled by, the fact that she claimed to have saved 57 horses last year, or that she re-named the rescue after the horse she starved (Phoenix).

Last I knew, Everhart was living in a house in town so if you know where (in general) she's rented her new ranch, let us know so that we can all warn the locals. We don't need an address, just a vicinity.

NOTE: Do NOT contact her directly. The goal here is not to harass her, as that is 1) illegal and 2) only gives her the ability to play the victim. Also, 3) she is crazy and may come after you if you do.

How crazy is she? Oh my God, sooooo so crazy. And not in a "this bitch is being dramatic" kind of way, but in a truly pathological, serious way, to the point that... Well, I could write a whole book about it, but it seems wrong to dwell on the whole ugly, trashy saga. Suffice it to say, save your hard-earned money for a real charity, don't donate to her Go Fund Me campaigns or her "horse rescue." Moving on!

Mini Rescue

It's taken me far too long to write this, but it seems like it only just happened.

In late July of 2017, I went to rent some large equipment from guy I'll call "Chad." I'd never met Chad before in my life, but his hand-painted sign on the side of the road had advertised what I needed. I called him, he seemed pleasant enough, and we quickly signed a very basic rental contract in his garage, whilst an adorable pit-bull puppy attempted to chew my on boots, old beer cans, and its own ears.

Chad seemed like a decent enough guy; young, hard-working, rough around the edges but raised well. Like many of us in Wisconsin, he had a lot of side gigs going, trying to make a buck or two before and after his "real" job. When I pulled down around the back of his place to load up my equipment, I caught a glimpse of one of those side gigs:

This mare and her stallion buddy were tied to rusted-out vehicles in an overgrown field. Other than the junkers and a wrecked chicken coop, they had no shelter from the sun. There was an empty cat litter tub nearby, perhaps hinting that there was water sometimes-- but neither mini could currently reach it. The mare was tangled up in the nylon kind of combination halter-leadrope normally used on calves. Her hooves were long and deformed. The stallion was tied up short. Both appeared desperately unhappy.

"Well crap..."
I knew immediately that calling the authorities would be useless, since they often don't get involved even when a horse is actually dying of starvation in front of them. Even if I could convince a cop or deputy to come out, he would take one look at these fat ponies and say, "What's the problem?" To non-horse people, if an equine isn't skin and bones, it must be doing fine.

With official assistance unlikely, I just had one question: should I take these minis home today, or not? It really depended on whether Chad was open to change. Maybe I could education him a little. Maybe I could mentor him, keep an eye on things. After all, I had just adopted out my last horse, and I had been looking forward to the rest of the summer "off." So when Chad came down to help me load up my equipment, we had a little talk. I was polite, friendly, encouraging. I didn't want him to be on the defensive, I wanted him to be open-minded about doing things differently. Over the course of the next hour, I learned the following:

- A year ago, Chad had bought the stallion at an auction on a whim, "because he was kinda cute." At first, he had tied his new pet, "Winston," to a steel truck rim lying on the ground. Of course the pony dragged it for miles across the countryside, eventually stopping to *ahem* chat with some mares. The irate owner of the mares called the nearest humane society, which picked Winston up. Chad had to pay $35 to "bail him out." That's when Chad started using the junk trucks as hitching posts.

- Chad bought the mare from a neighbor because he thought she and Winston would make an adorable baby, which he could then sell for a quick profit. He was deeply disappointed to find out that foaling takes, "like a whole year!" When he had gotten the mare, he said, she had even longer hooves, but his cousin had helped him take a hacksaw to the worst bits. The previous owner explained that the mare had lost her last foal, and Chad wondered if that had to do with the feet. When I saw the mare, the feet weren't the skis Chad described, but clearly hadn't been seen by a real farrier.

-Ever since Winston and the mare (which he never named) "got together," Chad had been surprised and displeased at how uncontrollable the stallion was. Hmmm, shocking!

-Chad had no idea what a farrier was, had never wormed the ponies, called halters "collars," and had never had a vet out. He didn't know about founder/navicular, was unaware that equines needed salt/minerals, and was under the impression that miniature horses,
"get smaller as they get older, don't they?"

Needless to say, I did not feel comfortable leaving the ponies with Chad. He was a nice guy. He meant no harm. But his busy schedule and the sheer magnitude of his ignorance had led him to  neglect his minis. Perhaps he sort of knew that already, because he was willing to sell them.
I knew I was going to spend an exorbitant amount of money doctoring them. I didn't really want to give this guy any money. But I was also eager to get the ponies out of there, and unwilling to risk blowing the deal, so I shelled out a few hundred bucks. By late afternoon, the ponies were home safe with me.

The first thing they did was to attack the salt and mineral blocks. They didn't just lick them, they broke off chunks and swallowed them whole. Alarmed, I asked my vet whether this would do any harm. Nope, not as long as they had access to plenty of water.

Apparently the poor little dudes had been so long without salt and minerals, their bodies absolutely craved them. Equines especially need salt during hot weather, when sweating causes them to lose it by the liter. In the wild, mustangs (and deer) will actually lick and even chew dirt that has a high mineral content in order to get what they need.

Reminder here: do NOT give your horse mineral blocks meant for cattle. Eating even a tiny amount can KILL your horses within a day or two. Cattle minerals and feed may contain ionophores, including lasalocid (Bovatec), monensin (Rumensin), salinomycin, narasin, maduramicin, laidlomycin and semduramicin.


These additives can't be seen, smelt, or tasted, and horses are twenty times more sensitive to them than cattle. There have been some famous cases of horses that died from poisoning simply because the local feed mill made pelleted cattle feed with an additive, and then didn't clean the equipment prior to mixing a batch of horse feed. For more info, check out these links:


Wisconsin Family Loses 12 Belgian Horses to Accidental Poisoning
Feed Manufacturers Settle with Horse Owners After Fatal Monensin Poisoning
Equus Magazine: Don't Poison Your Horse with Cattle Feed
Monensin and Horses: A Deadly Combination
Poisoning in the Feed Room

p.s. Chicken feed can contain these some of these additives as well!

Okay, back to the ponies!
Those poor, poor things.

Their manes were infested with mites, their teeth were terrible, and the mare had a weird eye.

To get rid of the mites, the first thing that happened was major haircuts. Then came baths with regular shampoo and water, then iodine baths, then a good strong insect repellent.

The eye was oozy and misshapen. 
I think what happened was that she'd torn the lower lid at some point, and (because of course she'd never seen a vet in her life) it healed weirdly. There was nothing to be done for that except keep it clean.

The mare's teeth really needed a good floating, but other than that were OK. Winston the stallion, however, had sharp/hooked teeth, an under-bite, misaligned teeth, and missing teeth. His mouth looked like he'd tried to eat a blender. My wonderful vets spent a long, long time doing the best they could. Fortunately, modern sedation allows vets to work miracles...

...including brain surgery!

Yes, of course I had Winston gelded ASAP. The world did not need another grade stallion making grade babies, cute or not. Those testicles really do look like little brains, don't they? And of course he was much, much more level-headed after a couple of weeks without them.

During those weeks, however, we had some rough times. You see, many vets recommend that after a stallion is gelded, he should be trotted for at least ten minutes two or three times per day.
This is so that the cuts down there heal cleanly.

Poor Winston-- he'd just had his hair chopped, his teeth ground down, and his balls chopped off, and now I had to make him run!


Winston wasn't the only one who started to hate me. I named the mare "Margaret," and right away we got off on the wrong foot-- literally. Her feet had to be trimmed, and then afterwards treated for a massive thrush infection. Not surprisingly, Margaret wanted nothing to do with people anyway, after a lifetime of neglect. Now she was being forced to pick up her painful feet.



These are before-and-after pictures of Margaret's right rear hoof. The bottom of her foot was completely encased, trapping the thrush infection inside to fester. She was walking on hoof wall that had curved underneath. Her other rear foot was similar. Her front feet were in poor shape, but not this bad.

After trimming, she still had long feet, but my farrier said that taking more would make her bleed. When a hoof becomes very long, blood vessels grow along with it, so you can only take off so much at once.

 The right hoof is obviously worse than the left. My farrier filed a flat surface on the right side of her outside hoof wall to help her balance, but did not take so much off that doing so would damage the hoof. It's a fine balance between keeping her as comfortable as possible and encouraging that foot to rotate upright.

Margarget's feet may never return to normal. her hooves were overgrown and twisted for so long that the tendons and even bones remodeled their structures. However, with frequent, consistent trims, she will be much more comfortable, and with time she may straighten up a bit.


When I got Margaret from Chad, I asked if she was pregnant. He said he was pretty sure... but of course he'd never thought to have an ultrasound done.

Ultrasounds are just as necessary for horses as they are for humans-- maybe moreso. We humans have shorter pregnancies, we are less at risk of infections, and our babies don't have incredibly long legs to get tangled up in the womb. Finally, while twins are pretty safe for us to carry, twins are very often deadly for mares. To find out why, read "The Trouble with Twins."

Margaret's ultrasound showed that she was indeed pregnant, about 2-3 months along. I was able to watch the foal's heart beat in real time. In the heat of a summer afternoon, the double miracles of new life and high technology left us silent in wonder for a time.

Unfortunately, we could not take joy in Margaret's pregnancy. The vet estimated she was 18 years old (Chad had told me 9). Her twisted feet were obviously painful, and the weight of her pregnancy would only increase her suffering. It might even cause her to founder. Although she was at a good weight, she'd been nutritionally deprived during the early stages of her pregnancy, which was bad news for both her and her foal. Finally, Chad had said that she'd lost her previous foal. Every sign pointed to a pregnancy that was, at best, a tenuous one. At worst, attempting to keep the foal might mean the death of both mare and her offspring.

I looked at the vet. "Is it too late to terminate the pregnancy?"
"No," she said.
A baby horse is not the same as a baby human.
Still, I struggled with the decision.
"Would I be doing the right thing?"
"Yes. It's what I would do."

We talked logistics. Margaret would need a shot of Lutalyse every day for five days. Lutalyse is the brand name of a synthetic prostaglandin which occurs naturally in most mammals. It's not quite a hormone, but the effects are the same. The injections would cause Margaret's body to have uterine contractions and go into heat, which would cause her body to abort/absorb the fetus. (Ironically, Lutalyse is also used to help mares and cows get pregnant when using artificial insemination.) There was very little risk involved. After a couple of weeks, we would do a follow-up ultrasound, to check and make sure everything was OK.

So for five days without fail, Margaret got an injection in the butt. The shot was not only painful, it gave her cramps. On top of that, I was taking her buddy Winston away several times a day for jogging. And they both got baths and mite treatments. They hated me, those poor ponies, they really did.

It wasn't all suffering though. No longer tied up to junk vehicles, they could eat and drink and wander as they pleased. The got to taste peppermints, carrots, and apple slices. Instead of being stuck in the hot sun, they could rest in the cool, shady barn. And of course they got all the petting and scratching I had time for.

The second vet appointment went very well. Margaret's follow-up ultrasound showed that her womb was empty. Both ponies got wormed and vaccinated (something we didn't do the first time around because we didn't want to stress their systems with everything at once). My farrier declared Margaret thrush-free. As summer turned into fall, the ponies became healthy and happy. Margaret still had a grudge against me, and was even hard for me to catch sometimes-- she got quite quick on her feet. She was much nicer to strangers, however. Winston was like a puppy dog. I took them both to Story Time at the local library, and they did pretty well-- especially Winston.

I was very fortunate to find both ponies a truly fantastic home. Margaret and Winston got new names, new halters, and a new life. They stayed together, not far from where I live, and I get picture and video updates from their new owners. As for myself, I (eventually) paid off the vet bills, and was able to enjoy the whole winter without having to go outside to feed or scrape frozen manure or de-ice any hoses. I am still horseless... until the next rescue.

Many thanks to those who made this rescue possible:

The wonderful family who adopted Margaret and Winston;
My own wonderful family, who supported me fully when I showed up with unexpected ponies;
My friend Deb, who left her own busy life on the back burner to assist with pony wrangling;
My excellent farrier, who took off from her "real" job to help me;
The excellent vets that charged me as little as possible and worked hard in the July heat;
...and finally, Midwest Horse Welfare, the horse rescue that inspires me to do the right thing, always. They deal with these kinds of situations (and much worse) on a regular basis. If you'd like to donate money to me, donate to them instead.

Miscellaneous Pictures:

Winston, with a buzz cut, begs for a treat.

Margaret's left rear hoof after the first trim.

Margaret's dental work.

Winston often had a flehmen response after smelling Margaret's hormone shot.

Bright-eyed, happy ponies in their new home.

*P.S. Yes, I know miniature horses are not technically ponies, but to my mind anything under 14.2 is a pony, period. Fjord? Pony. Falabella? Pony. Small mustang? It's a pony.