Wednesday Whinnies - Two Lives

#1 here. As promised, I want to explain to you  about the horse emergency that took up almost all of my Sunday and Monday.

Last Saturday, there was an auction to sell off the horses on the farm of a dear friend of mine who died suddenly in his 82nd year in February. He was one of the best Percheron breeders in France and the quality of his herd. I worked hard to get the girls ready for the sale and was there all day Saturday for the auction.

Everything seemed to go well and it looked like all the horses had found good homes. Then, on Sunday afternoon, I heard from a friend that two of the broodmares, both 12-years old, had in fact been bought by a "secret" meat buyer (someone sent by the meat man to do his dirty work). I was horrified and decided to do everything I could to bring them to safety. I spent all of Sunday working the phone and FB Messenger, trying to get financial support to buy back the mares. The guy was willing to sell them back to me at a considerable profit. I also started to look for places where I could put them if need me for a few months. I was very touched by the kindness shown by those I called and by Sunday evening, I had both funds and someone who really wanted them. Here are the two girls:

First, Reinette de Vanoise (I spent a lot of time grooming her the morning of the sale):

And Reseda de Vanoise (Photo taken last year when she had her last foal):

On Monday morning, I realised that there was an emergency that had to be dealt with immediately: When Reinette was loaded on to the awful meat lorry on Saturday evening, she was torn away from her 5-month old daughter, Heroine. That is still very young and it is best to wean foals progressively rather than brutally like that. By Sunday morning, they had been separated for 36 hours already, and it was urgent to get them back together again if Reinette was to continue providing nourishing milk for little Heroine. We therefore jumped in a vehicle and sped up the hour north to where Reinette was being "held" and brought her home (I later cleared with her new owner that she would be sable to stay with her daughter until the end of November).

The reunion between Reinette and little Heroine was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. Reinette got down from the trailer, not knowing where she was, and then she slowly understood, and started to neigh. From far in the distance, a little neigh sounded back, and a bunch of horses started cantering towards us, with little Heroine in the lead:

"Is it really you, Mama?"

Together again!

Mother and daughter cantering off into the field!

Reinette's udders were about ready to explode with milk but Heroine emptied them very quickly!

In the afternoon, we also went to bring Reseda home. They will be staying in the beautiful place where they had always lived until the end of November, when Heroine will be weaned and will go to her wonderful new home, and Reinette and Reseda will go to their new family who will treasure them and look after them.

Here, also, is a shot of Reseda stepping back onto "home" soil:

I later learned that another filly, this one only 4 months old, had been wrenched away from her mother who had also been bought to go for meat. The kind man who had bought the filly found out and went back to buy the mother as well. Dorine and little Hazelle will now go together to their new home:

I was lucky to have around me so many kind people who were willing to help in many different ways to bring these mares to safety. The mares had no voice and were victims, not of the sellers who were appalled when they heard what had happened, but of the auctioneer who, instead of selling them for a lower price to someone who would treasure them and care for them, preferred to sell them for a few hundred Euros more to the meat man's representative. Shame on him.