Twelve Oaks Horse Farm employee, Emily Morales, 16, walks Pride, one of the horses recovering from abuse.
Written by
Sherry Lucas, The Clarion Ledger
The gray mare bears the name of a goddess but a history that speaks of hell.
In a Prentiss County pasture, a member of Venus’ herd was so weak she couldn’t fend off dogs that gnawed her hindquarters, eating her alive. Pasture mates bore their own scars of neglect in that 2011 case.
“They were eating each other’s mane and tail,” Ava Wages, 8, said, relaying the back story of the rescue horse her mother adopted for her last summer.
Ava, shorter than her horse’s hindquarters by several inches, stops brushing Venus to put a small hand on the regrown hair in back. “Hers was eaten up to the tailbone because they were starving.”
“I just get frustrated,” said Stephanie Billingsley, whose Twelve Oaks Farm in Madison and Muleshoe Ranch in Carroll County are part of a horse rescue network in the state. “If you can buy cigarettes and beer, you can buy a bag of horsefeed.”
In the 2011 Prentiss County animal cruelty case, Alice Marie Salts pleaded guilty to four counts in September 2011, receiving a $100 fine plus court costs on each, and was ordered to make restitution to the local veterinary clinic, Prentiss County Sheriff Randy Tolar said. She was placed on a misdemeanor form of probation for a year.
Fontaine Bowie, training and lesson instructor at Blue Ribbon Riding Facility in Canton, MS with student Ava Wages and Venus, her adopted horse.
Ava’s sister, Sara Ann, 15, also has a rescued horse, but from another case.She brushes a final sheen into the dark chestnut coat of Athena, once an orphaned nurse mare foal. Her mother had been taken to nurse more expensive foals and for rebreeding, Billingsley said. Still young at age 4, Athena and her owner/rider Sara Ann get lessons together.
Athena had been among 24 discarded foals, 4 weeks old at the time, that Twelve Oaks Farm took in 2008 to aid an Ohio rescue group. Another out of the group, Sweetie, found a permanent place in Billingsley’s stable — and her heart.
She grew up to be a nice horse, but even to this day, after she eats her food, she puts her head down and pretends like she’s sucking,” Billingsley said.
“She used to try to nurse our other horses. ... She wanted her mama so bad. It broke my heart.”
She brushes a final sheen into the dark chestnut coat of Athena, once an orphaned nurse mare foal. Her mother had been taken to nurse more expensive foals and for rebreeding, Billingsley said. Still young at age 4, Athena and her owner/rider Sara Ann get lessons together.
Athena had been among 24 discarded foals, 4 weeks old at the time, that Twelve Oaks Farm took in 2008 to aid an Ohio rescue group. Another out of the group, Sweetie, found a permanent place in Billingsley’s stable — and her heart.
“She grew up to be a nice horse, but even to this day, after she eats her food, she puts her head down and pretends like she’s sucking,” Billingsley said.
“She used to try to nurse our other horses. ... She wanted her mama so bad. It broke my heart.”
Sara Ann Wages, 15, takes Athena over the jumps at Blue Ribbon Riding Academy. Athena was a 2008 orphaned nurse mare foal.
Neglect, abuse and cruelty are just some of the reasons horses may need rescue. Lack of knowledge, apathy and careless overbreeding also contribute to the number of unwanted horses.
Abe’s owner thought the horse’s poor condition was fromold age. The horse was in such bad shape, he had maggots in his sheath. Now, he’s Mr. April 2013, with his story featured on the calendar order for
A gelding program assists qualifying horse owners with a low-cost option, through participating veterinarians, to help prevent overbreeding.Billingsley has a few personal horses, and keeps about 10 rescue horses at a time at her Madison farm.
Stephanie Billingsley with Bentley, who was rescued last December along with 15 other pasture mates from starvation.
Condition-wise recently, the worst of the lot was a champagne paint horse Lightning, a summer arrival from Clinton, via ARF (Animal Rescue Fund). He looked better within weeks, Billingsley said. In August, his ribs were still visible. A sunburned swath on his side and leg soon cleared. He’d lost some hair and hip bone scabs — the result of being skinny and lying down, Billingsley said — have since healed. At this point, “he looks so much better. He just needs a little bit more weight,” she said, to be ready for evaluation and adoption.
On average, rescue organizations spend $1,000 to $1,500 on each horse, from arrival to adoption, for a veterinary exam, special feed, farrier services and more, Billingsley said. Public support and grants are vital.
Adoption fees can range from $100 to $800, with $400 an average for a good riding horse. References are required.
Farrier Randy Harris said financial woes in the economic downturn and increasing social media can be factors in the higher number and higher profile of horse neglect and rescue cases.
“Steph is doing great work here and the other rescue organizations in town,” Harris said. “And you know, a lot of these horses go on to have a great career.
“Horses are pretty forgiving.”
“The horses I’ve seen,” said trainer Fontaine Bowie, “it seems like once they get healthy enough to be seen by the public and be ready for adoption ... they almost pick out who they want. It’s like in their soul, they know they’re going to have a future ahead of them.”
With Athena, “she and Sara Ann have just been a perfect fit,” she said.
Venus was a bit fretful at first, Bowie recalled, but now “she will do anything this child (Ava) asks her to do — walk, trot, canter, she’s jumping little Xs, and I know she’s never jumped in her life.”
At Blue Ribbon Riding Academy in Gluckstadt, Billingsley admired the horses adopted by the Wages for Ava and Sara Ann as the sisters readied them for rides.
She recalled one man’s warning — that she’d find out something was wrong with rescued horses and she wouldn’t be able to find them homes. She brushed that off. “These are nice horses.”
Easy-going Venus, who came through Billingsley’s Carroll County sanctuary, is occasionally used for lessons or camp and does fine with other kids and people, pointed out Marsha Wages, Ava’s and Sara Ann’s mother. “She was starved basically, but she’s just done great. ... It’s amazing to me that they’ll trust people.”
Rescued horses need to be evaluated for previous training; they may have picked up vices from bad training, inexperienced owners or neglect. Trainers also evaluate the best path for horses, based on breed, confirmation and temperament.
Billingsley and Marsha Wages watched the girls ride around the arena, moving from gentle warmup to a more spirited trot and then a few low jumps.
That’s what I wanted for her,” Billingsley said, perhaps recalling the scrawny foal as she looked at the now graceful and grown Athena. “It really is.”