Winston

Early on in Peaceful Acres Horses’ journey of saving slaughter bound horses we were contacted about two handsome Quarter Horses who were owned by a kill buyer and needed to be saved. At the time, 2008, we were rebuilding our indoor arena that had collapsed under the weight of a 3 foot snowstorm in Upstate NY. I was emailing with a woman who was looking for rescue organizations to save several horses from the pen when my building contractor came into the office to ask me a question. He saw that I was obviously upset and asked me what was going on – other than my barn being collapsed! I told him I was trying to raise bail money to save two Quarter Horses from shipping to slaughter and he just about fell to the ground! He was a big guy who was brought to tears learning about the fate of the horses in the pen. Within a few minutes I had their bail money – yup my building contractor gave me his credit card on the spot! Thank you Charlie, you are a lifesaver! 

The next day I was off to the kill pen with Charlie’s girlfriend to save Charlie’s Charm aka CC and Winston. Upon arrival the horses were packed into pens with little food and all were depressed, their heads held low – they had lost hope. Many of the horses were suffering from respiratory illnesses, including Winston and CC. We loaded CC and Winston on our trailer and began our nearly 3 hour trip home to Pattersonville, NY. In the morning our veterinarian was at the farm and so was Charlie and our crew of builders – the tough guys now in tears and amazement of how two handsome horses could be tagged for slaughter. Another teaching moment, you just never know who becomes an advocate for at risk and slaughter bound equines.

After several days of treatment for respiratory illness and fevers both Winston and CC were feeling better and looking better too and their journey to healing had begun. It did not take long for CC to steal the heart of one of our caregivers and she made a commitment to him to become his forever guardian. Winston stayed on with us and became one of our very best emotional support equines working with veterans, youth, women surpassing a cancer diagnosis and seniors. Winston is now in his late 20s and has navicular disease that is progressive but is under control through excellent farrier care – thank you Brandon and veterinary care – thank you Dr. Julia of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Saratoga Springs. I do believe I could write a book about Winston’s journey with us here and I would need to share some chapters written by other people who have been offered his emotional support and kindness. He is one of our old timers who has made an impact on the lives of people who care for him, a reciprocal relationship of care and compassion.

Please – consider Winston as your chosen equine to Sponsor!