Reba – There she stood in the “mini holding pen” with about 25 other mini horses and mini donkeys. She stood off in a far corner away from the others. She was alone, afraid and snot was running out of her nose, her breathing was labored. She spotted us as we walked by the pen, in her shyness she looked towards us, her eyes following us as we walked to the far side and stopped to evaluate who needed us the most.
There were so many in the “holding pen” that day, they were tiny, they were adorable, they were confused, afraid and hungry. Some were laying on the ground, too weak to stand. Others were huddled together, as if to be hiding from anyone to capture them. Some, like Reba, had separated themselves, as if to have given up on life and love.
We walked into the pen and some of the minis greeted us, they were curious, confident, and bold. But not Reba, as we approached her, she turned her head from us, she stepped away, she scurried to the other side of the pen. We knew she would not be chosen by other people who were there that day. She was not one of the adorable – friendly minis who had a spirit that still held hope. Reba had lost her glimmer of hope, her fear had overcome her, and age and past experiences made her tentative, cautious, afraid and no longer “cute” to most.
We set out to convince her that we would not harm her, with kindness in our hearts we approached her, she looked away, but did not run. This was a win – she did not run from us, she trusted us, even if it was just a tad. Her halter was old and frayed, it was knotted at the top because it did not fit her properly. We knew that once back to Peaceful Acres Horses the halter and the number on her hip, the only thing that now gave her an identity within the slaughter pipeline, would be in the dumpster.
She gave into our kindness that day and trusted us enough for us to walk with her out of that pen, through the isles of the dingy, fear-filled barn and into our trailer, her Freedom Ride home to Peaceful Acres Horses.
Reba has now been with us at Peaceful Acres Horses as a Senior Mini since 2016. She is beautiful, loved, treated with kindness and respect. She still holds deep fears and reluctance to trust people, but she has developed confidence, interest and peace, knowing that the volunteers and staff at Peaceful Acres Horses come to love and care for her daily.
If Reba’s story has touched your heart and you would like to help support her feed and care at PAH, please consider becoming a Feed Partner, Care Sponsor or Reba’s Champion Contributor. Through your support of Reba, PAH can keep our promises to her and her lifetime care.
Please consider becoming a supporter at Peaceful Acres Horses, your generosity helps PAH to keep our promises to all our rescues.
Network For Good http://bit.ly/2pDu4oV
Venmo https://venmo.com/u/PeacefulAcresHorses-PeacefulAc
PayPal https://www.paypal.me/PeacefulAcresHorses
Send a check to: Peaceful Acres Horses 3740 Rynex Corners Rd Pattersonville, NY 12137