Giving
Horses a Second Chance:
Crosswinds
Equine Rescue, Inc.
Published
Summer 2003 edition, The
Sentinel
Just west of the small town of Villa Grove sits a 100+ year-old farmhouse surrounded by corn and beans. And horses. The small property is actually a non-profit-pending Illinois Corporation, Crosswinds Equine Rescue, Inc. Crosswinds focuses upon taking in at-risk horses…abandoned, abused, neglected, starved, injured or otherwise at risk of going to slaughter. These are brief stories of just a few of the current residents….
First, Laddie is a 2-year-old standardbred filly who is a joy to ride, has bright eyes and a brilliant black coat. Laddie has the potential to have a future as a child’s dressage or hunter/jumper mount. She is bright-eyed, loving, quick to learn, and eager to please. It’s hard to believe that when she was just 6 hours old, her mother died from strangles, and her uncaring owner abandoned her, refusing to pay her bills or take home the little foal. Laddie, as far as he was concerned, could be destroyed.
Next, meet Sandy. Sandy is an adorable, loving, excessively friendly 4-year-old red roan POA pony who is now regularly ridden by her 10-year-old owner, and follows her “mom” around, without lead rope or halter, much like an oversized puppy. It’s hard to believe that, as a 2-year-old, Sandy had never been touched, just left in a field with her mom. And then, one day, humans came, roped her and stuck her with a needle (drawing blood for a Coggins test), and then, days later, drug her onto a horse trailer and dumped her into a stall at the sale barn. Terrified, shaking, thin and wormy, and without any people-skills, little Sandy caught the attention of just one type of buyer…the slaughterhouse buyers. And one other…the staff of Crosswinds.
In contrast to little 10-hand Sandy, meet Memphis Belle. Memphis is a 17+ hand 8-year-old dark sorrel Belgian mare with the gentlest of faces. Memphis arrived at the local Amish sale with an old tendon injury and a terribly damaged left hind hoof. She had a mild limp, and was not of any use as a workhorse. Memphis, like Sandy, drew the attention of just the slaughterhouse buyers, and the Crosswinds Staff. Memphis is now fit and healthy, and is regularly offering kiddy rides to family and friends, carrying beginner riders as if they were made of fine china, as well as doing 4-hour trail rides and showing with her 10-year-old favorite rider in local horse shows.
And, the saddest for now, meet Miata. Miata is a 17+ hand saddlebred gelding. His eyes and head carriage hint that he was someone’s pride and joy once. But his jutting hips, his scared face, his range-rot-ravaged back, his strikingly visible ribs, bring a tear to your eye and make you wonder how such a majestic animal could have come to this. Miata arrived at Crosswinds more than 200 lbs underweight, decimated by mange over most of his face and more than a third of the rest of his body. Flies clung to his tender legs by the hundreds. Range rot still covers a huge expanse of his tender back, even more than a month later.
These are just 4 of the 11 rescues currently housed at Crosswinds. Some, like Laddie and Memphis, are ready to be adopted to new homes. Sandy has a forever home at Crosswinds. And some, like Miata, are a long way from being ready to go to a more normal home as a normal horse again.
Visit http://www.cwer.org or call 217-832-2010 to get to know more about these and other members of the Crosswinds herd, or to find out about adopting one of these great animals!
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CAN YOU HELP?
Crosswinds needs your help! All
sorts of donations and support are always welcomed to help Crosswinds care for
the horses. (With non-profit-pending status, donations to Crosswinds carry
the same tax benefits as donations to the United Way, Goodwill, etc.)