Autumn

The outlook last winter did not bode well. Early into the fall of 2009, HPS had already seen numerous cases of equine starvation: a dirt lot with 10 starving horses, a backyard with starving horses.... Animal control visits and an occasional round bale appeared but the problem continued. Equine abuse cases are costly, and local governments cannot afford to care for large herds of animals so they desperately try to get owners to comply enough to prevent them from having to seize the animals.

Autumn came from Rowan county. She was in a muddy roundpen in her owner's backyard with a little black mare we have named Truffle. There was no feed. A few sprigs of hay were lying in the mud. The owner of the two horses came out of the house and begged us to take her horses before they died. She was unemployed. Her electricity had been turned off. A relative had dumped her two small children off with her days before. A thin dog was tied to the porch and a puppy whined under the deck. Neighbors have since reported that there had been a third horse but it died in the roundpen back in the summer.

Autumn has now completely recovered from starvation and is being worked under saddle. During her first session, she was a very angry and frightened horse, bucking and kicking on the lunge line. We felt we might have our work cut out for us but by the second session, she was much calmer. By the fourth session, she was quietly walking under saddle and beginning to show wonderful potential.