Abandoned by the dressage trainer who had likely neglected her for
many months, she was found in very poor condition. Emaciated, sick,
hungry, and dirty... In desperate need of a temporary and safe home for
her and 14 other horses, the Kentucky businessman who owned them learned
of Leah Marie King, a musician from Canada who had just purchased a
large farm in northern Tennessee. Leah and her husband Mark took them
in, cared for them, and loved them. It's been three months, and now they
are trying to find these horses loving homes.
She looked thin in
her photos, but nothing could prepare me for what I saw when we went to
meet her. I had never seen a starved horse, and I guess I didn't even
realize that she had been neglected. And she's black, so shadows don't
always show so well in photographs. She was sunken in... her hips
protruded out so much. She was so so skinny, and she lacked muscle. I
just wasn't prepared for that... I was a bit shocked. I couldn't even
lift my camera to photograph her. I was frozen, and as we heard her
story, I cried. We spent some time with her and Leah and Mark. This mare
was so so sweet, so quiet and gentle. Much smaller than Paloma, and she
was so affectionate and kind. Despite the neglect and her condition,
her mane and tail were beautiful. And her eyes were kind and bright -
I'm quite sure because of Leah and Mark's evident love for her. At one
point, I braided her long wavy mane, and she seemed to love being
groomed. At the end of our visit, as I said goodbye to her, I took a
chance and scratched inside her ear. Like Paloma, she loved it, and then
she slowly lowered her head and nuzzled my chest. As I walked away
thinking that I'd never see her again, I prayed for her. I truly thought
Michael (my husband) and Martha (my trainer) would think I was crazy to
want to purchase a sick, neglected horse with a medical condition
(especially one which would inhibit her weight gain and recovery). But
they didn't. They both loved her as much as I did... and they thought
she was perfect. Perfect for me.
