Merry Christmas from Fryslan Valley Sport Horses

WHAT IS BEING DONE?

THIS IS A ONE DAY ACCOUNT FROM A RESCUE WORKER AT THE SCENE

by Heidi Rockhold

I first want to start this off by saying that as a human being I cannot imagine any person(s) putting any animal through such a HORRIBLE traumatizing experience. How? Is all I can ask... And even though animals are so resiliant and come back Heidi

health so fast it makes me wonder why or how they ended up at a place like this and with these two HORRIBLE men.

My Day began at 8:00 a.m.

Volunteer Meeting and assignment to Section Leaders and Horses. I was so excited that I actually ended up on the Team with a beautiful mare named Queenie whom I met on Thanksgiving Day. This mare took my heart and I fell in love with her instantly. I have not been able to stop thinking about her since that first day. And if you have had a chance to look at the Channel News 2 video from Sunday, she is the big black and white mare with the green blanket beside me.

My Section: 11 horses and 1 mule - and ironically - most of the horses on the rescue video from the first day are on my team. The horses range from babies to 20 years old. You can just tell that these older horses were someones pet at one time. They craved so much attention, you could see it in their eyes. The younger ones, definitely more tempermental. I assume they had to defend themselves from such a young age and the only contact with humans was abusive.. so the younger ones are harder to handle.

8:00 - 12:00
Clean Stalls - the horses were very good about having human interation actually. This really did surprise me from all the abuse that they have had. One horse, he just wanted to be in your lap.. i absolutely fell in love with him.. cutest ever - One of them, well, SCARED more than anything.. very skitish and just wanted you out of the stall, had to just be slow, and calm.... There was only one horse of the group that was very difficult.. a 2 year old - she charged with mouth wide open and turned on a dime with both back feet right at you... She was a challenge no doubt... but just patience and determination to not let her win was what had to be done... then during the contact time.. you still had to be on ready for you could not relax with her at all.... but what a beauty she is...

During this time i was called to another aisle.. a horse down and could not get up. This is the case with this one and another on a daily basis.. just not enough energy to stand up. I have never had to help with a horse down like this... one that just had no desire to stand on her own legs.. this was very difficult to embrace.. but helping was so rewarding. Three fire hoses and 6 people . . . success. . .and she was up and standing. . . wobbly but up! When I left at 7:30 p.m. she was still standing.

1-2 Bags of shavings per stall - each stall is bedded so well so that these horses with painful hooves and weak bodies have the comfort of cushion on their body at all times.

Clean water buckets and fresh water! We could drink out of these they are so clean.

Hay - an unlimited amount at all times! These horses are getting the opportunity to eat all day.

Sweep aisles and replenish items - the barn is kept super clean at all times... looks more like an upscale boarding facility than a rescue site.

12:00 to 1:00 to 3:00
This was suppose to be lunch. Yeah right, are you kidding me? Like i feel like eating? The next few hours are just the interaction with the horses. Grooming, talking, loving and just trying to help these beautiful animals understand that humans are NOT the enemy.

You know that this was the most rewarding part of my day.... there is nothing more relaxing and mind healing than loving on a horse and just talking to them. I gotta admit, there were many hidden tears shed. Each and every one of these horses absolutely loved this and several of them fell asleep in my arms. There were Vet Tech's, Veterinarians, Massage Therapist and just about any type of horse professional you could think of there today. You should have seen these horses getting her massage. It was amazing to watch.

4:00 to 6:00
This was really exciting for me. The certified Rescue workers leave for about 2 hours each day and go back to the motel rooms for well deserved rest... during this time each leader appoints a new Team Leader to handle all the horses and any situation that may occur.. My Team Leader Paige appointed me.. She was very complimentary about my knowledge and the ability to have leadership skills in any situation. That was an honor.

This again became cleaning time. We picked the stalls all throught the day, making sure they have the cleanest and freshest bedding at all times. They definitely deserve it!

Outdoor pens were being put up during this time. There will finally be a place for them to get out of there stall and walk around. They desperately need this for their legs are starting to stock up. There are several that are feeling so much better that i would not doubt if there was not a buck or too out there as well.

Thank God!

I replenished all the hay for end of day feeding. swept halls again and just made sure that each and every horse was comfortable for the evening.

6:00 to 7:30
Full cleaning of stalls again. Shavings again. interaction and loving on the horses again.. (all day lol) Water, and final evening preperations. Then, I told my girl Queenie goodnight and gave her kisses. Now, come to find out, she is in foal!

7:30 my drive home

I guess after all the adrenaline died down, I realized that I had pushed my body to the highest levels today. Each and every part of my body hurt so bad that it was truly difficult to drive home. The hot water from the shower was painful, but all so worth it.

Isnt it funny that none of that even came to mind during my wonderful day.

There are many wonderful people that I met and will stay in contact with. All the different horses that each have a seperate story stuck in my heart and head. Just know that the day was unbelievably amazing.

Resuce Missions have my heart today, tomorrow and forever!!!

Heidi Rockhold

At the time of press, Heidi Rockhold adopted a beautiful Spotted TWH filly whom she has named Sheena - which means Gift From God.