Tick Tok - A Buffalo Moon Press Rescue Short Story
52 hours was the time they took to decide to sell you due to no fault of your own. You heard whispers that you were being sold because a family member was dying from cancer and that you were so amazing that your price would pay for treatment. You had hopes to be a horse for another family until you heard the word auction ring in your ears.
48 hours you spent with your family before you headed to auction. They loved all over you, said their goodbyes and hoped against hope that another awesome family would come to know you. You were purchased from the same auction to begin with 13 years ago, so you believed and hoped that you would come home to an amazing family again.
36 hours away by trailer is what is between you and the processing center for slaughterbound horses. Your family carefully kissed you on the nose, braided your trail and made you the prettiest mare they had ever seen. You absorbed all the tears from your family and you stood strong loving them in their grief, trying to comfort their decision. You are thinking you will be ok.
24 hours from now is the auction. Who is there, no one knows. Your family takes care of the paperwork, gets their auction fees straightened out. You feel the sting of the needle for something called “Rapid Coggins”. The vet said you were a great horse when they pulled the blood sample. He took your temperature and created a health certificate based on the old coggins. The vet leaves and says, “I’m sorry you have to make this decision: this situation is so hard. She is one of the best horses I have ever known. She is so healthy and never had any issues... I hope to see her again. She will bring a great price!”
12 hours you were at the auction lot. Your family loved you but did not know the auction process and placed no reserve on you. You wanted to strut your stuff, spin, turn, one hand neck rein and shine like a diamond. But the auctioneer called you into the auction ring as a loose horse. Your family couldn’t watch as you tried to be the best horse and well behaved you could be in the ring.
8 minutes is what it took for you to sell for less than $400 to someone you didn’t know. The auctioneer rallied for you and called “MAX BIDS, get your max bids in..this one is a nice one you all. Neck reins and good handle. She does ride like the wind with no buck, bite, rear or kick. I’ve seen her in playdays around here.”
12 hours goes by and you are being loaded onto a huge livestock trailer. You are in there with so many other horses but you're not packed in. You are getting afraid but are trying to stay calm.You have no idea where you are going. You have an accident that causes multiple deep puncture wounds to your flank. You leg is seriously bloodied and injured. You have had water and some hay, but those wounds start to fester. You are tired from all the travelling but you have to convince yourself to stay strong. You grow hungrier, more tired and exhausted. Your new horse friends with you start to feel the same way.
36 hours later you arrive at the border processing location. You stood there, got processed, and a giant green X was marked on your back that declared you were meat. You were scared but quiet and did everything your handler asked of you. Your wounds are now infected, your life is on the line, you remain calm and are worried and upset about what happens next. The others with you are being loaded forward. You see a nice man who appears to be the vet. He looks you over-- checks some boxes and looks at your wounds. You flinch because they hurt and are now draining puss. The Doc Looks at you and says very loudly “REJECT...put that horse back on the trailer from where it came.”
24 hours before I left is the phone call I took from the rescue to tell me there was an emergency rescue. No details at this time. I jumped into action clearing my plate of anything in front of me. I was told she was in jeopardy of dying, blood was running down her legs. Her pictures were sent.
36 hours was what it felt like for me because I couldn’t sleep that night when I was to pick this emergency rescue mare the next morning. I knew it was bad but I didn’t know how bad. I flipped and flopped tossed and turned and got little to no sleep. The rescue chose me for my experience and availability, my trailer and my compassionate way of travel for horses who are in dire need on the brink of death. The most precious cargo with the chances of perishing in transit was my next “assignment.”
48 hours and through the night you came back on the same trailer that took you there. You are exhausted, tired and barely able to stand up during your journey. Your wounds worsening. Standing with the roaring of traffic all the back from where you came. Your life is flashing before your eyes but yet you are a fighter to the end. You remember how clean you were before you left and now there is a huge X on your back. You have been losing weight rapidly due to stress and long transit times.
36 minutes she stands with you after she puts this brand new halter on your head. You feel safe. Her hands are soft and she tells you “We love you Baby Girl” stay strong. You hear her talking to a few people about her infected wounds that are dripping by now. You are drinking water and eating hay standing in your pen. She says to you, “Girl everything is gonna be alright”. She inspects you all over, rubs her gentle hands down your back and continues to love on you. You feel safe, you feel for the first time that things will get better. She stays with you a long time while the details are squared away. She is taking videos of your deep wounds, your back leg and is noting what else needs treatment. The rescue cowgirl transport girl continues to hug you around your neck and starts to cry. She pulls herself together and gets a lead rope because she has to transport you. You hope to God and pray you are not going far. You don't know if you can stand any longer.
48 minutes to go in a blinding rain storm through East Texas after you trusted your rescue human and got back into the trailer,and you are on your way somewhere. She checked on you every 50 miles gave you water, hay love and kisses. She was scared to death you would get down in her rescue trailer. You started to perk up. Your eyes got brighter and your mood lifted. Never has your rescue transport been so happy the speed limits are 75 in Texas. The tension in your rescue transport’s gut as she travelled with this precious cargo grew and grew as her worry welled up as tears in her eyes hoping she would make it. Your rescue,compared to a life flight, told herself, “Stay together, don’t cry Cowgirl, you can cry later.”
52 seconds is all it took to open the trailer door and You collapsed from exhaustion. We all panic. You just couldn’t do it any longer. You were done. 52 hours is also the time you spent on a trailer in the last 3 days. And only the last 4 had love, food, water and hay. The love in the air filled with the panic was a cacophony of mixed emotions. And with almost the last breathe in your world, you use every last bit of strength when your rescue cowgirl transport girl asks you to get up. The trailer is huge and you have plenty of room. Cheering from outside the trailer now.. 3 of us encourage you to stand. You stand with the last bit of strength you have…….and you are safe, you are home and you will be loved. You are now what your rescue transport calls a forever heart on the map.
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