When I posted on Face book for help to see if anyone could donate unwanted hay for a field of 12 underfed, very hungry horses, several of whom are pregnant, my expectations were low.
I posted that day in February this year, because a week later I was going on holiday for 2 weeks and I was beginning to panic about them going without food if I wasn't around to feed them, or leave them enough.
I posted on Sunday night around 9pm. Within an hour over 20 people had responded. By the next morning it was over 30! In summary each person responded either offering:-
- Support and encouragement to me for trying to help these horses
or
- To donate hay
or
- To donate money for hay
I had one woman living near Leicester offer to fund a local hay supplier to deliver hay! I had another woman offer to drop a bale round at my home. I had offers from horse owners willing to bag up wasted / uneaten hay - which I did then go and collect. Even a hay producer offered a discount on big haylage bales, and a decent delivery rate. Most miraculous of all, I had 4 women all independently contact me offering to give a home to one horse each, if I could get the horses out.
Wow! I was gobsmacked, I began to realise....
It's funny how if you kick start something off, you then suddenly become the Leader on that topic. As people direct messaged me over the next few days with offer of help, I also got lots of questions about the horses, their location, their history, requests to know what my plans were, details of charities I should contact. I quickly felt the growing weight of responsibility. It was suddenly as if these horses were now in the spotlight and so was I. All my doing of course.
Amidst the offers of help, there were some well intentioned warnings to be careful, to stay away, and to avoid getting into any danger with any owners, suspected by most to be Gypsies.
It is true, I had moments of thinking, 'walk away', 'this isn't my problem', 'don't endanger my home, and my own horses etc'. But those, moments were always quickly overshadowed.
How? Simples! Seeing these horses faces, every day, so grateful for food, kindness and help was the only voice I could hear amidst the social media crowd.
Suffice it to say, the ensuing week got a bit weird! The chronology went like this:-
Sunday night I posted on Face book.
Monday afternoon, I had loaded up my car boot with hay to take to the field of 9 and the field of 12. As I approached the field of 12, two blokes with a trailer were there! I hesitated for a brief second, frozen by an inner voice urging me to 'drive on by' versus 'this is your chance to stop and talk to them'. I braked, stopped and wound down the window.
I took the 'be charming' approach which softened the big guy who proudly proclaiming he owned all 12 of the horses. He defensively told me it was 'hard to keep the weight on them in the winter' and I bit my desire to say 'not if you feed them it isn't'!! I told him I was aware the RSPCA had put a number of his horses down. He denied it, and right there I got all I needed in terms of the measure of the man and his honesty! The conversation ended with him saying that he was delivering hay for them right now, in the trailer.
As the traffic behind me was now building up, I excused myself and drove on. Two hours later I returned to check he had delivered the hay. He had NOT. No hay, no food. A 'fob off'. I was mad and pleased I had stopped to talk to him. Now there could be no escaping the sad truth that the welfare of his horses was not his prime concern. So, it will become mine!
Tuesday, I parked up again to deliver the contents of my car - now stuffed like a sausage with hay, kindly donated by a woman near Bucklebury which I had picked up Monday afternoon.
I unloaded on the roadside. I was just done when the guy (owner) from the day before pulled up behind me! I drove off quick sticks, feeling like a naughty school girl caught behind the bike sheds (only I went to an all girls school so make of that what you will)!
Why he came I have no idea, as again he left no hay.
Wednesday, a friend returned with me, as she had volunteered to deliver hay whilst I was on holiday. We were to stash a supply of hay in another field opposite which she could then easily access. Again as we had finished throwing hay over the fence, a pick up pulled up with a big bale of hay on its back!
We drove off again, quick to avoid any awkward conversations about being 'interfering nosey parkers' etc.
Later that day I can't tell you the relief I felt when I drove past again and saw at last a massive bale of hay. Presumably it was the one on the back of the pick up from earlier that day.
Thursday I had one more mission to complete - to collect a massive supply of unwanted hay being donated following my appeal. It was such a great supply - a stable full, that it would keep the herd going after my holiday, till the spring grass came through.
Already feeling like I'd won the lottery, I then had time donated by my yard manager to help me load and collect the hay, plus two other friends. None of them had a vested interest beyond helping horses in need. Everyday Angels were appearing from every corner!
It was an afternoons work to load it all and unload it all again, but it was good hard work with a very satisfying feeling.
Now I could go on holiday, knowing I'd done all I could, I had people watching while I was gone, and I had a good supply of food awaiting my return.
It seems good people are everywhere and maybe good will out weigh bad!
Little did I know the situation had an even happier series of events around the corner...!
 |
| Elderly Mare struggling in the hock deep mud |
I posted that day in February this year, because a week later I was going on holiday for 2 weeks and I was beginning to panic about them going without food if I wasn't around to feed them, or leave them enough.
I posted on Sunday night around 9pm. Within an hour over 20 people had responded. By the next morning it was over 30! In summary each person responded either offering:-
- Support and encouragement to me for trying to help these horses
or
- To donate hay
or
- To donate money for hay
I had one woman living near Leicester offer to fund a local hay supplier to deliver hay! I had another woman offer to drop a bale round at my home. I had offers from horse owners willing to bag up wasted / uneaten hay - which I did then go and collect. Even a hay producer offered a discount on big haylage bales, and a decent delivery rate. Most miraculous of all, I had 4 women all independently contact me offering to give a home to one horse each, if I could get the horses out.
Wow! I was gobsmacked, I began to realise....
There is a God!
There are real living Angels right around the corner!
There is mercy, compassion and a strong sense of humanity in fellow humans
.... just when I was beginning to doubt all of the above!
It's funny how if you kick start something off, you then suddenly become the Leader on that topic. As people direct messaged me over the next few days with offer of help, I also got lots of questions about the horses, their location, their history, requests to know what my plans were, details of charities I should contact. I quickly felt the growing weight of responsibility. It was suddenly as if these horses were now in the spotlight and so was I. All my doing of course.
Amidst the offers of help, there were some well intentioned warnings to be careful, to stay away, and to avoid getting into any danger with any owners, suspected by most to be Gypsies.
It is true, I had moments of thinking, 'walk away', 'this isn't my problem', 'don't endanger my home, and my own horses etc'. But those, moments were always quickly overshadowed.
How? Simples! Seeing these horses faces, every day, so grateful for food, kindness and help was the only voice I could hear amidst the social media crowd.
Suffice it to say, the ensuing week got a bit weird! The chronology went like this:-
Sunday night I posted on Face book.
Monday afternoon, I had loaded up my car boot with hay to take to the field of 9 and the field of 12. As I approached the field of 12, two blokes with a trailer were there! I hesitated for a brief second, frozen by an inner voice urging me to 'drive on by' versus 'this is your chance to stop and talk to them'. I braked, stopped and wound down the window.
I took the 'be charming' approach which softened the big guy who proudly proclaiming he owned all 12 of the horses. He defensively told me it was 'hard to keep the weight on them in the winter' and I bit my desire to say 'not if you feed them it isn't'!! I told him I was aware the RSPCA had put a number of his horses down. He denied it, and right there I got all I needed in terms of the measure of the man and his honesty! The conversation ended with him saying that he was delivering hay for them right now, in the trailer.
As the traffic behind me was now building up, I excused myself and drove on. Two hours later I returned to check he had delivered the hay. He had NOT. No hay, no food. A 'fob off'. I was mad and pleased I had stopped to talk to him. Now there could be no escaping the sad truth that the welfare of his horses was not his prime concern. So, it will become mine!
Tuesday, I parked up again to deliver the contents of my car - now stuffed like a sausage with hay, kindly donated by a woman near Bucklebury which I had picked up Monday afternoon.
I unloaded on the roadside. I was just done when the guy (owner) from the day before pulled up behind me! I drove off quick sticks, feeling like a naughty school girl caught behind the bike sheds (only I went to an all girls school so make of that what you will)!
Why he came I have no idea, as again he left no hay.
Wednesday, a friend returned with me, as she had volunteered to deliver hay whilst I was on holiday. We were to stash a supply of hay in another field opposite which she could then easily access. Again as we had finished throwing hay over the fence, a pick up pulled up with a big bale of hay on its back!
We drove off again, quick to avoid any awkward conversations about being 'interfering nosey parkers' etc.
Later that day I can't tell you the relief I felt when I drove past again and saw at last a massive bale of hay. Presumably it was the one on the back of the pick up from earlier that day.
Thursday I had one more mission to complete - to collect a massive supply of unwanted hay being donated following my appeal. It was such a great supply - a stable full, that it would keep the herd going after my holiday, till the spring grass came through.
Already feeling like I'd won the lottery, I then had time donated by my yard manager to help me load and collect the hay, plus two other friends. None of them had a vested interest beyond helping horses in need. Everyday Angels were appearing from every corner!
It was an afternoons work to load it all and unload it all again, but it was good hard work with a very satisfying feeling.
Now I could go on holiday, knowing I'd done all I could, I had people watching while I was gone, and I had a good supply of food awaiting my return.
It seems good people are everywhere and maybe good will out weigh bad!
Little did I know the situation had an even happier series of events around the corner...!
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