In March 2002 we decided to go to the auction to see if we could rescue one or two slaughter bound horses. We walked through the pens, wrote down hip numbers of the horses we thought might be in danger. We bought 2 unbranded Mustangs and an older registered Arabian mare, blind in one eye. At about 1:30 a.m. we thought the auction was over and we were on our way to pay for the horses, when this little, very emaciated dun colored gelding was being chased in. He was terrified! We went back in to see what would happen. The bidding started at $100. Nobody was bidding though. The starting bid was lowered to $10. The auctioneer looked at me and I nodded. The next bid came from a known dealer. To this day I don't know why he bid on the horse. The slaughterhouses charge around $65 to "dispose" of a horse in this condition. But the dealer dropped out at $40 and we bought this little horse for $50. So, on 21, March 2002, Legacy came home. I intended to have Legacy euthanized the next day.  I didn't believe he could recover... But our vet was busy with emergencies that day and we were unable to put a halter on Legacy. We decided to wait a few days and work with him. Legacy was very, very sick. He wouldn't eat and had severe diarrhea. We started meds and he seemed to improve. After a few days he let me brush him and put a halter on him. He could stand for hours just to be brushed all over, falling asleep and enjoying every little bit of attention. He also started to love his equine senior and carrots. He showed an interest in the other horses and appeared more alert. And then he colicked. Our vet came out to take care of Legacy. He told us that Legacy's body might be shutting down. But after some Banamine, Legacy felt better. Sunday he seemed to be over the colic. He drank a lot and ate his equine senior. Sadly, when I went outside the next morning, 01 April 2002, I found Legacy dead. There were no signs of a struggle. He looked like he went to sleep and simply did not wake up again. Legacy was with us for only 10 very short days, but he touched me like no other horse before. His willingness to trust and overcome his fears, his determination to survive, his gentleness, his sheer presence...all taken away too soon. I feel honored to have known him and will miss and remember him always. The auctioneer said that Legacy was an old, mean, ex-bucking horse. There was not one mean bone in this boy. Marianne

Name Index

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