We were grooming Sangria in her stall at Teri HallÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s barn at her property a few miles outside of Charleston. This was on my first morning at TeriÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s place. She was teaching me about basic care for horses. I was trying not to get too much in the way while I just enjoyed being around a horse.
It really made me feel like a kid, but this was work.
Teri was showing me how to use special gloves to loosen up the dirt clinging to a horseÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s skin.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œYou can go right down to the bony areas on the legs with those gloves,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ she said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s where they get bug bit.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
And horses have a hard time scratching ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥“no fingers or thumbs.
Teri told me that this kind of care was important and not just for keeping the horse clean.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s also a kind of bonding,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Teri said.
Horses need people and for centuries, people needed horses. They were our farming engines and means of travel for so long in our history, but we donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t rely on them like we did. Farming with horses is still done, but not to the same scale as it was 100 or 200 years ago.
Few still use horses as a primary means of travel ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” the Amish and maybe a couple of hipsters in Brooklyn.
Largely, we keep horses as pets, but having horses requires a lot more work and responsibility than having a goldfish or a dog, and not everyone can handle it.
TeriÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s horses, Sangria and Margarita, were rescued through Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue. Teri didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t say much about SangriaÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s previous owners, just told me about how sheÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™d been found.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œShe was tied to a trampoline with no food and no water,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Teri told me. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThere was a horse, dead and under a tarp next to her.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
That was probably MargaritaÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s father.
Teri didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t say whether she knew how the horse under the tarp died, but Sangria was starving. Nobody knew she was pregnant until she started getting enough to eat.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThe weight all went to her belly,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Teri said.
A veterinarian did an ultrasound and discovered Margarita, who was born early, small and a little fragile.
They both had a good home now. TeriÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s been a volunteer and fostered horses through Heart of Phoenix for years. The group was started about 15 years ago by Tinia Creamer.
Tinia grew up a ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œhorse girlÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ in Lincoln County. She fell out of raising and riding horses after she moved away but came back to it after a tragic fire claimed members of her family. Equine rescue became kind of a hobby and then an all-consuming part of her life after she discovered there were a lot of horses in crisis and not a lot of help for them.
After plans for the weekend had sort of fallen through, I called Tinia and talked to her about equine rescue in West Virginia, which seemed weird. West Virginia doesnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t seem like a state with a big horse culture.
ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s the kind of state where if youÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re driving around and you see a horse or two standing in a field, you might announce to the rest of the car or no one in particular, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œhorse.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
At least, I do that.
Tinia didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t disagree with me. West Virginia has farms and even horse farms. People ride here, but itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s not like Kentucky or Texas where horse culture is more ingrained.
However, it could be argued that West Virginia, along with Kentucky, Texas and a whole bunch of other states have a horse problem.
Tinia said, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re probably best known for our work with feral horses.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Yes, thatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a thing, apparently.
Trinia said there are hundreds of feral horses around the state, which is an improvement. There used to be thousands.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œBut that was back when the market for horses had really just evaporated,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ she said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThere were people out there willing to give you a horse for free.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
The market has improved, which means there are fewer horses being abandoned.
Horses, Tinia explained, arenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t wild. TheyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve been a companion species for mankind for millennia, like dogs, like cats.
And perhaps more than dogs or cats, horses need people.
Horses are thoroughly domesticated, and while they can manage to live out in the wild, there is no reverting back to whatever wild stock they originally came from.
Feral horses can survive in the mountains. They can even thrive, but itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s not going to last.
Trinia said horses usually end up in the wild after a horse owner runs into trouble with managing a horse.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIt will be too much for them,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ she said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIt can be an economic problem. They canÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t afford to care for them or it could be that they donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t know how to handle the horse.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Maybe someone canÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t control or doesnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t get along with the horse. Rather than seeking training for the horse, training for themselves or both, theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ll give up and turn the horse out somewhere.
A popular place to dump unwanted animals has been reclaimed surface mining sites.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThese are places where the soil has been removed,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ she said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWhat grows there usually isnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t too nutritious.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Still, horses can sometimes manage to do OK on the land ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” at least, through the summer, but as it gets colder and the edible vegetation disappears, the horses go hungry. Some of them starve to death in the cold.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve seen some horrific things,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Tinia said.
Still, feral horses can survive in the wild, form herds and even breed with other feral horses. Viewing these animals has become a tourist attraction in some parts of the region, which Tinia called misguided.
Feral horses arenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t safe. Ungelded, untrained stallions are aggressive and potentially violent.
Heart of Phoenix takes in some of these horses with the hopes of rehabilitating them. They bring them to their compound in Lesage, West Virginia, where the animals are assessed. They figure out what the horses need and whether they can be trained and conditioned to be around people.
Heart of Phoenix does take in other horses, but Tinia said theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re selective. Animals move in and out of their facility all the time, but they still only have so much space.
Often, horses come to them injured, ill or just too weak. Veterinarians euthanize these horses and Heart of Phoenix disposes of the remains.
None of this is easy or cheap. As a non-profit organization, money is always something they worry about, but Tinia said they rely on volunteers who work for nothing or next to nothing.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œYou donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t even have to be a horse person,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ she said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s whatever you can do. Like, if you can edit video, that kind of thing helps us, too.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
But yes, donations are always appreciated.
Tinia said they get by on small donations from an army of supporters and the occasional grant.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWhatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s hardest for us is weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re like a lot of other non-profit organizations,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ she said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re all trying to raise funds to do the things we think we need to do, but there are a lot of organizations out there trying to do the same thing ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥“raise funds for their missions.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a lot of work and effort, but theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve been fortunate, so far.
People like horses.
