Testing Day!!

When people tell you that the cheapest part of rescuing a horse is the bail from the kill pen, believe them!! It is astounding how complicated things get when you add in quarantine, shipping, vets, and the meds. Just to make it more complicated, each state has different rules and each vet practice follows different protocols! We are dealing right now with 4 different vet practices and 5 different states. Some are reasonable and some are not. To make rescue more affordable, we really need to get some consistency about dealing with strangles. I had one vet lecture me on the laws about transporting sick horses….but we did nothing wrong. The horses got sick after they came here and they came with a health certificate and a valid coggins! Instead of being commended for saving a horse, they made us to feel like we were criminals- breaking the laws. We have spent almost $10 grand in all these expenses to date for the 12 horses still under our care. This is why many rescues don’t make it more than 3 years. Who can afford this? And donors are wonderful about helping make bail but the donations drop off afterwards for follow up costs. How do we sustain it?

But today is the day to hold breaths, keep fingers crossed, pray or whatever works best for good luck. Its PCR testing day for three of the horses- 1 in RI that will determine if our state mandated quarantine can be lifted, and 2 in MD that will determine if we can get these rescued horses to their new homes. And I feel after several positive tests to date that it is a matter of luck. Strangles evidently does not follow any of those rules that you read about. But this 3 month hiatus has really prevented us from getting horses adopted and moved to their new homes. So if all goes well today, Luna, Pilgrim and Girlfriend will be able to get to their new places; Orchid can be actively promoted and we can start riding off property again…we are all ready to go get some much needed gallop time!!!!