Big hearts save gentle giants

By Marty Metzger
Correspondent

"Shilo, when I was young, I used to call your name. When no one else would come, Shilo you always came, and you'd stay..."

Unlike the Shilo in those old Neil Diamond lyrics, Amber Herrell's Shiloh wasn't imaginary and couldn't stay very long. But many others now can because of Shiloh.

One winter day in 2000, Herrell felt compelled to peruse the Centennial Livestock Auction yards. The day's sale had ended, but a large, pinto draft mare waiting alone in an out-pen caught her eye and heart.

Herrell's hopes that a private owner would come for the horse faded when she saw the same buyer number on many nearby horses. The man who eventually arrived to claim them did so with a large, already overloaded livestock trailer. Herrell asked what he intended to do with all the horses. When his reply more than hinted at slaughter, she bought the mare on the spot.

Herrell named her Shiloh, traced her past and worked to assure the animal a bright future. But it was not to be. Just one year later, five days after being started under saddle, the 5-year-old Belgian cross, a former PMU mare, died from colic. (Pregnant mare urine is used in the manufacture of the menopause drug Premarin(r).)

Although Herrell's Shiloh Acres was named to honor her beloved horse, another draft rescued in July 2004 served as its impetus. The enormous Percheron that she dubbed Moose had suffered a severe hip injury serving as a New York City carriage horse. The long auction circuit journey westward for the retired horse ended not at the slaughterhouse but with Herrell, who bought the gelding from a kill buyer. A combination of traditional medical treatment and acupuncture granted the white horse a year of quality life. Far from worthless, Moose served an important role as a much-loved pasture ornament.

"Moose was one of the most amazing animals I have ever known," said Herrell, who found it necessary to have the horse humanely euthanized last July.

The same month Herrell bought Moose, Lauren Tipton and husband, Tyson, moved to Fort Collins from California. A few months later, Herrell and Tipton met in a vet tech class at Front Range Community College, became friends and within two weeks co-rescued a draft horse mare heading to slaughter via auction.

Tipton's Ahimsa Ranch Animal Rescue now harbors between 25 to 35 at-risk horses at any given time, as well as other animals, including Hurricane Katrina dogs and cats. Ahimsa, Hindu for noninjury, gives some equines permanent sanctuary, while others are offered to qualified adopters. Many of these slaughter-bound horses, primarily drafts, are shipped to loving homes in California, where the gentle giants aren't as ubiquitous as in Colorado.

Many draft horses are former PMU mares or their by-product foals. Most PMU mares are rarely handled, and generally have never been trained to saddle. Their slaughter-bound offspring usually aren't halter-broke.

Tipton and Herrell buy equines from auctions and directly from kill buyers' feedlots. However, they can manage only a relatively small number on their two acreages. So, computer technology assists the women in rescues that would otherwise be limited by their tangible space. They can match a qualified adopter to a feedlot horse via online photo and description in time to spare the animal from death.

Tipton said that, contrary to some rescues' perception of kill buyers as "the evil enemy," she and Herrell each have established an amiable relationship with several local feedlot owners. They find them to be reasonable men willing to hold back from shipment some horses that can eventually be found a home. Without this cooperation, many more horses would die, she said.

One such situation involved a horse with strangles that Tipton was unable to immediately take. To avoid exposing her young horses to the disease, the feedlot owner kept the animal on his property for quite a while to spare its life, and he even medicated it himself.

"There's a common misconception about what types of horses go to slaughter," said Tipton. "Locally, everything from weanlings to trained geldings to pregnant mares to kids' horses end up at the kill buyers' feedlot."

The rescues' adoption fees vary. Pasture companions can be had for as little as $100 to $300. Riding horses command a higher fee. "Medical treatment and farrier care, as well as the price paid to rescue the horse, usually far exceed the adoption fee," said Tipton. "We always seek the best home for each animal. That's more important than recouping expenses."

Herrell's and Tipton's rescues, both currently private, receive no funding other than donations. Supplies, tack, feed and volunteers ("even just to pet a horse," explained Tipton) are always welcomed.

When no one else would come ... Amber Herrell and Lauren Tipton showed up to rescue horses that would otherwise endure a terrible fate.

More information about Shiloh Acres can be found at www.shilohacres.org, or by calling Herrell at 218-6351. For Ahimsa Ranch Animal Rescue, call Tipton at 214-5201 or 568-4077.