At the end of August we took a trip to Mount George near Wingham in NSW to collect 6 horses. These girls were the victims of very sad circumstances.
Their owner (who lived alone and remote) had passed away almost 2 years ago. Two of the girls have foals at foot who are long since overdue for weaning. They have been a very tight family unit for sometime now. Left to their own devices for a lengthy period we were not sure what to expect with relation to catching and handling. On arrival Saturday morning we unloaded and setup the yard panels and loading race.
The weather was miserable. We headed up to the top of the property and located the horses. They came running to our calls and the sound of the car. Luckily enough there was an old set of timber bush yards the owner had constructed many years ago. They were still reasonably functional. So, we simply walked into the yards and threw hay around. The horses just followed. One of the mares had a halter hanging around her neck which had obviously been there for some time. I just reached up gently as she followed me and took hold of it. She led along into the yard with me and stood quietly eating the hay. One by one the mares and foals followed us into yards. The gates were closed calmly and each of the older mares were haltered relatively easily. Not bad for 2 yrs without handling! At that point it absolutely flogged down. We took shelter for about 10 minutes until it passed and then fed and watered the girls and left them for the night.
The next morning in the pouring rain we were greeted by calls from the girls as we arrived. They were then caught and led (with foals in tow) to the bottom of the property and into the waiting round yard. Several downpours later…. The truck arrived. Only two of the mares were daunted by the ramp but the entire exercise was relatively simple. THEN, down came the rain again. The truck got bogged and we had to winch it out with one of the cars. Truck and horses slowly inched out onto the road!!
The yards were packed up in the rain and loaded back onto the trailer. Everyone was completely soaked. It was so good to get into some dry clothes. But it wasn’t over yet. We had to now get moving and get ahead of the truck to “unload” and construct the race again! Finally the girls arrived to their new paddock fully equipped with more feed and fresh water to help them settle in. The loading race was again dismantled and packed back onto the trailer for the last time.
The girls have settled in well but have a long way to go to regain full health. Their feet were in a terrible state. Teeth may never have been done and they were long overdue for worming. Since arriving we have had feet and worming done and are now waiting for the dentist.
We need your help to get these girls on the right track.
Koda