In August 2012, photos of horses in need of rescue were leaked on Facebook, and Aimee was immediately obsessed with saving them. Countless hours later, the photos had been networked to thousands of people and the local authorities were drowning in equestrian complaints, demanding that the horses be seized.
Late evening on August 18th, 2012, their work paid off. Horse rescuers were granted a seizure order to take the horses to safety. 11 hours later all horses were being reintroduced to food in a safe location while a vet assessed them and countless news crews recorded videos of their initial recovery moments. The smallest, frailest horse was a few-month -old foal with a determined mother. The mare weighed only 604 pounds, barely 55% of the weight she should have been. Both were covered in extremely severe rain rot, which was causing secondary infections as well. Their recovery was doubted due to likely organ damage, infection that had entered the blood stream, and several other less severe ailments that risked their long-term prognosis.
Both the mare and foal stole Aimee’s heart from the moment she saw their photos, so when the vet declared they needed to relocate to the closest foster available, Aimee knew they were coming home with her. Two years, thousands of dollars, and an extreme number of tears later both horses made a complete recovery. They were fed every hour for the first several weeks. Veterinary visits were multiple times per week. Farrier care was a long, slow process. ‘It was a nightmare,’ Aimee says.
Every moment was worth it. The mare and foal lived. In 2015, Aimee’s 7-year-old daughter entered a show pen for the first time with the mare, who responded best to the name “Lady”. She had chosen Aimee’s daughter as her favorite, and from the time the mare was confident at a walk, trot, and canter, she carried the young child everywhere. Their first season of showing was in a set of lead line contesting classes. 8 classes per show and 6 shows per season were required. The pair took home countless ribbons, mostly blue, and earned the high point title for the season. This year they entered a new circuit and went home with reserve high point champion in their age division. This was achieved by earning points all around, from halter and showmanship classes to western pleasure, contesting, and more.
Never in Aimee’s life have I seen such a loving, kind mare. She has gone on to be an incredible show horse, confident trail horse, and fantastic therapy horse for mentally and physically disable children as well as beginner riders. Aimee says ‘Truly, I never could have known how blessed we would be by this little mare. Our family loves Lady more than words can say. We look forward to starting her (now 5-year-old) foal under saddle and hope to work her towards a successful show career as well.’