Of all 47 horses, why Duchess??

I thought I'd start this blog by giving everyone the backstory on why I went and rescued Duchess. Well here it goes....

My 1st horse Legacy was born in 2004. After he was weaned I took him to a good friends house to grow up on until we would move to College Station for college. There were other horses for Legacy to interact with but they were all very mean to tiny Legacy and shunned him. Because of this, Legacy started becoming a very unhappy foal that didn't have anybody to play with or grow up with. Watching this was very painful to me so I started to search to find him a companion. It took much convincing of my mom at the time explaining to her why I NEEDED another horse. When she finally realized I was being serious and not trying to make excuses to just try and get another horse for myself, she agreed. I decided to go the adoption route because I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just a friend for Legacy. I found a colt that was the exact age as Legacy and was about to adopt him but he was adopted just before I could get him. It worked out for the better because I noticed a 2 year old Arabian gelding. He was everything I needed for Legacy and I couldn't be anymore happy with him for me because I had always been a huge fan of Arabians. I went to meet him before adopting him and I fell in love instantly, just like I did with Legacy the day he was born. I became good friends with the lady who fostered him and she told me his story. ~ If you would like the details of his story, please contact me.~

Fast forward to 2010...I am now with 4 horses, 3 arabians (2 mares and Pilgrim) and Legacy (my Azteca). I am a member of a forum, Arabian Breeders Network, and I read it almost everyday to keep up on what is going on in the Arabian world. I've tended to avoid the rescue and rehoming section like the plague because it always depresses me since I can't just take in horses in need. Well Friday, July 9th, I for some odd reason decided to check the section out and then of all things read the 47 Arabians to Sheriff's Action topic. I opened it and started reading a bit. Well not far into it, I read the name Audrey Lehrman. My first thought was "Wait a minute....that is just to eerily close to Audrey Ehrman who was Pilgrim's breeder and had sold him JUST PRIOR to him being seized due to starvation. So I scrolled down and noticed a list of Star horses. Well I don't know that group of horses but I don't like how close that name is to the lady who put Pilgrim in such a horrid situation, so I decide to check out the last page of the 45 page topic to see was the latest updates were. God must have been directing me to exactly where I needed to be going because I scrolled up that last page just a little bit and right in front of my eyes was the name Duchess Khemnahar and a picture of a severly skinny chestnut mare. I heart pounded hard out of my chest and tears just burst out. I was staring at Pilgrim's mom going through the EXACT same thing Pilgrim went through just 7 years before. Pilgrim was part of what saved my life after my dad died and has become a soulmate to me. Just thinking about what Pilgrim had been through tears me apart and now I am having to see the horse that brought him into this world and blessed my life, suffer the same fate of his son. Once I regained my composure(well enough to see the screen through my tears) I read on and found that there would be a sheriff's auction the next day. This is when I knew God was telling me something.Why would it be of all days I'd check the Rescue forum to find out about Pilgrim's mom and then be just in time to be able to make it to the auction?

7/10/10

Well after rushing around Friday making sure I'd have a safe, isolated area to bring a very emaciated horse to and getting everything ready for the day, I left at 6:30am Saturday. I arrived in McKinney about 10:15 and made my way into the barn. I was to meet a wonderful lady named Jenny but started walking around first. One of the last stalls I walked by was Duchess's. She wasn't the worst but looked horrible. Her hip bones seemed to protrude more than most, including the ones that were the worst. I found out it was because when they came in from the seizure 3-4 weeks prior, she was the worst one coming in and the workers wondered how she was able to even walk, let alone be alive. Well, the time came for bidding and I had already met a savior of a lady who bought me Duchess so I could spend that money I now didn't have to spend on her bills towards recovery. She works with a rescue and also gave me the ability to give Duchess to her for a permanent home If I for some reason in the future can't give her a permanent home anymore. This lady was an angel that day, saving many of those horses. Duchess was bought for $310 and now able to come home with me. I was so excited to be able to give this wonderful mare a home where she will suffer no more and one day, be reunited with her son.

We finally got home about 10pm and I gave her some alfalfa for the night and took some pictures. These pictures add so much weight. Everyone who sees these pictures and then sees her is a little shocked with how much weight the pictures add.