Under One Roof

Jill had had the pleasure of riding the old guy in his younger years, for many of them, and she hadn't had to pay any of the bills.

But the owner of the horse had a sweet deal too, because Jill was the only long term rider for him that improved him to such a degree, while paying him sweet attention, and never charged a penny. And, she never drugged him, or lied, stole or took advantage of his owner either. She sincerely and deeply cared for the individual equine partner, and he could always relax around her. It was a special trust. Regardless of his impending relocations, she knew he would always recognize their bond, as she would. They were special friends. And, she'd worked up a bond like that with their little buddy too...

Jill thought it was cute that the chocolate roan pony and the dapple grey mare who usually had pasture board where brought in because of the stormy weather and shared a stall. He was so tiny, and the stalls were so big. There was only the one available. And, the mare was his mom anyway! Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuute.

What Jill couldn't get out of her mind however, was the not so cute worry that her little buddy and the old guy had ALSO had to share quarters because of intense storm flooding in the show horse's stall. Her little buddy did pick on the old guy sometimes and even when he didn't he EXHAUSTED the old thoroughbred with over herding and stall/paddock walking.

The old guy just looked so exhausted when she said her farewell, and he did have a new scrape above his half-closed left eye...The little guy had a bit of a rainrot rash happening in the girth area so she didn't bother putting a saddle on him, just taking him out for a bare back ride.

For repeatedly abandoned horses with unpaid board bills, she thought they actually seemed okay. At least they weren't on the auction block for the meat market. Yet. Jill really feared that was what was coming... she was unable to pay their bills, despite wishing to.

Jill heard about the the official plan from a blacksmith, rather than directly. It was that they were going back to a previous home. A stable that Jill did not like and she knew it was mutual. The farm owners of her equine friend's intended new/old home would bad mouth her to the ends of the earth. And she would take the fall for all the weight loss and tender feet - the horse owner would not learn the error of her shortsighted, high stress ways. All this, to the detriment of Jill's beloved ponies...

She wanted to point out that the new/old place that had charged for floating the old guy's teeth every six months when they hadn't done it for two years. And she wanted to stress that the old guy actually, currently, needed his teeth floated, as confirmed by but not done at the last vet visit. They had weight problems there in the past as well, but the horse owner had stated her intention and was refusing Jill's input... Besides, what options could she suggest? The woman would not budge on the individual turn out thing.

And, as bad as it seemed, it was better than leaving them where they were. They WERE underweight and out too much, including poor individual. And, if the bills weren't paid, Jill knew the stable had the right to sell the horses at auction, and how inhumane the auctions were. Jill shuddered to think how sick the transportation to the slaughterhouse could be. And she had seen the CBC footage about the indecency of the slaughterhouse kill floor procedures. She could not bear to think that for her sweet bay pals.