The hardest part of welcoming a rescue is not knowing what happened before they entered our lives. Oakley’s story is heart wrenching. We don’t know everything, yet her body reveals unthinkable trauma. She came from Louisiana- apparently, she was sold to a someone running a “rescue” as a well-broke mare, heavily in foal. The videos of her at this “rescue” are horrifying. The abuse captured on short Facebook reels is cruelty beyond measure. After several weeks of neglect and beating, Oakley landed at a cattle auction and somehow found herself in a stock trailer with two stallions to be dumped, yet again, at an auction in Oklahoma. Derek Poling hauled Oakley and Elsa to safety at New Life Equine Rescue.
After days on a trailer and in transport from one slaughter auction to the next and finally all the way up to Illinois, sweet Oakley arrived in our lives. She was broken, confused, overwhelmed and no longer in foal. Somewhere between Louisiana and Oklahoma, she had been struck with a large glass jug and knocked out cold. The facial nerve damage and broken nasal bone is lasting reminder of these horrific acts.
Oakley was a broodmare for most of her life. Her back and saggy underside reveal that she has carried many foals. Unfortunately, her last foal didn’t make it. The one she could have had in peace was lost in transport. She came to us leaking, swollen and sore. We loved on her. Our vets came. She had her teeth done. She went on a course of antibiotics. My children patiently hand-fed her. Jodi reintroduced a halter and lead rope, reassuring her that being led out means fresh grass and play time. Slowly, she started to heal.
Today she is a companion to our little red mare. Her eyes sparkle when my kids run down to feed her and scratch her floppy ear. She is sweet, shiny and so very affectionate. She loves her grain and her fly mask. Yes, she still has moments when she forgets that she is safe, but she is kind, gentle and working so hard to trust. When I groom Oakley and watch the hair grow back over her scares, shedding out the dull evidence of neglect, I try to swallow my anger. I am grateful that she is safe. I am in awe of her perseverance. I am forced to accept that I cannot change the past, but I can shower her with kisses and look forward to each new day!
