Grace's Story

Im not sure how many of you have heard the story of how I came to know Grace and what she and her mother were put through before I knew them. Now today I finally feel that I can tell that story after hearing the view from the other side. Today I met the two wonderful women who volunteered their time and their resources take in Grace, her mother, and many other horses who were beyond neglect. I feel that without these two women Grace may never have even come to be.

Grace's dam, Encore, was a member of a group of twenty eight horses seized for being grossly underweight (some even have been described to me as "dangerously thin", "near death", etc). Every horse was presented to the county Animal Control, including 3 month pregnant Encore. Luckily Encore as well as 3 other horses managed to be of fine weight. While AC kept the approx. 7 stallions, most of the horses were fostered out to homes in the area. Encore and a small group of others went to a woman who volunteered for AC.

I met one mare today who had been a body condition score of 1.2 at the time of seizure...she looks fantastic, especially for a 20 year old! I finally got to see the pictures of many horses at the time of seizure and found out the truth about their condition. These horses were beyond emaciated and these two woman helped as many as they could, most horses returned to perfect condition, a few where too far gone.

Grace and all but two of the surviving horses were returned to their original owner in early summer of 2005. I had been taking riding lessons from this woman and soon Grace became my favorite. I started her undersaddle that summer and owned her by Christmas.

After years of hearing the bitter, untrue side of the story, I met the woman who took care of Grace and saw where she was born. It was such a relief to know that Grace was raised on such a beautiful farm, and I thank Odette so much for taking care of Grace the best she could possibly have taken care of her and helping to make in into the amazing horse she is now. Now, Im so excited to finally be able to share these pictures of Grace.