Woman Saves Retired Racehorse From Being Shipped To The Slaughter House
When you work with horses, you meet a lot of interesting personalities. This is not only true of other people you may meet along the way, but it's true of the horses as well.
Nobody knows this better than Meaghan Martin. She has been around horses for the majority of her life and was only a teenager when she met Saxy.
According to the News Center Maine, that horse was being trained to race, but she never did very well on the race track. Over the years, she made her owners a few thousand dollars on the track but eventually, was put to pasture as a workhorse.
Martin was familiar with the horse because she was a horse trainer. During that time, she got to know Saxy and a friendship was formed.
When Saxy didn't make it as a racehorse, she was sold to an Amish community. This is a fairly common practice in the United States and the Amish use the horses to pull their buggies and plows.
Unfortunately, Saxy was involved in an accident that left her unable to fulfill her duties. She had been marked for slaughter, but Martin heard about the situation.
By this time, Martin was working in Gray, Maine at the Red Lion Farm. When looking on Facebook, she saw a mare that instantly reminded her of Saxy.
When speaking with a local news station, she said she saw the brand on the horse's neck. It was a number that saved her life.
Kendra Gorham is the owner of Red Lion Farm and a personal friend of Martin. According to the outlet, they both felt that the horse deserved better than to be put in the kill pen, so they split the cost, raised the money, and went to Pennsylvania to bring the horse back.
It took about two days after getting in touch with the community for them to have enough supplies and money to save the horse and allow her to recover from the accident.
People did more than donate money, they donated boots for her feet, brushes, blankets, and more. Martin spoke about their generosity, both in giving money, and things.
It all paid off when they went to Pennsylvania and saw Saxy for themselves. Immediately, the horse wrapped her head around Martin and tears started flowing.
When they brought the horse home, it was obvious that some rehabilitation was necessary. She had a difficult time walking and had worked hard her entire life.
The new protocol was for her to be precise and gentle in all of her movements. She had to learn how to act in such a way, but in the end, everyone got more than what they expected.
You can see more in this video:
You can keep up with Saxy on Instagram, @saxythestandardbred.
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