Answering the Call to Rescue

Oct 1
3 min read

By Dawn Robyn

Founder, Rosemary Farm Sanctuary

Sitting at the auction, clutching my coffee, surrounded by people laughing at the ‘show', I was profoundly confused. The horses being paraded on the floor were nervous, many were absolutely terrified at the wall of humans looking down, and the strangers yelling and making them move, to show their ‘promise’. The screams from the back were the horses already sold, and separated, calls in desperation. I was determined to wait for a colt I had met when walking around in the back… a thin bay colt, with a black mane, white highlights, absolutely quiet. He came in alone, and was intelligent enough to be very afraid. He was handsome, would surely sell to a good family, but after watching sales for two hours, I was having doubts. The friend who had left already, cautioned me, ‘don’t buy anything!’. The auction number clutched in my hand, wet with nervous sweat. I knew better than to buy a horse! After all, what did I know? I loved horses, in theory, from books and some lessons, but now I heard that many were selling to slaughter. That was hard to believe, horses were the ‘gold’ of my childhood. But were some really in danger? Were some in need of help?

I watched, and waited. I saw many horses sell to the dealers and I knew they had a few days of life. There seemed to be no one intercepting any. They were without hope. I had come to the auction to see for myself, and now I knew.

As it wound down, I wondered if somehow, I had missed the colt. Then, the workers pulled some tall gates that swung down, forming a large cage around the doors where the horses emerged from. Something different was happening, something more dangerous. The door swung open and out came a bay colt, running for a few steps before turning in a circle, and looking for escape. It was the one I was watching for. The auctioneer began his patter, “Great prospect here, train him like you want him…just $300… bidder bidder bidder!” He scanned for a wave, or a nod. When the colt slowed, someone waved at him to move him again, “Look at him, bargain of the night, just $100!” The audience was bored. I watched with fear, fear for him, fear of what it meant… As he circled I hoped, still, that someone would help him. Someone else. “Just $50 bucks takes him home!!!” The opening price dropped again…. “We are giving him away!!! FIVE BUCKS gets this great colt!!!”

And still nothing. I watched, holding a drink that cost more… Where was the person to help?

I held up my hand with hesitation. “You want the colt?” The auctioneer zeroed in on me. “Um, what will happen to him if….?”, my question petered out..

“You want the colt?” “Um I don’t have a halter…”

“You want the colt?!?”… Did I have the courage to ACT beyond just dreaming? Could I be the person who helped? Did I have the courage?

It was my day to say yes.

“OK!” I said.

“SOLD!!!” The auctioneer declared, and the colt was mine. For five bucks.

What followed was an act of intentional leaping, the willful disregard for ‘logic’, fast learning, trusting one’s instinct, and finding those to help.

What followed was the formation of a horse sanctuary, now the largest sanctuary in the NE, that welcomes horses in need, and protects them for life.

What followed was Rosemary Farm Sanctuary. And the colt, now named Finn, is the herd leader.

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