There are a lot of bumps on the road to Prince George Equine Rescue (PGER).
To get there you have to drive on Bendixon Road almost to the base of Tabor Mountain, and the spring potholes bounce you all the way up to the picturesque farmhouse and barnyards still melting out of winter stasis.
It must have seemed like the road to salvation for a herd of horses seized from a Central Interior horse farm a few weeks ago. They must have seen the redheaded woman in the faded denim jacket and mud-crusted jeans as an angel because she carried the first bales of hay any of them had seen in months.
These 15 horses had been left to paw the snow drifts for frozen ground feed, essentially all winter. Three of them were pregnant and even though they have gained some weight and strength since the North Cariboo SPCA delivered them from their perpetually empty corral feeders, the births will still be risky to both mare and foal.
SPCA Special Const. Chad Bohanan and Debbie Goodine gave the original owners of the horses directions to follow for the welfare of the herd, and time to implement the instructions. After that time, and less than satisfactory compliance, the horses were taken in the SPCA's due course.
The SPCA's Prince George headquarters is well equipped for dogs, cats, rabbits and the like, but where do you put a small platoon of horses? In most Northern B.C. towns there would be no answer to that, but in Prince George there is an equine rescue centre run by that fiesty redhead with the hay, Nicola Redpath, her husband, their two small children, and whatever family members and friends they can rope into helping them out. They have been slowly building up their operation for the past nine years.
"I have seen a lot, but this was something else," said Redpath, her boots clomping on the cement floors of the barns they moved into last year. Cement is a luxury for convenience and cleanliness, as is the large (full!) tack room and the hot water at the sink - all part of PGER's evolution.
At the back of the stables, past the wooden plaque emblazoned with the simple motto "Cowgirl Up," the big alley doors open to the main paddock which is teaming with horses so bedraggled they look like skeletons draped in hairy leather. "We were out at midnight to pick them up, it was cold, we had to do all their first doses of medication in the dark, and there they all were just bones. I started crying.
"Even Rene (Theroux, the PGER's farrier) the tough guy, he has seen it all with horses, and he was getting misty."
When horses are that malnourished they don't have the infrastructure of muscle to hold the weight of their own stomachs. Their spine sags under the strain. When their spine sags, a little well is created along their backline and when rain and snow falls on them, the water pools in a spinal puddle. Bacteria grows in that puddle, and soon it is a rampant affliction called Rain Rot chewing on the suffering horse. All members of this herd had it.
"It's warming up for spring right now but you can see how all these horses still have their winter coats, because they have no body fat, so their bodies hang onto the hair just for basic warmth," Redpath said. "We had two vets work with these guys, and they had an average body score of 1.5 to 2.5 out of 10, according to the vets, which is just before the organs start to shut down."
The costs of keeping livestock at PGER usually reaches into the pocket of Redpath and her family, but this herd's basic feed is being paid by the SPCA. She thinks they should bill the previous owner, in court if necessary, for the rehabilitation.
"Hay is expensive. People are paying $100 for a 1,000-pound round bale, $6 for a small square bale," she said. "Since they have been here, they have gone through 14 square bales and 13 of the big round bales. That doesn't count the ration they are on, the grain. It doesn't take long to add up."
Five of the recovering horses have been adopted out to good homes already, and the other nine are available, as are a number of others on the PGER grounds.
The identity of the horses' previous owner was not disclosed. That will likely only happen if the matter proceeds to court.
REDPATH'S ROAD TO RESCUE
About 2002, the Prince George area's only certified horse rescue centre got started in organic fashion. PGER founder Nicola Redpath bought a cheap horse at an auction to save it from a slaughterhouse fate.
That first impulse became a personal mission and soon she had a collection of rescued horses so big she and her family had to leave their hobby farm in Beaverly for a 160-acre spread in Pineview. They needed more barns, corrals, and especially a giant hay field to supply the rescued critters with food.
It isn't just horses anymore, although there are plenty of them. Redpath also has goats, llamas, alpacas and even one cow she plucked from a life of suffering. More arrive every week, usually referred from someone who knows of PGER when they learn of a horse in distress.
"The latest one shipped in this week from Victoria. It used to be a track pacer, but it has a bit of arthritis and it was slated for euthanization," said Redpath. "I'll keep it here and try to adopt it out to someone who will love it."
Redpath has her limits. She caps the intake of horses at about 40 per year. Last year she also took in a dozen alpacas.
"The cost to us [her and her family] is about $25,000 a year in hay alone," she said. "I can't thank Rene [Theroux of Rene's Farrier Service] enough for the amazing deal he cuts for me to take care of their feet. We get the odd donation of leftover hay or bags of feed but mostly we have to pay for it out of our own pockets. My husband and I both have to work extra jobs to cover it. And that takes time away from looking after the horses and the farm."
PGER is well known in the local horse community, but awareness is not widespread in the general public. Redpath and her supporters (and horses) will take part in this year's May Day Parade to help turn that around.
FOR A HORSE OF COURSE
The horse rescue operation is making a bid to stay out of red ink. An online auction is underway to raise money for Prince George Equine Rescue. Items are up for bid already, new items are being donated every day, and the bidding closes at 5 p.m. on May 10. It is the first fundraiser PGER has ever held. Go to www.pgequinerescue.com to see the items and place your bids.
