CountyLine Magazine

Save the Horsesby Cheryl Flanaganphotography by Tammy Harden GallowayGrowing up in the heart of the city of Chicagoin the 1950s, the only horse contact I had wasthe black and white Westerns on the television.Something about the grace and beauty of these animalstugged at my heart. Like many little girls, I askedfor a pony every birthday, every Christmas, every timethe thought of horses crossed my mind. All my beggingfell on deaf ears. I went on with my life, got married,had children and as soon as I could, I bought my kidsa pony! They weren’t as thrilled as I was, but I wasnow fulfilling my dream; I had a pony. My youngest ofthree children actually started to spend more and moretime in the saddle and around the barn. I became a 4Hleader and the District Commissioner of the US PonyClubs. Life was good for me. I had horses and horsefriends. The more I knew about horses, the more I realizedhow much I didn’t know. Wanting a horse forso long, I honored them; they were with me for life. Ifound out more and more and realized that horses arevery misunderstood.I never planned to start a horse rescue organization.I just helped when I saw the opportunity to help andeducated when I had the opportunity to educate. Thekids were the best place to start. They were generallykind and open-minded. It all started with a horsenamed Bee-Bop. He came running into my yard, followedby four children and their mom and dad, all inpursuit of the run-a-way horse. It took a few hours forthem to catch him and when they did, they were tiredand angry and took out their frustration on the poor,frightened horse. I tried to explain to them that kindnessand trust would go a long way, but they were notinterested in listening to me. This happened severaltimes, until I finally offered them money for the horse,and they finally sold him to me. It took me months toearn his trust, but he slowly became my good friend.When I decided that he was ready for a new home, Iran an ad in the local horse newspaper. Two years ofcare and training, and I felt guilty trying to make aprofit on an animal, especially a horse. I soon realizedthat no amount of money could make me sell him tothe wrong home, so I ended up giving him to one of my4H kids for free. It became a philosophy for me.People started telling me about horses that were lameor injured, so I took on the cause to help horses. Irented a large pasture, gathered some volunteer helpers,and brought in horses to rehabilitate them. Thatwas in 1978, when I lived near Tampa Bay Downs RaceTrack in Florida. Horses raced for a few months andwere then sent to another track to race in anotherstate. Horses that were not winning were not sent onat all. They were left behind to be picked up and sentto slaughter. After the initial shock of realizing this horribleway to end a horse’s life, I knew that I had tostop it. I began an anti-slaughter fight by telling anyonewho would listen. I began to take unwanted horsesfrom the race track, injured or not.In 1998, I incorporated to a non-profit horse rescue.Now living in Cumming, this was a great move for the20CountyLine | July 2012 | www.CountyLineMagazine.net