Natural Horse Magazine - Volume 8, Issue 6 - To the Rescue
TITLE: Why Rescue a PMU?
By Debra Naismith
About 2 years ago I volunteered at United Pegasus. This is a rescue facility for Thoroughbreds, PMU’s and abandoned and neglected horses. My intentions were to assist with care of these horses after rescue. However, after hearing the true story about the PMU drug (for example Premarin) business, I had to get more involved. I was so unaware of the massive slaughter taking place both in Canada and right here in the United States. Did you know that people eat horse meat? Do you know that there actually are thriving horse slaughter houses here in the US?! My experience was overwhelming.
I was cleaning around the facility for most of the day and talking to the other workers. A young Belgian horse was lying down taking a nap at the back of the paddock. I approached her quietly and bent down to pet her. She made no attempt to move and enjoyed my touch. I got up and went on cleaning. I felt a nudge on my back and turned to see the young Belgian. I patted her on the head and went back to work. She followed me around for the rest of the time I was there. I asked the manager of the facility why the Belgian was so friendly. She said she did not know much about her. She really tugged at my heart and became mine. She had picked me. I named her Bailey Anne. She is the light of my life. She was five months old when I adopted her and barely halter broken. I took her home and started my exciting journey. My trainer committed to helping me for one year, but she wasn’t able to help much the first couple months. Here I was with a young horse and I knew nothing about babies. Thank goodness the draft breed is so gentle and kind. I was able to bond with her and started working on her feet and brushing her. She is now 2 years old. What an awesome adventure this has been.
I am a huge advocate of drafts. They are kind and gentle. Although they are very large horses they are not intimidating. They are very logical with challenges as they face them. A spook for a draft might be a small flick of the ear. As an example, we had a large wind storm one day when Bailey was about 9 months old. I was hand walking her down a drive way. The owners of the facility had covered a tree with plastic. The wind picked up the plastic and it blew up behind me and landed on Bailey and myself. She spooked, jumping forward. She was breathing hard but stood firm. My quarter horse would have ended up in another county. I find with their temperament draft horses often evaluate before reacting. Their fear reactions are much less than other breeds.
Now, back to the thought of rescues. Please - RESCUE A HORSE!
How can we let this happen? How can the drug manufacturers do this? I am told these foals are a 'byproduct'. My horse was a 'byproduct', saved from a sure death. These drug manufacturers are responsible for this, while they profit immensely from it.
Do you know that horse meat (including foal meat) is sold in Europe as a delicacy? Do you know that foal hides are called 'pony skins', out of which accessories and garments are made? We allow this? How cruel can we be? I have seen many pictures of these babies, after the auction, exhausted and frightened, overwhelmed from the stress. I have since adopted another PMU. If I could, I would fill my property with all it could hold. Until we can educate all Premarin users about its harms to women and horses, and stop this problem at its source, I strive every day to make people aware of this situation. Please know that this endless 'production' and resulting slaughter needs to be stopped. How can we buy or breed a horse when all of these babies and mares need to be rescued NOW? I cannot. If you are interested in looking into adoption please seewww.unitedpegasus.com and www.hopeforhorses.com. They have several locations around the country and I highly recommend them. Their heart is in the right place. Also visit www.liveandletlive.org. If you are interested in learning more about my journey, visit my website, www.passionhorse.com. I have many pictures of the progress of my babies.
About the author:
Debra Naismith is from Triangle Lake Oregon. She is married to Jeff and has two grown children Rhiannon and Justin. She has 10 horses, 3 dogs and 2 cats. She runs a small rescue for horses with the generous and devoted help of Michele Youssi.
The Horseman
- Weatherford, TX
February 2008
Title: For the Love of the Lost
By: Editor, Christina Childs
From the Editor:
Whenever anyone asks me what the best part of my job is, the answer is simple - the people I meet.
I am always amazed at how many of the people I've mingled with throughout my journalism career have left a lasting impression on me, and this month's cover story was no different.
Debra Naismith, owner of Passion Horse Ranch, to put it simply, is an inpiration. Her overwhelming passion for her equine rescue operation is infectious, and when I caught up with her hilltop ranch, earlier this month, I was taken by her commitment to saving horses left to the merciless doom of slaughter yards.
For the Love of the Lost
Traveling down what seemed like an endless maze of rural highways and seldom utilized county roads, my eyes drifted lazily between wide expanses of winter worn pastures and hardened black-gumbo passes that met the morning horizon. The brittle sound of limestone gravel finding its demise under my truck tires signaled the end of my long drive. I took in the view as the automatic gate at Passion Horse Ranch completed its cycle.
A quaint gray house stood front and center, but its modest appearance was subdued by the electric-blue rooftops of a southern-style barn and an angular riding arena.
Proceeding through the gate, I rolled to a stop amid a myriad of horse trailers, dogs, people and one feisty miniature horse.
The day was clear, with brightness to the sky, but the wind carried a brisk bitterness as it whipped across my face, tormenting the tips of my ears and nose.
In spite of the fact that it was Saturday, ranch owner and animal welfare advocate, Debra Naismith was already hard at work cleaning horse runs, I would soon find out that Debra was no stranger to hard work, and often her day begins long before the proverbial rooster has even contemplated sounding a wake up call.
As I approached, she welcomed me with an enthusiastic wave and a wide smile that seemed to take the edge off the bitter breeze encircling her hilltop haven.
After lengthy introductions with a number of ranch volunteers and a vast herd of rescue horses, I was impressed with Debra’s tangible passion and indisputable drive for her cause.
I traveled to Passion Horse Ranch without expectations. In today’s equine industry, horse slaughter is a hot topic as is the thousands of people and organizations that have stepped up vying for the title of best rescue in the West. A number of groups label themselves with terms like haven, hope and salvation, but unfortunately, in many instances, they are a far cry from credible. It only took me mere minutes to see Debra’s professional, practical approach to saving horses, was the real deal.
“Passion Horse was started in California,” Debra began. “First, I found a rescue there and started working with them.
“I fell in love with the horses and I adopted my first horse, that was the beginning of my journey.”
Day by day, Debra was drawn deeper into the heart of her passion, spending hours working and bonding with animals deemed worthless or pointless to others.
Soon, she began to realize that her efforts were leading her down her own road, and in order to accommodate her growing herd and heart, she would have to relocate. Finding enough land in California to sustain her needs was a tough task at best, and the financial requirements for purchasing a place of her own were nearly impossible to meet.
“I realized that if I really wanted to do this, and follow my passion and expand, I needed to move to a state where I could buy land, California was just too expensive,” Debra said.
Upon arrival, her operation was still very small, an ideal she still keeps close to heart today, only housing a herd she can comfortably maintain financially, but it wasn’t long before things began to grow, thanks in part to a number of corporate pharmaceutical companies and the animals they deemed as byproducts.
Although it would be a rare occurrence for any critter to be turned away from Debra’s sprawling equine utopia, she does focus on a specific form of rescue, PMU, a cause many have heard of, but few have the courage to undertake.
PMU stands for pregnant mare urine, which has been harvested from pregnant mares for use in hormone replacement therapy drugs for women since the 1940’s.
According to Debra, the life of a PMU is far from favorable, and the process of harvesting the needed drug components leaves thousands of animals destined for the death chamber.
“PremarinÆ is a drug used for women going through menopause,” Debra said. “They get the drug from horse urine. What they do is, buy a bunch of horses, mostly draft, heavy horses, and they impregnate them in a random kind of pasture breeding.
“Once the animals are pregnant, they bring them back in and hook them to catheters. They are put in chutes and tied there for usually eight to 10 weeks at a time, while they collect the urine.”
Once the mare foals, she is sent back to the pasture only to be bred again, her offspring, deemed a useless leftover, faces a more immediate, and more often than not, an inevitable fate.
“Once a year, usually in September or October, they hold a round up of all the babies,” Debra explained. “They all go to slaughter. Some are lucky enough to get adopted, but most of the farms are in Canada and the costs incurred with shipping are extremely high for an American who wants to adopt them.”
A cruel process most would agree, but Debra is realistic, despite her desire to save those seemingly lost from inception, she understands the bottom line is business.
“Because these babies are just byproducts, the drug companies aren’t really interested in them,” she said. “They are interested in the product, the drug itself, so tens of thousands of these horses go to slaughter every year.”
Walking through the open pastures of Debra’s ranch brings the seemingly distant, yet desperate situation of these horses home.
As she wanders through the animals munching lazily, she calls each one by name, speaking softly to them, and her compassion is so vivid it tugs at your heart strings, the exchange between human and horse so pure it begs the question, ‘Do these animals understand saving grace?’
There’s Baxter the loud-colored draft cross with a soft eye and sweet disposition, Apollo the brazen young gelding, who carries an unaltered spirit of survival as he gallops across the grass. There’s Maple, a somewhat shy, but kind Clydesdale cross, Dexter, Bentley, Colton, Cisco and more, all beautiful, gracious and forgiving.
To say her efforts come without a price would be naive, each animal lucky enough to find a haven at Passion Horse comes with his or her own price tag and needs.
Currently, Debra maintains 14 rescue animals, and supports the majority, around 85 percent, of the cost by working full time as a credit manager.
“I get some small donations, but I cover the majority of the cost myself,” she said. “Just to feed them it’s about $150 per horse, and that’s just hay and grain.
“That’s not including any special medical expenses or feeding needs, because most of them are starved down when I get them, that’s all extra.”
In addition to the financial responsibilities, it takes time and handwork to keep Passion Horse Ranch running smoothly. A normal day for Debra begins at 4:30 a.m. She begins her rounds feeding, watering and turning out, and in the winter, blanketing all 14 head. Then, she’s off to work. Upon her arrival home, it’s time for training and riding.
But just as with any successful operation, Debra doesn’t go it alone. With the help of her husband Jeff Naismith and a group of more than 30 volunteers, life at Passion Horse is far from exhaustive.
“There is one thing I want to stress, my success is a direct result of my volunteers,” she said. “This is a non-profit organization, we’re not 501(c)3, but we are a grassroots rescue. It is run strictly by my husband, my volunteers and myself.
“The reason we have such success and these animals are so well cared for is because of my volunteers. If not for them, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing; at least not at the level I’m doing it.”
Michele Youssy has worked with Debra for more than two years. One of Debra’s most helpful hands, Michele ensures that evening feeding gets done, and also fills in the gaps for Debra while she’s away at the office.
“She had a dream and I wanted to help her accomplish it,” Michele said. “I love and care about each one of the horses, and I, and my children, get so much out of coming to the ranch.”
For others donating their time, it’s much the same story, and it becomes evident that Debra’s passion is not only contagious, but also pervasive.
“This has changed so much for me,” said Rhiannon McKee, Debra’s daughter. “I never really had an interest in horses, and that has definitely changed.
“The way my mom loves these animals is just amazing and I think that’s the secret to her success. Other people see how much she cares and it makes them want to care, too.”
As the day began to wind down, I asked Debra what kind of toll her calling had taken on her, what were the negatives in the world she had built so firmly on hope?
“I really can’t think of any,” she replied, flashing that same wide smile. “These horses give me so much more than I give them. It’s incredible, they nicker for me, they are happy to see me. In a lot of ways, it’s a silent thank you they give, but I hear it everyday just by seeing how they are.”
Everyone gathered to say goodbye, even the horses seemed to take a break from grazing to acknowledge my departure, after being surrounded by so much positive and compassionate thought, it was almost a brutal hit to head back to the highway, traffic and the rat race of everyday life.
But despite my depressive departure, I felt privileged to have met Debra, a woman with a compassion that was contagious and a dream that was so alive. I felt confident that as long as there’s a need, Debra will find the way. She won’t relent, and all she asks in return is the silent graciousness found in eyes of the animals she loves.
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