"Scars remind us of where we've been. They don't have to dictate where we're going." ~ unknown
Every soul has a story.
As we've noted elsewhere, for ten years we were involved with the 'Outback Heritage Horse Association Of Western Australia Inc.' (OHHAWA). Thanks to two people by the names of Ian and Wendy from Perth, nine of us got together and formed the charity after the rescue of the Earaheedy Station horses by a very dedicated vet and one of his professional associates - our friend Dr Sheila Greenwell, in 2005. The OHHAWA was a fully registered, donor gift recipient charity (DGR status which means if you donated to it you could get a tax refund). In Australia, this means we were legitimate, legal, and able to be audited.
For ten years Sheila and a dedicated band of volunteer horse professionals, trainers and charity members travelled to various remote areas in outback WA to rescue at risk old bloodline wild horses. You cannot save everything, so we had to restrict the rescues to what we knew, and what the charity could afford to do. Over ten years the charity rescued over 300 horses, some from extremely remote areas, and had a membership in the hundreds. Sheila was on hand for every rescue. The charity formally closed in 2015. These days, Sheila and a few friends still conduct private rescues when they can. And Wadi Farm still provides a home for those that were rescued, when needed.
Over the years we helped rehabilitate, train and rehome (the charity sold horses on to cover rescue costs), a large number of horses. My photo records number in the thousands of images. I still remember every horse that came through our yards. Every one of those horses taught us something.
Every soul has a story. If it's a negative one, you acknowledge it, respect it, but try not to allow it to weigh you or that soul down. If you dwell on the negative, it is very hard to move forward. In the natural world, horses flow through their day. To live is to move forward, flowing through each minute, each hour, each day, each year. Within yourself you should move through your emotions in the same way. All being well.
Some horses, like some people, experience negative episodes - physical or emotional trauma, or accidents from which they do not mentally recover. These horses have sometimes experienced cruelty or mistreatment at the hands of man. They are sometimes confused to the point of shutting down or shutting off because every time they try to respond they are punished or told to 'do it again'. When the confusion or mistreatment/trauma is particularly bad, horses can be forced into a state of 'learned helplessness'. They shut down, because the physical or mental pain/shock becomes too much. Imagine watching a wildebeest caught by lions, who then begin to eat it alive. The animal simply stops and allows the worst to happen. It's an extreme example, but that is the behaviour we are talking about. The animal basically believes that there is no response or no correct response that will save it or allow it to move forward. In the case of ignorant mistreatment or poor training by man, the overwhelming confusion from constant negative responses when the horse is trying to do the right thing, means it shuts down. It's not 'bomb proof'. It's disassociated.
It's a very hard state to recover from. Some horses - like some people - never fully recover. Sometimes recovery depends on the individual or the type of support given. Love and understanding helps, and there are miracle stories out there if you choose to look.
Polyfilla was our little miracle.
No, it wasn’t a great name, but at the time, it suited her.
Polyfilla was the thirteenth horse. She was rescued from a station in drought on the Nullabor in 2006. There were a lot of horses on that station and large numbers were mustered into the yards at a time. Over a period of time, the charity managed to get two or three truckloads of horses off the station. It was a difficult time for the owners. Sheila had room (so she thought) for only twelve horses on one particular truck trip. However due to the small size and poor overall condition of the horses, once the initial twelve had been chosen, there was still a small amount of room left on the young truck driver’s vehicle. The truck driver informed Sheila, who announced that she was "tired of playing Schindler’s List” and that he would have to pick the last horse to save on that trip.
The truck driver looked about the pen. He chose a petite, skinny, plain looking bay filly and they managed to drive her onto the truck. They called her 'Polyfilla', because she filled the gap.
Although 'Poly' was only about two years old, we realised in hindsight that she was a very sensitive horse. She had been extremely traumatised by her experiences on the drought stricken station. Starvation and stress alone can take a great toll on animals. Witnessing death and more can cause further trauma.
When Poly first arrived off the truck at Wadi Farm along with five of the other horses from the station, she was reasonably quiet and calm, but she didn’t trust people. Sheila wasn't sure of her age, at that point, although she knew she was young. Because all the horses were so underweight and undernourished when rescued, what was also hard to establish was if any of the mares were pregnant. By a sheer stroke of fate, we now believe that one of the other mares rescued with Poly was actually her mother, Twiggy, who we still own. Poly clung to Twiggy and fortunately they were rehab'd together. Unfortunately, it turned out that both mares were in foal.
Wadi Farm was set up so that we could safely and calmly funnel rescued wild horses in and out of our yards and round yard. This meant that a number of horses could be moved up into well fenced, reasonably sized paddocks to eat and put on weight, instead of being stuck in the yards. It also meant that one or two horses at a time could be cut out and funnelled back down and into our round yard for training sessions.
Within a fortnight of their arrival, Twiggy foaled. A beautiful, tiny filly who unfortunately contracted tetanus at three months of age and was unable to be saved. We had left Twiggy and her filly to gain strength and unfortunately had not vaccinated either of them against tetanus. Spores of tetanus bacteria are everywhere in the environment. It only takes a small cut or wound for the bug to enter. Indeed, if the wound is large the bleeding out seems to stop it. We think the filly contracted it while teething.
Unfortunately, Poly also had a terrible accident during those first weeks in captivity. Stirred up by a highly strung, also badly traumatised companion, who panicked at the distant sight of a strange person one morning, both horses went over a fence that was too big for Poly. She got badly tangled. Before we could reach her, she pulled herself free. She cut her shoulder and injured one hind leg, the wire cutting deep in to her fetlock.
After managing to gently herd her and her companion back into their run, and then get Poly down into the yards and into a crush, initial vet inspection revealed a nasty wound. We thought she might end up permanently lame, but the gentle Poly was treated every day – sometimes twice a day – learning to walk into a long crush, and her brumby healing ability won through. Four months later she was fully recovered and no longer lame.
During the early stages of her healing, Poly was confined to the yards and treated quietly and gently. Very sadly, one morning we went down to find that she had aborted what appeared to be a four month old foetus. It was a colt. Her age, physical condition and clearly stress and trauma were probably all contributors.
During all of this time, Poly remained shut down. Even when haltered and initial handling begun, if Poly could not run, she simply stopped doing anything. She would just stand still and let people do whatever they liked. Until handling began, we had not realised quite how badly traumatised Poly was. Not just a 'lovely quiet horse' but, in reality, completely dissociated from what was happening around her. She either panicked or switched off, neither state being healthy. Even if stroked, she refused to acknowledge the person or even turn her head towards them. She would just stand there, looking away, or lower her head and simply freeze. If you have ever witnessed this sort of helpless equine behaviour you will understand what it looks like. It's incredibly distressing to witness. Once again, this happens because the horse believes (because of what it's been through), that nothing it can do will save it.
Deciding how to handle Poly was the key. Fortunately she was left with Twiggy, and 'let be' for some considerable time. That helped. Next, handling was kept calm, gentle, reward based, and basic. Lead training, feet picked up, walks, etc. And there was lots and lots of talking and physical contact.
It took Poly many months, but with the almost daily handling (once she had progressed far enough to be ready for handling), one day, this little mare decided to join the world again. I was stroking her and talking to her at liberty in the paddock, and without warning, she turned her head into a caress. I nearly cried.
After making that big decision, Poly's progress was rapid. Her personality emerged. She was curious, and bright. She could say 'no'! She had a sense of humour. She very much enjoyed her food.
The whole process had taken around seven months.
Some time later, Poly's name was changed and she was sold by the charity. Later, she was sold again, and these days she resides with her loving owner in south-west Western Australia. She has matured into a beautiful and much loved mare; sensitive, intelligent and quick to learn, now fully grown and under saddle.
Not all horses who suffer trauma recover as well as Poly did. But it's possible, with the right care, patience and attention. Learning to recognise her behaviour (or lack of it) was a big step for us, all those years ago. We are still grateful to this beautiful soul for all she taught us, because it's helped more horses than she could ever possibly know.
