~Mission Impossible~

.Early in June I received an e-mail from my good friend Simrat from Akkal Ranch in Oregon, asking me if WHF could help save and re-home a 20 yrs old SPMustang mare and her 12 yrs old son. She said she would take the third horse who is the castrated sire, the head of the little family. My initial response was to say yes, especially when I found out that the mare was a daughter of my beloved foundation stallion Anasazi. I had to do a reality check, because the horses were nearly 1600 miles away up in Washington state, and WHF already was running full capacity with the 5 rescues we have done within the year. I had a bad year, off   disability and no job in sight. I was truly distraught, because I have rescued so many other horses and now here is this lovely mare, who is kin and I can't save her from a horrid and uncetain fate? The owner considered handing the little family over to the  Rodeo Association for "re-homing". One does not need too much imagination to figure out that they could easily end up at the local kill pen in Washington. Rodeo and livestock folks don't usually keep old horses, or have much respect for Mustangs for other than bucking stock. I was torn up over the whole issue and in tears one afternoon, when my young rider, and friend, 18 yrs old Maida came over. All of a sudden she said, "....we can do it...I'll do it!" I was looking at her, beaming with confidence and excitement, and I blurted out how?? She had a million ideas for fundraiser and going to the local farmer's market  to set up a table for donations. I had no heart to dampen her enthusiasm, especially since it was getting contagious. Before I realized, I was saying, well there is a small rescue fund for Spanish Mustangs, called the Lido Fund, you could start there. The rest is almost history; Maida was consumed with planning and having millions more ideas, stopping by daily keeping my spirit up and slipping peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, to keep me going helping with chores. All of a sudden my whole outlook brightened.....because I must confess I was down in the dumps. I have experienced hard times before, however never as bad as this. I had no money coming in at all, I applied for temp. unemployment and I still haven't gotten the benefit, and I had 11 Mustangs to feed, a cat with an eye injury, and not much response from putting out repeated pleas for help. I understood that these were hard times financially, yet I could not help feeling disappointed and let down. Maybe it was a crazy idea to try launching a 501C3 right in the middle of a recession? When you have a "DREAM" with a double good mission, it is hard to give up. Saving Mustangs and helping children and the youth to redeem themselves and find a purpose for a brighter future! What could possibly be bigger then that? All of a sudden here it was right in front of me that my philosophy was working, the Mustangs in need were coming to me and the young people too. I realized that this was my opportunity to test my "FAITH" and all of a sudden the world was a better place!

 Simrat Khalsa Photo

Stay tunned for part II.......the account of the "Mission Impossible"