Past Memories

As many of you may have read about 4 weeks ago I was beside myself trying to find where I had stored all of the rescue horse photos pre 2010. I had searched every hard drive in every computer and external I could find but they were lost. Well today I spent about 2 hours working on my book and stumbled across a file which was unnamed.. I cried tears of relief and joy to have found hundreds of photos that I thought I had lost forever... I’m writing a book on horse rescue and really needed some of those photos so the happiness I felt can’t even be expressed in this blog! It really did make my day.. Needless to say the 2 hours I spent on my book included looking through old photos and reminiscing rather than actually writing any words but it brought back some amazing memories.

Now im sure that everyone who has had horses throughout their life has had just one special horse who changed their life right? I have had hundreds of horses come through SAHA.. I can’t remember the exact figure but it’s between 600 and 700. For me there is one special mare that truly did change my life. She was the reason I started rescuing and the reason why I’m still doing it today.

I rescued Gypsy along with a 3 year old Appaloosa colt from the Narrandera sale yards in 1994 when I was 13 years old for $75. God my grandmother who was raising me thought I was crazy but I used my own money to buy them and care for them. I ended up riding the little Appaloosa colt to high school and tethered him in the vacant block across from the school. He was a gem but i couldn’t afford to geld him so ended up giving him to a horseman who could. He went on to be an awesome kids pony club horse. The beautiful Pally mare became my life and she helped me through many hard times. After moving to the Gold Coast when I was 14 I gave her to a friend to care for and a year later i moved Gypsy to the Gold Coast with me. Sadly after a few years someone stole Gypsy from her paddock and I dedicated my life to finding her. I did find her but she had been put to sleep only 3 months before I found her due to age and failing arthritis joints. I was at peace knowing she was loved in her final years. Rescuing Gypsy started something in me that I haven’t been able to turn off and knowing how many horses get abused and neglected each year made me more determined to at least try to make a difference. Even now I have photos of this special mare in my house and my “never give up” attitude comes from her.

At SAHA we have a purpose, a goal and a dedicated amazing team who work around the clock for no reward other than seeing these horses come into care a complete mess, and then head back out to a new home a different horse. That is the reward we get, the reward in our hearts that we have made a difference ~ not a huge world changing difference to society as a whole, but a world changing difference to one life at a time.

Im not a religious person, nor do I believe in heaven as such but I do believe that this special horse along with all of the others we have lost over the past 13 years are looking down on all of the SAHA team and the horses currently in our care.. Whether its true or not, its a beautiful thought. ~ Amanda Vella