Real Rescue ?????? Are Talking…
REAL RESCUE ?????? ARE TALKING
LIFE CHANGING INTERVIEWS WITH SAVANNAH
HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!!!
I have a PAWSOME SURPRISE interview for you today!!!
Now, who do you think it could pawsibly be??…hmmmmm…let’s see…how about a couple of hints…
Ok…you may have heard a bit about HER (hint, hint) story exactly one week ago when she celebrated her GOTCHA DAY…
And…she doesn’t eat stinky goodness and she doesn’t like to chase balls or Frisbees…nope…she doesn’t even like chewing antlers or nylabones.
Let me see…oh yeah…she never ever needs her ‘paws’ trimmed…but she does get a very special mani/pedi every few weeks.
GOT IT???
Now, I bet you all already know who my interview guest is…
That’s right!!
VIOLETTE
The Gorgeous Percheron from The Poupounette
Savannah: Hiya Violette! Thanks lots for taking time from your pasture to come have a little whinny and meow with me! I don’t often get to interview another furriend as, ahem…ahhh….well…as big as you!
Violette: Pretty, pretty neighs, Savannah. It is such an enormous honour to be interviewed by you especially as I realize that I am the very first horse you have featured!
Savannah: Well, it is a bit different Violette. I usually do these in my office. But, I really didn’t mind at all having the chance to get out of my house and teleport to visit with you here in your pasture. Thanks for making sure I had a stool to sit on.
Violette: Why of course Savannah, I want you to be comfortable.
Savannah: You have such an important rescue story to share with us Violette. Would you mind offering some neighs and whinnies about how you came live with #1?
Violette: Well, I had already met #1 when I was a very little filly, only four months old, and we had struck up a friendship. I was in a field near her house with my mummy.
Then we were moved somewhere else and I didn’t come back to that field or see #1 again until I was two and a half years old!
Savannah: OMC! That was a long time. I bet #1 was surprised to see a Percheron back in that field after so long. Did she know it was you?
Violette: The way #1 told it to me is like this. She came by the field, sometime around late October 2011, and suddenly saw a horse was back in the field. The first thing she noticed was that I was alone, a sure warning sign for her because she knows that we horses are very social and gregarious, and we should not be put alone in a field if it can be avoided.
You see Savannah, she got worried about my being alone and THEN…she saw I was eating a lot of acorns which are not supposed to be good for horses. The other thing she noticed as the Winter came on, was I rooted around in the thistles a lot and they stuck in my forelock. Eventually, my forelock looked like I had Velcro in it and it would stick straight up and #1 started to call me “Unicorn”.
This time, I was in the field all on my own and it was a very cold winter, by mid-January the temperatures suddenly plummeted to around 5F. Then it snowed. Everything was either frozen or covered in snow. I had no shelter and nothing to eat. My owners didn’t even bother to bring me hay
It was #1 who took care of me, and she eventually broke down and bought me for a song.
Savannah: (reaching over to give Violette a soft paw pat on her cheek) I am so sorry you were left alone and cold and with no food Violette. I bet you were so excited to learn you were going to live with #1!!
Violette: Whicker, whinny…Oh Savannah, I was beside myself with excitement.
On the last afternoon before I became hers, when #1 brought my meal out, I was up at the high end of the field, really close to the entrance to #1’s property. I saw an opening in the hedge and barreled through it, bursting into #1’s garden in a state of major excitement! As I galloped around, #1 was frantically trying to figure out what to do and asked the gypsy guy for help. He turned out to be a real horse-whisperer and managed to catch me, manufacturing a makeshift head collar from some lead ropes #1 had. But not before I had literally gone up to #1’s front door!
After that, I was moved to wonderful accommodations where I lived for nine months, and then last December we (I have a stallion sibling) were moved to different accommodations which are just as nice. My first Gotcha Day was March 12th.
Savannah: You have known #1 since you were a young filly, but I bet you still had some challenges to sort out when it came to really showing her your REAL SELF. Can you whicker or neigh about any challenges that were sort of tough to work through with #1.
Violette: Well Savannah, in a funny way, I was lucky in that my owners ignored me almost totally, so I had little experience with people, which I am told is much better than having bad experiences. The only people who came close to me were #1 and the gypsies who lived next to my field and they were all kind to me.
The fact that I developed a bond with #1 quickly when I was all alone in that field saved me from some terrible things. You see, she would come every day to see me, at first just with carrots and apples. As soon as I would see her, I would rush over to her.
On a couple of occasions, she saw me near the far barrier and I just didn’t move. She thought it was so strange so she came all the way around (a 10 minute walk) and discovered that I was caught in barbed wire. That happened twice and both times, I waited for her and she freed me. My owners thought nothing of leaving bits of barbed wire loose around the fencing.
I trusted #1 to help me get untangled.
But, I did have food-related issues…
I was so hungry all the time that when #1 started bringing me feed, I was a bit rough with her, and even (bows head in shame) bit her a couple of times.
Then, when I was moved to my new home and put in a box, it took weeks for me to understand that I would be fed regularly every day, and even given treats, and I didn’t have to fight for any of it. I now have excellent manners!
Savannah: Well, not to embarrass you Violette, but I bet that being as large as you are…good manners are a must so that #1 doesn’t get hurt!
Violette: Oh yes, that is so right! One important thing to realize is that I am a very big girl. I probably weigh around 1900lb (850kg). That’s a lot bigger than a regular saddle horse. You see, I am a Percheron draft horse. So, it is very important for me to learn proper manners because I can easily hurt people without meaning to. So, when I behaved badly early on, I was always told off so I would learn, and I did.
Oh, and when I was in that field, remember, I was all alone. It is just awful for horses to be left alone. We are real herd animals and we hate solitude. That’s why it was so important to me that #1 came to see me every day. Since I left the field, I have always been with other horses and I just love it. Right now, I am in a herd of about a dozen, and I love making friends!
The lady who did my initial schooling subscribes to the gentle methods, so it was a pretty fun process and I learned quickly. When I first arrived, she thought that I was a bit dim, but when she started working with me, she told #1 that I was very clever, but that nobody had ever bothered to “switch on any of the lights.”
Savannah: How have things changed for you Violette? What do you do now that you did not know how to do before?
Violette: Things could not be more different for me! When #1 got me away from my breeders/previous owners, I had had no care, not even the basics. I had never had any shots, never been wormed, never had my hooves trimmed.
But I am a clever and sensitive girl, they tell me, and I quickly understood that good people would look after me. I was taught to give my feet to the farrier, to load into a van, and have started basic schooling.
I am not scared of much, which is nice, and I love to play and interact with humans! A cousin of mine is a very famous show horse…you can see him on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG4DAZusU_Q) and maybe one day, I can be a little bit like him.
The person who has trained me so far says I already have what it takes to “dance” with my person! I am already worked on the long reins and the next step for me will be to be ridden. I dream of the day when I will carry my #1 on my back. I think we will have many adventures together.
Savannah: I think you have already had a few adventures together Violette. Now, the last question, can you offer any advice to our readers about ways they can help an adult rescue furrAmily member…or how they can support one they may be thinking about bringing into their huFamily?
Violette: I would say “open your heart” when it feels right. When I was all alone in that field last winter, I had no idea what the future held for me. I could even (shudder…) have ended up as horsemeat.
But each time I would see #1 from a distance; I would always come to her, and look where I ended up! Actually, tee hee, when she first bought me, she thought she would have me schooled and then sell me on, but she totally fell in love with me, so she and I are staying together!
Savannah: Well, I am not surprised that #1 wants you to be together! This has been so nice getting to know you Violette. Do you have any last thought or words of wisdom you want to share?
Violette: When people think of rescues, they usually think of moggies and woofies. They don’t often think of pure-breds and even more often don’t think of horses.
But look at me! I have impeccable breeding. My sire is a “national stallion” and you can look up my origins over as many generations as you have time for. But I was still unloved and uncared for. And I know I am far from the only Percheron who could really use rescuing. I hope that many more are even half as lucky as I have been.
Thank you, Savannah, for caring about me and taking the time to interview me. My whole family at The Poupounette and I are very touched.
Well…that ends another fantabulous Life Changing Interview With Savannah…and this time…Real Rescue Horses Are Talking!!!!….
Thank you all for coming around to read my interviews. I know that they are sometimes longer than you have time for…and yet…I am so appreciative that you stay and read until the end. I never, ever edit out text that my interviewees send me…I believe their stories are why you come back.
And Violette illustrates a very important point…as well as Nellie and Nylablue and perhaps others I will interview between now and August. Rescue of adult animals is not restricted to just “non-pure bred” cats, dogs, horses, etc. Adult Animal Rescue in Unrestricted when it come to species.
Savannah's Paw Tracks 