Not under saddle and without bridle
The Country rehabilitation center in Nizhny Novgorod is rescuing horses that nearly died in slaughter.
For fate the horse MalyshThe story of a horse that was exploited for 20 years on a farm in Afanasovo and then forgotten was followed by all concerned internet users. First, he was abandoned to die under a fence, and after a media frenzy, he was sold to a private owner. Volunteers were able to buy the horse. They named him Brown, so that even his name would not remind him of his former life. Brown had huge, unkempt hooves that he barely walked on, a deep wound in his elbow, and bloody urine due to kidney disease. He was admitted to a rehabilitation center.Country" in the Bogorodsky district, where he slept in a spacious stall (a small covered area for horses) with fresh sawdust, ate good food, and was treated. And yet, soon after, Bury died. The center says he never had a chance, but "at least for the first time in his life, he lived in good conditions and died in care and love."
At the "Country" equine rehabilitation center, residents aren't expected to achieve athletic or show results; they're only looking for a healthy and vibrant life. NeMoskva spoke with Country's managers and volunteers about humane treatment of horses and why confinement to a stall is a bad thing.
Rescued from meat
"Have you ever seen the eyes of horses at the slaughterhouse? They radiate nothing but fear and absolute despair. There is no hope, no spark of happiness and no interest in life." — written in one of the posts of the Country group on VKontakte.
Organizer of the rehabilitation center Ksenia Antonova She knows what she's talking about. Once, at a riding club, she met a "kindred spirit"—a horse named Sonata. She was spirited and difficult to get along with. Ksenia, then still a child, began saving up to buy the horse back, even negotiating with the owners. However, they didn't receive any money from the girl and gave her favorite horse to a stud farm to be bred. Ksenia gave up equestrianism—she didn't want to ride other horses, and she couldn't forgive herself or anyone else for the horse's disappearance. She searched for Sonata, and in every place she visited with hope, she was told the horse had died. Ksenia didn't believe it and searched again. The search took seven years.
"I finally found her at one of the regional clubs. She'd been reduced to a skeleton, tortured by constant skeletal training, and had foaled several times. There was a skeleton in her stall with a lifeless look in her eyes. She didn't recognize me.
I cried; it was painful to realize what the horse had been through. I asked her to bow—she loved that command as a child… Silence, a few seconds of realization, her ears pricked up in my direction, a light in her eyes—Sonya recognized me.“— Ksenia will describe this meeting a little later.
Ksenia bought the horse. A year later, she bought a friend for Sonata, "from the slaughterhouse" in Penza. Then a third rescued horse appeared... It became clear something had to be done; three horses were already a small herd.
"It all started with more than just horses; it all started with the "Sostavaniye NN" (Compassion NN) shelter for homeless animals. It's now the most famous shelter in the Russian Federation. We've had great success rehoming animals, holding lectures and seminars for children and teenagers on spiritual and moral development. At some point, we decided that since we were so successful in helping homeless dogs and cats, we should move forward. So we decided to build a horse rehabilitation center. At first, we planned a small stable for a few of our own animals, but then we realized it would be great to create a large-scale social project." — Ksenia recalls.
Together with her husband Vladimir Groisman They bought a stable and land and placed their first horses there. The couple's first step was to create paddocks (enclosed meadows) so the horses could roam in all but the worst weather—this is a horse's natural habitat. To wait out bad weather, the horses can retreat to a special insulated shelter. They have constant access to hay and water, and their health is cared for as if they were in an expensive sanatorium.
In just over two years, the center's staff and volunteers have rescued more than 20 horses—abandoned, beaten, and maimed—from rental facilities. But the majority, 95 percent, were rescued. Currently, Country houses 15 rescued horses.
"Goodness must be shared"
Fantasia is a large, naturally good-natured horse. She's a heavy draft horse. Her owners used to harness her to a plow and till the land, but then they bought a tractor. They decided they could partially offset the cost of the tractor by selling Fanya, a large horse, for meat. They didn't have time to make her into sausage—Ksenia bought the horse.
"Timid and mentally damaged, she would start breathing heavily at the sight of a person, twitch when touched, closing her eyes, trying to hide... Fantasia's life changed instantly! Fanya turned out to be an incredibly sweet, cautious, and gentle girl. She enjoys human interaction and is very inquisitive." — they describe her transformation in “Country”.
Here she is not harnessed to a plow or beaten, her almost white mane is braided and she is taken to photo shoots.
"We don't use any kind of horse riding at all. We offer exclusively one-on-one lessons with a riding instructor, and our riding itself is unique: we teach the horse to sit in a position that isn't destructive to the horse's body. This is a very important and complex issue. We don't offer off-the-shelf rentals; we are categorically against such exploitation." — Ksenia clarifies. — Our list of services includes excursions, various activities, a volunteer school for those who do not know how to communicate with horses, and horse riding.
Ksenia's team is made up of like-minded individuals who advocate the careful treatment of all animals, excluding any aggression toward them, physical or psychological abuse. The manager and handlers initially "volunteered" for Ksenia, but she later employed them. The title of "ridemaster" is also relative. While traditionally a "ridemaster" is a person who trains a horse, at Country, a ridemaster is rarely a rider; more often, they are a rehabilitation specialist, nutritionist, sociologist, mentor, and friend. Incidentally, everyone on the team is vegetarian.
"Country" is a charitable project, but it "doesn't stand there begging for help." Volodymyr Groysman's business covers the rehabilitation center's basic needs, but management can occasionally announce a request for expensive medical equipment or other unexpected needs. The center makes money by providing paid boarding for other owners' horses, offering tours, and holding seminars—in other words, it has become a fully independent enterprise. What "Country" doesn't make money from is selling rescued horses.
They are placed in safe hands under a contract, with the right to monitor their fate. Most don't even end up at the center—horses bought from slaughterhouses and rescued from cruel conditions are immediately sent to new owners who simply want to keep them and be with them.
Those admitted to the center will undergo long-term rehabilitation, both psychological and physical.
"When a horse comes to us in poor condition, we undergo X-rays and ultrasounds, conduct all the necessary tests, and draw up a conclusion about its health. Then, the stable manager, who is trained in dietetics and many other disciplines, creates a customized diet, and the horses begin massage and exercise. We teach the horse to step correctly, walk correctly, introduce natural hoof trimming every seven to ten days, perform magnetic and physiotherapy, keep the horse moving outside, and provide water treatments. We don't have a pool for the horses yet, but I hope to have one someday." - Ksenia sighs dreamily. Yes, there's a solarium, massage blankets, and we're currently building a safe stall with hanging railings and padded walls to prevent a horse from injuring itself if it's in critical condition. Everything is being done to ensure the horses are comfortable and healthy.
At this point, according to Ksenia, everyone usually exclaims: “If only I could live like this for just one more day!”
When asked if everything is really so smooth and problem-free, the interviewee even seems a bit at a loss:
— And the moral side of the job? We all take the horses' stories hard; it's hard to see their condition, it's hard to imagine what they've been through.
But the work itself, as Country's director says, is a joy: she's surrounded by like-minded people, and the stables are filled with warmth, kindness, and smiles. At first, Ksenia was reluctant to work with volunteers because of the serious condition of some of the residents, but then she realized that "kindness must be shared," and the team developed a multitude of volunteer programs. The main thing is that they manage to change people's attitudes toward horses, and they begin to view horse rentals differently.
"Horses are like mute people"
Charlotte (Shanya) worked at the rental shop for 5-6 hours a day without breaks for rest or food. As soon as one rider's hour was up, another would mount her. The horse developed COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and now requires inhalations or even injections during flare-ups.
Shani's story was told by a center employee. ValeriaHer introduction to horses also occurred at an equestrian school, but over time, she realized she couldn't treat horses the way most athletes, let alone owners of sports clubs, did. As a horse trainer and rehabilitation specialist, she asserts that most equine illnesses stem from the stall—the place where, according to most, a horse should be kept.
"A horse is kept in a stall 24/7. They're only taken out for training for an hour, and the rest of the time they breathe dust and small particles of straw and hay. It all accumulates in their lungs. That's why we constantly water the hay, the horses are always out for a walk, always on the move, and we only bring them into the stable when it's -30." — says Valeria.
She argues that not only stalls are evil, but equestrian sport in general, because the approach to horses there is purely exploitative.
Focus the horse is a favorite of another horse trainer and rehabilitation specialist. AliceHe was rescued from the slaughterhouse, and only a year later did he begin to approach Alice, and two years later, to recognize other center employees. He doesn't approach strangers.
Alisa also started out at a horse riding school and also left due to her aversion to forceful methods of handling horses. Of the seven horses she works with, she saddles only two, and even then, not every day to maintain their muscle tone. Alisa believes that before mounting a horse and feeling like a dashing cowboy, you need to learn the basics of horse psychology; otherwise, communication will fail, and only psychological and physical abuse will result.
"That's exactly what happens in many sports schools: people are too lazy to learn anything about horses, they don't think it's necessary. But how then can a person know if a horse is in pain, that it can't work today? Such important things have to be understood from the horse's movements, from its gestures; a horse is like a mute person." — Alice assures. — And they are all very different: what one can learn, another cannot repeat; they cannot be “all lumped together.”
A horse is completely dependent on humans, and only humans can make it sick or healthy, exhaust it with work, or bring it back to life. To prevent humans from turning a horse into an emaciated creature at will, the Country team began drafting legislation that would make life easier for equine pets.
"A pet horse is any horse that is exploited: rental, farm, or sport. If a horse has been of benefit to a person in the past, it would be wonderful if, in gratitude, they provided it with a comfortable retirement rather than selling it for slaughter. Currently, a horse is a farm animal; we can't even file a complaint for cruelty." — Ksenia worries. — We hope to change the situation at the legislative level. At Country, we're doing everything we can, but on a national scale, it's not enough.
A NeMoskva correspondent decided to find out the opinion of a volunteer animal welfare officer with 20 years of experience and a public animal protection inspector in the Nizhny Novgorod region about Country. Lara SaplinaShe expressed herself briefly:
"Country" is a paradise for horses, I wish there were more of them in every region!
And then there will be far fewer "horse" fates like those of Baby, Charlotte, and Fantasia. Maybe none at all.
Photo: Anna Tyurina
