Denise Hall: Stables with deep empathy for people
Living in a city, this was my first introduction to horses and I was entranced by these huge hairy creatures.
I would follow the cart on its slow progress from street to street and while the carter went about collecting broken furniture, old mattresses and other unwanted bits and pieces, I would take the opportunity of stroking the strong neck of a patiently waiting horse and feeding them bits of bread and apple.
In Ireland the Celtic Tiger resulted in many people making unwise investments and in some cases, horses of all types were purchased by people who didn’t always know much about a horse’s needs or who had much real interest in the species.
Breeding of low value foals was one of the results, as was investment in race and sports horses who, when they failed to live up to expectations or suffered injuries, were sometimes callously abandoned in remote areas to fend for themselves.
The papers have been depressingly full of stories — especially in the winter — of horses lying dead in fields or emaciated and wounded before they were finally rescued by overstretched animal welfare organisations, who are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the growing numbers of unwanted equines.
Mindless cruelty has sometimes been a distressing factor in these unfortunate animals’ fate too. Horses shot and left to suffer, horses set on fire and in one dreadful case, a horse that was deliberately run over several times by a car.
It’s hard to imagine what darkness drives such horrendous acts but for all these incidents, it has to be remembered that there are legions of caring people who work tirelessly to rescue these unfortunate animals.
Holly’s Horse Haven, based in Omeath, County Louth, is one such organisation. And they have evolved a unique formula that involves helping horses who in turn, go on to help people who are also in need.
Elaine and Joe Duffy gradually found themselves custodians of abandoned horses and some marginalised people.
Holly’s Horse Haven provides refuge and renewal in a variety of ways and although they had little initial experience, the couple’s genuine empathy and compassion soon resulted in their being embraced by the ISPCA, the HSE and the National Lottery for the unique service they provide.
Elaine told me how this journey came about.
Well, it began with Holly, a beautiful animal who was bred in Kentucky. USA and whose grandsire was the famous Nijinsky. She went to Newmarket in the UK as a broodmare and was eventually sold to Waterford here in Ireland.
But after 18 years the economic downturn and the collapse of the partnership who owned her, Holly was destined for the factory. We’d heard about her and Joe who has a farming background and knew horses said we’d take her. She arrived at our place on a freezing day in December, with her foal.
We’d done up up an old cow byre and soon the stables had taken shape. But getting Holly and her foal Rosie into their new accommodation was a different matter. When Joe went into the field to feed them, Holly came at him like a wild mustang, up on her hind legs roaring and howling. But Joe didn’t give up and stood his ground.
He remembered his uncle Tommy using the same technique with a stallion and eventually, Holly wore herself out and she was eating out of Joe’s hand. The pair were soon in their warm stables but it was a long time before they would let anyone but Joe come near them.
No, I’d had no experience. I’d grown up in a town, in a three-story Victorian house and I’d always wanted a horse. When I was little, I was always asking my mother why I couldn’t have a horse.
It turned out that Holly was pregnant and she gave birth to a foal and we were on our way. Then we had a call from a friend who said a woman had contacted him saying she’d heard a terrible noise, a screaming, coming from the side of the mountain.
It turned out that someone had tied up a little donkey with no food or water in the driving sleet and rain. He was only too glad to follow them to the horse box and when the vet examined him he discovered that the head collar was embedded into his skin and had to be surgically removed.
Today King Alfred is one of the most popular and loved residents at the Haven. And so the rescue centre began to evolve.
A man who had heard about what we were doing arrived at our place one day and asked us if we would consider working with a group of young men who were in a recovery programme for drugs and alcohol abuse.
There were eight of them and we agreed but I remember hoping that God was with us. since those early days we’ve had training in caring for people with special needs.
We had a good talk with the lads, told them that we weren’t going to patronise them but we expected them to treat the horses as they wanted to be treated . It was a roller coaster ride, but we taught them stable management and how to cook and it worked out really well.
Then later we were approached by HSE who wanted to know if we could do the same thing with people who had special needs.
So then we had horses with special needs and some very special helpers and we soon realised that people with special needs also needed to care for others.
One young girl with autism who had never spoken amazed her father when they were on the way to the Haven by suddenly telling to her father that they had to stop to buy carrots for the horse.
No money could buy you the joy something like that brings.
* www.hollyshorsehaven.com
