If horses could talk
From the perspective of an Aiderbichler
Over 700 horses have found a new home with us. Many of them were rejected, discarded from breeding stables or taken to the horse slaughterhouse. Often because their performance was no longer good or the veterinary costs were no longer affordable. No use, no performance, not valuable enough – the throwaway society knows what to do. The Gut Aiderbichl team has learnt and now bases its work on the Aiderbichl philosophy: look and help.
Michael Aufhauser spent a lot of time at foal markets, he took in maltreated horses from the circus or from equestrian sports. Stressed and frightened horses’ eyes and the many wounds on their bodies convinced him time and again how important a sanctuary is for animals and how undeniable it is to respect nature and its creatures and not to torture them.
It was man who called the horse to “come closer”. It is man who presumes to consider a horse’s life fit or unfit on the basis of diminishing performance. A life is not given dignity, you have it or you don’t have it. Many foals lose their “young” dignity at the foal markets, where they are taken away from the mare and nobody is interested in how the foal or mare feels after separation.
Mr Ed – loud stomping saved his life
In 2004, Mr Ed was 12 years old and Michael Aufhauser bought him and several other slaughter horses from a dealer. The sad horse truck would have travelled to the horse slaughterhouse in Belgium.
Mr Ed’s rope was kept short, fear was written all over his face, there were many abrasions on his body – nobody really knew what had happened. We learnt that Mr Ed had been running on the trotting track, but unfortunately his hoped-for performance was fading and the rest of his days were numbered.
At Gut Aiderbichl, Mr Ed developed into a dream horse and his best friends were the two mares Indra and Mona Lisa. Mr Ed now lived wonderful years in freedom under the protection of Gut Aiderbichl. At almost 34 years old, he has now shown us that he wants to cross the Rainbow Bridge. In peace and quiet, accompanied by love and many tears, our Mr Ed fell asleep.
A signal against horse transport
There are cave paintings that bear witness to the fact that killing horses was part of everyday life in the Ice Age. From the very beginning, Gut Aiderbichl has taken in slaughter horses with a wide variety of biographies and wants to be a home for them for the rest of their lives. In 2007, Michael Aufhauser bought 21 horses from a Romanian slaughter lorry. We took on a huge responsibility back then, and the horses are still grateful to us for it. After all these years, the former slaughter horses are feeling well and their best human friend has become Edith, the owner of Köllersberger Hof, an outlying farm of Gut Aiderbichl Henndorf.
“I open the stable doors and all eighteen horses follow my voice. They are like children to me. Each of these rescued slaughter horses has a special character. They all have a sad story in common.”
Change happens through listening and dialogue with people who are doing something you don’t think is right.”
– Jane Goodall
Thank you for your wonderful support of the animals at Gut Aiderbichl. May people never stop believing that they can make a difference,
Sincerely,
Gisela
