Paula reorients herself
A Noriker mare puts her crown in position
From the perspective of Gut Aiderbichl
(written by Gisela Pschenitschnig)
Hundreds of horses have been stabled at Gut Aiderbichl in the past years found their forever home. The last stop of many rescued horses would have been would have been some slaughterhouse in the east or south of Europe.. Horses are still being transported there: crammed togetheroo crammed together, not enough drinking water, standing in the van for miserable hours until they finally get out to meet the last person in their lives: the slaughterer. Close your eyesn, and try to feel....
Paula was only 6 months old - the butcher in Italy was already waiting for her
On April 20 of this year, the Noriker mare Paula will be 24 years old. As fate would have it, the path of the young foal crossed with the founder of Gut Aiderbichl, Michael Aufhauser. From that moment on, the life light was green.
As far as the so-called horses for slaughter are concerned, not much has changed. Michael Aufhauser always said, "Try to educate people. Try to feel what a horse suffers when it has to go on the slaughter truck. If you feel goose bumps and cold during these experiments, then that is only a very small part of how a horse feels. If you can pass on this horrible sensation to people, then perhaps the horse's last journey to the slaughterhouse will be half an inch shorter. People need to rethink ...". These words have been with me for many years - they still make me freeze.
Horses for slaughter, for example, spend up to 60 hours in the transporter from Poland to France. Many horses do not even make it through the long journey, are trampled by the others and die. Among them are young, healthy horses.
How do horses feel when they have the long, torturous journey ahead of them? Numerous studies have shown that the confinement, the spatial constriction, noise, vibration, etc. extremely stress the horses at the transporter. As a result, the immune system is negatively affected, and in addition to the physical problems, there are also psychological problems, great exhaustion and, in extreme cases, death. Can the legal requirement of 8 hours driving time on the cattle transport help?
Foals are born to die, when the breeding standards are not coherent. If the foal does not meet the idealicht, it is rejects. The next step is the Auction. Here the foals are the foals are separated from the mother, the foal belongs to the cattle dealer and then to the horse slaughterhouse.
Paula is now getting on in years, and was allowed to start her retirement
Paula had become a "granny" in the horse stable where she had spent the last years. She has arthritis in her hip, pain in her legs, her self-esteem was at its lowest. The laws of nature are very harsh: the horses in Paula's group showed her that she was weak and sick. She no longer dared to go to the feed trough or watering trough and withdrew.
The owner did not want to watch this scenario any longer and with a heavy heart she asked Dieter Ehrengruber to take in her Paula. She has been here for three weeks now.
In our so-called B-stable (calming stable) live horses that enjoy the peace and quiet and stresslessness. Paula is still very cautious, she does not push herself to the fore. Lisa, her groom, describes Paula as extremely sensitive, cautious and also fearful. But, every day you notice how she develops courage in her new environment. And soon the pasture is opened ... what could be better for horses than to roam the pastures?
Paula is a lady
Lisa still wanted to spare Paula, and allows her an area where she can be for herself. A few days ago she gave the signal: I also want to go out to the paddock. She only goes to the hayrack when "certain" horses are not there.
Nevertheless: no horse is mean or bitchy to Paula. But, as in the life of us humans, she has to create a position for herself in her horse group.
Sensitive and reserved, Paula sticks to Lisa, the horse manager. She trusts her and already shows what she wants and what not. The crönchen will in a few weeks likedPaula will get all the support she needs from Lisa.
Let's wish Paula that she will quickly become happy in her new environment.
Sincerely, Yours Gisela
We cannot change the wind, but we can set the sails differently.
~ Aristotle
