Symphony, Happy and Helena
saved from certain death
From the perspective of an Aiderbichler
(written by Gisela Pschenitschnig)
Over 700 horses live on the farms of Gut Aiderbichl. They were rejected, discarded from breeding stables, taken to the horse slaughterhouse, given away because they were no longer able to perform in sport or because the owner could no longer afford the veterinary costs. No use, no performance, not valuable enough.
We took over many of our horses from cattle dealers. This is how Symphonie (around 2 years old, South German coldblood), Happy (around 3 years old, South German coldblood) and Helena (around 3 years old, South German coldblood) came to their protected, safe forever home at Gut Aiderbichl. According to the livestock dealer, they had been “decommissioned” because the breeding stock was to be reduced. We were able to buy the three horses from the cattle dealer.
The fate of horses is everyone's business
There is only approximate information about who tamed, rode or bred the first horses. Bone finds from the Stone Age indicate that horses were kept as pets and as a source of meat. At some point, humans came up with the idea of letting horses carry loads or climbing on them to prepare them.
The relationship between man and horse has always been a special one. For some, horses are companions and friends, for others they are used for sport and leisure. Horses work as back horses in agriculture, perform police duties, are used as riding or carriage horses or earn money in racing.
At the end of their working lives, the horses in Central and Eastern Europe face a journey south, where their lives come to an end. For cost reasons, the horses are transported there in live transporters to be slaughtered. These are agonising journeys in which many horses die due to serious injuries.
Symphonie, Happy and Helena - no more fear, stress or pressure
The horses were unsettled for the first few days, perhaps even a little anxious. They couldn’t understand that Gut Aiderbichl had given them a lifelong home and that their new home was secured forever.
On the wonderful, large pastures of Gut Aiderbichl in France, they have now found many conspecifics, some of whom would have had the same fate: to die because humans had decided so.
This is what happened to Alexandrine, for example, a 26-year-old Polish warmblood. Alexandrine had competed in dressage and show jumping at a show. The placing was not good enough for the owner at the time, the performance had not been good enough. Alexandrine was therefore taken away by the cattle dealer. At the age of six, Alexandrine’s life would have ended – fate would have it otherwise.
Symphonie, Happy and Helena have become happy, carefree horses that do not have to perform. We wish them a long, healthy life.
If you talk to the animals, you get to know them. If you don't talk to them, you don't get to know them. What you don't know, you fear. What you fear, you destroy.
~Burrard Indian, Chief Dan George (1899 – 1981)
In my first years at Gut Aiderbichl, I was afraid of horses. I learnt to read their eyes and to love their warm breath.
Yours sincerely, Gisela
