Ettinen
Ettinen (we called him Etti) was rescued from the New Holland auction in the fall of 2001. To see him turn his equisitively shaped head turn toward you, whinnying while tied amongst the broken down amish horses, just melted you.
He was purchased below market meat price by a private party we accompanied to the sale and later placed into our program. This registered 18 month old arab colt arrived at our satellite farm suffering from pneumonia. He was treated by our veterinarian successfully. To see Etti travel across the ground was to see eloquence in motion. We made arrangements with an arab trainer from California, who was willing to volunteer her services to train this beautiful colt.
We did some research, and learned that Ettinen was a registered son of Soho Carol, a national top arabian stallion, and was bred in Florida. We were in contact with a few people, and those who knew Etti before his unfortunate trip to auction were shocked to learn that Etti's had been resold a few times and then almost ended up in a meat truck, especially since he was worth close to $15,000. Our hope was that Etti would have been placed with a trainer who would have made use of his full potential and gave him the promising future that he had so callously been robbed of.
On November 3, 2001 we received a call late in the evening from the manager of the farm, Etti had coliced. We were advised that our regular vet was away, but one of his back-ups had been out, administered banamine, tubed him, lubed him and then left when he appeared more comfortable and had passed manure. We rushed to the facility to find that Etti down, and wracked with cramps and pain. He would get up and then collapse in pain. We got Etti up, kept him moving and called the vet out again. She determined the situation was beyond her capabilities, so we called New England Equine, a top notch surgical facility on the east coast. They would have a team waiting for us. We quickly transported Etti to the medical facility, but unfortunately, this beautiful boy, who had come such a long way in a short period of time, had a major twist in his intestines and we lost him on the operating table.
Ettinen is proof that the slaughter industry does not discriminate and that ANY horse, regardless of age, ability, pedigree and good intentions, can end up being sold for slaughter.
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