These three special horses are permanent residents of The Grand Illusion Horse Rescue. They will stay with us for the rest of their lives, either because they have severe limitations which make them unadoptable or because we cannot bear to part with them — or both.
Oaka
Sadly, Oaka passed on April 4, 2011 from likely congestive heart failure. We miss you sweet courageous one.
Oaka came to the Rescue in October 2005 after 22 years as a PMU mare. Her story is an amazing one. Oaka had been on the PMU lines in Ontario, Canada where she was kept pregnant every year of her life to produce estrogen-concentrated urine for use in menopause medication. She was confined to a small standing stall from September to May with little to no turnout. Oaka had endured this life for over two decades until she was discarded to slaughter because she was believed to be too old to conceive (or so the PMU farmer thought).
When Oaka came to the Rescue, she was thin and had an enormous gash in her side from the transport from Canada. She was terrified of people and would not let us near her to clean the gash – so we hosed her down from a distance. Oaka did not lead and she had grossly overgrown hooves. We soon found that Oaka’s distended abdomen was not from worms – but from a healthy pregnancy. Oaka gave birth to a beautiful colt that spring who we named Hickory — another strong tree like an Oak.
Soon after Oaka foaled out, she began to lose her sight. Try as we did, we were unable to stop the progression of her uveitis which darkened her world. By 2007, Oaka was completely blind. The beautiful thing was, that by this time, she had learned to trust us and to follow our voices for direction. We determined that Oaka needed a pasture buddy, and in late fall 2007, we purchased Lidia Mae, a weanling Percheron filly to be Oaka’s companion and her eyes. Oaka and Lidia are pictured together above. What you cannot see in this picture is Lidia’s bell. The sound of the bell is what Oaka follows to find her hay, her water, and her best friend Lidia. Read an anonymous poem that beautifully describes Oaka’s life with Lidia.
Winne
Winne is a genuine American classic: a wild mustang from the West. We adopted Winne from the BLM’s Wild Mustang and Burro Adoption Program as a weanling colt in 2005. He is named after the town where he was captured – Winnemucca, Nevada. Winne is an amazing animal. He is calm, surefooted and robust. We will start Winne under saddle this spring. There has been much coverage in the press lately about the plight of the American mustang. We, at the Grand Illusion Horse Rescue, encourage anyone looking for a calm, loyal trail or pleasure horse to consider adopting from the BLM. It will be the best $125 you will ever spend!
Dapple
Dapple is such a sweet, sweet burro, you would never guess that when she is hungry she lets out a bray that shakes the barn roof! Just ask our neighbors – a mile away. We adopted Dapple as a yearling jenny from the BLM’s Wild Mustang and Burro Adoption Program in 2008. Dapple is named after Sancho Panza’s donkey in Don Quixote. She is our “watch donkey” and will let us know not only when she is hungry, but also when a visitor has arrived, a mare is foaling, or when a dog has run too close to the horses’ fencing. Again, the best $125 we have ever spent!
Shepherd Farm 