We received a call from a feedlot owner in February that two new bay Arabian mares had arrived there. The pair, who turned out to be a beautiful mother and daughter, had been run through a low-end California auction together, and both were in deplorable condition. The horsetrader knew the name of the man who had consigned the mares to the auction, and called to see if we could secure their papers, which had not been sent along with them. The horsetrader was told he could purchase the papers for an additional $1,000 each. Once we knew the identity of the breeder/last registered owner, we went to work identifying the mares through the Arabian Horse Registry CD. The older mare was Santina I, a daughter of multiple National Champion Stallion, MS Santana. Santina's mother Kuhaila Bay, was by Bay El Bey, also a National Champion Stallion and Regional Champion English Pleasure Horse. With Santina was her daughter, Viva La Paloma (by Viva Le Bask), a three-quarter sister to the beautiful Scottsdale Top Ten halter filly and Pacific Slopes Champion Mare, Viva La Amour. Viva La Amour (Viva Le Bask x Kuhaila Bay by Bay El Bey) While there are times people unintentionally neglect to send registration papers along with the horses they sell, others purposefully dump their unwanted animals through low-end auctions or killer buyers without them. This is sometimes done to avoid having the horses traced back to them, or to hold out for more money for the registration papers. Unfortunately, placing the horses is often harder if they do not have their registration papers. Given the choice between a papered and an unpapered horse, most people will lean toward the papered one even though they have no plans to breed or show, and there is no difference in quality or soundness. This was the dilemma we faced with Santina and Paloma. While the mares were still at the feedlot and in danger of being shipped to slaughter, we contacted the last owner/breeder of both the mares. We explained the situation they were in, hoping they had unintentionally ended up at the feedlot, and that the previous owner would help us get them to safety. But he already knew where the mares were, confirmed their identity, and was not interested in having them back. After the mares were pulled to safety, we inquired about obtaining their registration papers to facilitate placement. We were told the same story -- that for an additional $1,000 each horse, plus any profit the killer buyer made on the sale of the horses to AHRN, we could obtain the papers. Being a rescue organization, we were not in the financial position to pursue this. Sheila Varian very graciously made a call on our behalf to the previous owner, but he would not reconsider despite the fact that being reunited with their papers would have helped ensure their timely placement in good homes, and that their heritage would remain intact. Jean Marie Diaz of Mountain View, California, graciously put up the money to pull both mares to safety, and is now the proud owner of Viva La Paloma. Santina has a temporary foster home with AHRN volunteer Trish Warr, and has been in training for the past six months with Canyon Creek Ranch in Upland, CA, where Trish works in exchange for her training fees. The AHRN still pays her board every month out of donations until she is trained enough to be placed in a good home. At age fifteen, Santina had been used exclusively as a broodmare and did not even know how to lunge. With no papers and no training, she was doomed to be shipped to slaughter if she had not been pulled. Both she and Paloma now look forward to a whole new career as riding horses and companions.

UPDATE!: Paloma is now owned by Susan Barrett and family (or should I say Susan Barrett and Family are owned by her?)! Along with Paloma, they have become the loving home of another AHRN beauty, Khismet. A big thank you to the Barrett family for giving these two deserving horses homes and new leases on life! They are truly blessed to have you :) Below is a new picture of her:

Arabian Horse Rescue Network P.O. Box 4603 Sunland, CA 91041-4603 Phone: 818-353-9577

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