Nadia in 2011
Nadia’s backstory as a rescue horse is harrowing, and it’s pretty fair to say that it’s lucky she made it to SAFE alive. She was part of a huge Animal Control seizure back in 2010 involving 18 equines and 55 canines, who were discovered living in filthy conditions. At the time of this seizure, SAFE only had room to take on two of the horses, and the rest were placed by the animal control agency. Well, most of the rest…two horses were not placed in the time frame allowed by the county and in November 2010, they were taken to the Enumclaw Sales Pavilion and run through the auction. Nadia was one of these horses. She was purchased by a kill buyer and scheduled to be shipped to slaughter. Fortunately, SAFE found out about this before it was too late, and despite our policy to not rescue from the kill pen, we chose to make an exception for Nadia.
Nadia went straight to our vet’s clinic for assessment and quarantine since she spent nearly a week at the auction facility. She was examined and received vaccinations, fecal and blood testing, and had her teeth floated and her hooves trimmed. At that point, we didn’t know if she had been ridden, but she was very sweet and easy to handle, despite being nervous in a strange new environment. We were contacted by her former owner, who said she was a 12 year old purebred Arabian who was cart-trained and had been used in parades. Not being inclined to just take someone’s word for it, we started Nadia into training a few months later.
Nadia under saddle
Initially, Nadia was a challenge to work with. She quickly became very herdbound to another mare, and would scream for her friend and ignore her trainer when they were separated. Backing her was difficult because in her worked up state, she would pin her ears, buck, and try to bite her trainer. Because we wanted to take things slow and positive with this mare, she ended up being saddled and backed in a foaling stall. This time, she was relaxed and the trainer was able to get on and ride her in small circles in the stall. Within a few weeks, Nadia was improving under saddle when given the chance to freely move forward. She was very green, but it was obvious she had some training in the past. She also proved to have a great whoa on her. After another 30 days of training, Nadia had learned to be a proper arena horse with more than just two speeds (i.e., “dead run” and “whoa”). She learned how to give to the bit and we no longer saw the grouchiness she’d displayed during her first few rides.
After five months as a SAFE horse, Nadia found her forever home with Amanda and her 10 year old daughter, Zoe, who was starting 4‑H. What followed was nothing less than a fairy tale written for a girl and her horse. Zoe and Nadia grew up together, and over the years, we received delightful updates and photos from them on a regular basis. We were able to witness their adventures in WAHSET, drill team, gaming, and performance showing. This adoption was everything we dream of as a rescue, because this is exactly the kind of relationship that we wish for, for all of our horses.
Thirteen years after Nadia was adopted, we received a message from Zoe’s mom to let us know that they had lost Nadia over the weekend. Zoe was headed off to work when she saw that Nadia was down in the field. Nadia whinnied at her and did get up, but Zoe knew something was wrong. She called her mom and her vet, but before either could arrive, Nadia was gone. She would have been 27 the next week.
Zoe was kind enough to allow us to share with you what she wrote about Nadia that day:
There are not words to describe how much this horse meant to me. Anyone who knows me, knew Nadia. She was my whole world when it came to my animals, and I’m so lucky to have had the privilege of being able to love her endlessly for more than half of my life.
Everyone who knew her knew that she loved to be loud, and she was always making her presence known with her nickers and whinnies. As I was leaving for work this morning, she still whinnied but it sounded way off. I went over to her and realized she’d been down for some time already, but she got up just for me although she was very weak and wobbly. Despite immediately calling the vet, she went down and passed in Wyatt and I’s arms within about 40 minutes. I am beyond struggling with this sudden hole in our family, and with the fact that I simply can’t afford cremation to keep her with me forever. We of course took keepsakes of her mane and her tail, and I hope to create a tack set for Sassy so that we can carry her with us every ride.
She was more than just a horse to me, and I will forever be changed by the love we had. Saying goodbye to one of the foundations of my childhood wasn’t even crossing my mind for another 5–10 years. I wish she was still here and I wish she could’ve stayed forever. I know that I’ll see her again one day and that she’s happy and warm and comfortable somewhere with an endless supply of green grass to roam on.
“You are a great champion; when you ran, the ground shook, the sky opened and mere mortals parted, parted the way to victory, where you’ll meet me in the winner’s circle, where I’ll put a blanket of flowers on your back”
Rest in Peace, dear Nadia. You will be missed, but you will not be forgotten.
(Below) A Gallery of Nadia’s Life with Zoe and Amanda
