Provide Quality Care for Rescued Horses in Texas

Justinn Time, aka Justin, ended up at Easy R Equine Rescue a few years ago, not because he was abused or neglected, but because there just had not been a good "fit" for him at his previous homes.  He was a registered full Arabian gelding with an extreme amount of talent.  But he had his moments--moments when he would take off at a full sprint with an inexperienced young rider on his back.  This bolting happened too many times when he was being used at a local riding facility to make him useful as a lesson horse--which is what he was purchased for by the facility owner.  Put a well-seasoned and experienced rider on him and he pranced around showing off his skill, looking beautiful as he did so.  After trips to the vet revealed no underlying pain being the cause of his episodes of running off, the owner contacted Easy R asking if we could please give Justin a place at the rescue.  We agreed, knowing that finding a home for a periodically "hot-headed", prone to bolt, middle aged Arabian gelding might not be so easy. We figured Justin would be one of those horses we had, well...until the end.

As we had thought would be the case, we had numerous inquiries about Justin, but each one was interested in a "kid horse" that would be safe with children.  We had to deny every inquiry knowing that we could not recommend Justin for anyone other than a very experienced (preferably with Arabian experience as well) rider. And we had had no one inquire that met that criteria.  Until, one day when a lady whom we will call "Kelly" sent an email asking about Justin.

Kelly lived in Alabama and was in her late 60's.  She had ridden, trained, owned, and LOVED the Arabian breed.  She was very inquisitive about Justin and his lineage. Since we did not have registration papers on him, we couldn't give her much information except the names of some of his previous owners.  Kelly did weeks of research.  She tracked down everyone she could that might have any tidbit of information about Justin to include his registered name, his age, his Arab lineage, etc.  She started sending Easy R a monthly check for $50 to "reserve" Justin, hoping that she would be able to find out all about him and one day officially adopt him. 

We received a phone call one day from Kelly.  She was ectastic.  She had talked to Justin's original owner--the lady who had Justin when he was born.  She was able to give Kelly his registered name, which then allowed her to track down lineage back 4 or 5 generations.  She wanted to adopt Justin and would make any arrangements necessary to make that happen. And in the spring of this year, we hauled Justin from Lubbock. Texas to Ruston, Louisiana--the halfway point between Lubbock and a small town in Alabama where Kelly lived. We loaded him into Kelly's trailer and he headed for Alabama with his happy new owner.

Here's the reason we want to share this story.  We receive monthly, sometimes weekly, emails from Kelly telling about her love and appreciation for Justin.  One email was particularly powerful and affirmed the mission of Easy R and why we do what we do.  And the answer to our prayer that a "perfect" owner is found for each one of our horses. Kelly's husband and her favorite Arabian mare had both died in the past few years.  In this email she wrote,

"Justinn was sent by God as last Friday my husband's horse, Val (named changed), passed away and I am in a state of grief, but my Justinn has been wonderful. It's interesting how horses react to death. Justinn Time was just in time! Marley (named changed) would have been alone and Justin is so good with her. He is such a sweetheart. I'll miss seeing him and Val playing with the balls as Marley isn't into that but it is rewarding to see him come running for the apples and carrots. He is also quite vocal and fun hear to  him and her trying to be the loudest for attention. Both Justinn and Marley stood watch over Val until I could get a backhoe here to bury Val next to my hubby, and my mare. I even had to feed them out by the loved ones as they would not leave where Val had died. I'm sorry but I'm not even good to talk to, as I loved my husband and horse so much and now feel like I've lost all closeness to my hubby and my mare. I can't really explain it except I thought all the tears were gone. I just love my horses. Val had never been sick, my husband was very ill and my mare was incurable. So I believe Justinn was Heaven sent. He is such a good boy. He gives me no trouble and it brightens my heart that he comes running and winning as soon as I walk out the door."

So, now we know why Justinn Time got that name on the special day he was born.  He was meant to bring immense joy to the grief of an older woman in Alabama who had suffered multiple losses of loved ones.

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