Article & photos by Nancy Brannon
“From kill pen to the Dressage Mahal,” summarized Ally Rogers. It’s a dream-come-true story for a lovely grey pony who now has the good life at Mid-South Dressage Academy in Hernando, Mississippi.
“He was always meant to be here,” verified Elizabeth Clifton, owner and President of Mid-South Dressage Academy.
Kathy Massey’s daughter Mary Claire Ortiz, rescued the pony from the Bastrop Kill Pen in Louisiana. Kathy said the pony was not too thin, but was scarred and had plenty of skin injuries when he was purchased from the kill pen.
Mary Claire explained Max’s story.
“I didn’t know that kill pens really still existed. Someone had liked Bastrop LA Kill Pen on facebook and it showed up in my newsfeed. I was horrified, but I started looking through all their posts of the horses/ponies that were for sale and would be sent to slaughter if no one bought them.
“It was the next day that Max showed up on my newsfeed. He looked too cute and well behaved to be on this site. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. The next day I still felt the same way and no one had bought him yet, although there were many comments about how cute he was. Without really thinking it through too much (or even talking to my husband), I texted the guy at Bastrop and said I would buy him. It happened that fast!
“Next thing I know, my husband and I were driving down to Bastrop to pick him up. It was a fairly horrifying experience. I tried not to look around too much. There were so many horses packed into such a small place. Max was tied to a trailer, waiting on me. You just text them when you are almost there so they can catch and tie up the horse to be ready for you.
“It was lightly raining so Max was wet, muddy, had an extremely swollen eye, and had burrs all over him. It looked like he had been picked on by the other horses because he had bites and kick marks all over his body. I had such a heavy heart leaving there, knowing all these horses were abandoned and going through hell because of people’s decisions.
“We took Max to my brother’s place to quarantine him for a week. He had a snotty nose and his eye needed some treatment, but, otherwise, he got a clean vet check. I used that week to gain his trust. He wouldn’t let me get near him for the first two days. But he soon realized he liked sweet feed too much to stay away from us. After that week I took him to my parents’ farm, Massar Stables near Arlington, TN. He was very hesitant about going into the barn, but, once again, it was nothing a little sweet feed couldn’t fix.
“Without knowing his history, I had no clue what to expect from him when I got on him the first time. He was very unsure of himself, and kept stopping for reassurance. He seemed to like it when I talked to him, so I talked the whole time I was on him. His steering was wobbly. I don’t know if he had ever been ridden in a snaffle, so that was a bit of a challenge. I didn’t know what my plans would be for him, but I knew that he was safe and, no matter what, I would make sure he was in a good place.
“I worked with him about 4-5 times a week, getting him to trust me while riding him. We just hacked around, working on steering, stop and go. He was very responsive, really wanted to please, and caught on to want I wanted very fast.
“He got very nervous when people came at him without warning, so we had to warn all the barn workers to be very slow around Max. If you walked into his stall, you needed to say, “Hey Max,” then stop and let him come to you.
“In early March, we hauled down to Mid-South Dressage Academy to see how he would react going somewhere different. He was a champ, so I signed him up for the schooling show. I was a little nervous because I wanted to find him a permanent home and this was his first debut. I had been working with him for six months. I hoped I had worked with him long enough before showing him to everyone.
“Elizabeth Clifton and her trainer Jamie Lawrence were looking for a pony for their lesson program. They actually saw him posted on Bastrops’s facebook page, as well, and were interested, but they were a little too late because I had already bought him. They saw how good a pony he was at the schooling show and decided to buy him for their lesson pony. I probably could have worked with Max a little longer, but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity for him. To know he would be going to a wonderful farm with great caring people meant everything to me!
“I don’t know how Max ended up at the kill pen, but I know he didn’t deserve to go through what he went through. He is definitely a success story because he was saved, he regained human trust, and was given a life with purpose.”
“From kill pen to the Dressage Mahal,” summarized Ally Rogers. It’s a dream-come-true story for a lovely grey pony who now has the good life at Mid-South Dressage Academy in Hernando, Mississippi.
“He was always meant to be here,” verified Elizabeth Clifton, owner and President of Mid-South Dressage Academy.
Kathy Massey’s daughter Mary Claire Ortiz, rescued the pony from the Bastrop Kill Pen in Louisiana. Kathy said the pony was not too thin, but was scarred and had plenty of skin injuries when he was purchased from the kill pen.
Mary Claire explained Max’s story.
“I didn’t know that kill pens really still existed. Someone had liked Bastrop LA Kill Pen on facebook and it showed up in my newsfeed. I was horrified, but I started looking through all their posts of the horses/ponies that were for sale and would be sent to slaughter if no one bought them.
“It was the next day that Max showed up on my newsfeed. He looked too cute and well behaved to be on this site. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. The next day I still felt the same way and no one had bought him yet, although there were many comments about how cute he was. Without really thinking it through too much (or even talking to my husband), I texted the guy at Bastrop and said I would buy him. It happened that fast!
“Next thing I know, my husband and I were driving down to Bastrop to pick him up. It was a fairly horrifying experience. I tried not to look around too much. There were so many horses packed into such a small place. Max was tied to a trailer, waiting on me. You just text them when you are almost there so they can catch and tie up the horse to be ready for you.
“It was lightly raining so Max was wet, muddy, had an extremely swollen eye, and had burrs all over him. It looked like he had been picked on by the other horses because he had bites and kick marks all over his body. I had such a heavy heart leaving there, knowing all these horses were abandoned and going through hell because of people’s decisions.
“We took Max to my brother’s place to quarantine him for a week. He had a snotty nose and his eye needed some treatment, but, otherwise, he got a clean vet check. I used that week to gain his trust. He wouldn’t let me get near him for the first two days. But he soon realized he liked sweet feed too much to stay away from us. After that week I took him to my parents’ farm, Massar Stables near Arlington, TN. He was very hesitant about going into the barn, but, once again, it was nothing a little sweet feed couldn’t fix.
“Without knowing his history, I had no clue what to expect from him when I got on him the first time. He was very unsure of himself, and kept stopping for reassurance. He seemed to like it when I talked to him, so I talked the whole time I was on him. His steering was wobbly. I don’t know if he had ever been ridden in a snaffle, so that was a bit of a challenge. I didn’t know what my plans would be for him, but I knew that he was safe and, no matter what, I would make sure he was in a good place.
“I worked with him about 4-5 times a week, getting him to trust me while riding him. We just hacked around, working on steering, stop and go. He was very responsive, really wanted to please, and caught on to want I wanted very fast.
“He got very nervous when people came at him without warning, so we had to warn all the barn workers to be very slow around Max. If you walked into his stall, you needed to say, “Hey Max,” then stop and let him come to you.
“In early March, we hauled down to Mid-South Dressage Academy to see how he would react going somewhere different. He was a champ, so I signed him up for the schooling show. I was a little nervous because I wanted to find him a permanent home and this was his first debut. I had been working with him for six months. I hoped I had worked with him long enough before showing him to everyone.
“Elizabeth Clifton and her trainer Jamie Lawrence were looking for a pony for their lesson program. They actually saw him posted on Bastrops’s facebook page, as well, and were interested, but they were a little too late because I had already bought him. They saw how good a pony he was at the schooling show and decided to buy him for their lesson pony. I probably could have worked with Max a little longer, but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity for him. To know he would be going to a wonderful farm with great caring people meant everything to me!
“I don’t know how Max ended up at the kill pen, but I know he didn’t deserve to go through what he went through. He is definitely a success story because he was saved, he regained human trust, and was given a life with purpose.”
