Cowgirls rehabilitate and ride "throw-away" horses

Sadie and Buster were the ugliest horses Susan Hammon had ever seen.

Thin, malnourished and easily agitated, they stood for sale at an Enumclaw horse auction in March 2005 ready to head to a slaughterhouse. These were not the elegant animals Hammon had envisioned as part of the competitive riding team she and her friend were starting in Sammamish.

But she saw hope flicker behind the horses' eyes. So she and her teammates purchased the two Arabians for a total of $300.

Although both were unbroken and wary of people, within weeks the horses made a stunning turnaround. Their coats grew shiny, they started trusting people and they showed a quick desire to learn.

"They began to absolutely blossom," Hammon said.

Saving horses from slaughter wasn't the intent of the Cowgirl Spirit Rescue Drill Team when it formed in January 2005. The group had come together to create a high-level drill team — a sport that involves riding on horseback in choreographed routines — to compete in state championships.

But the success of Sadie and Buster made the group rethink its mission when members saw how drill exercises could discipline, socialize and breathe new life into doomed horses.

They decided not to be a team that performed on animals with perfect pedigrees. They wanted the "throw-away" horses, the rejected ones destined for slaughter at local auctions.

Out of dozens of drill teams statewide, the five-member Cowgirl Spirit riding team is the only one of its kind in Washington. It's training now to enter its first state competition next year.

"We know by looking at a horse what we can take a chance on and what we can't," said Hammon, president of Cowgirl Spirit and a horse trainer. In time, she added, the goal is to adopt all the horses out to good homes.

Last year, 90,000 horses were slaughtered in the United States, according to the Humane Society of the United States. The meat is exported to Italy, France, Belgium and Japan. An additional 10,000 to 20,000 horses were sent across the border to Canada or Mexico for slaughter, said Nancy Perry, vice president of government affairs for the society.

Since last year, the team has rescued 22 horses and adopted out 11. At the auctions, many of the horses the group sees are injured and suffering from neglect. Some are blind. Others are healthy but have owners who could no longer afford to care for them, said Ashley Allman, Cowgirl Spirit's spokeswoman.

Spirit, a blind horse, was purchased for $20. She has since become the team mascot and will never be adopted out. Another rescued horse, Patience, came from a feedlot in Eastern Washington and was suffering from wounds where a halter had become too tight on her face.

When the horses arrive at their new home at stables in Sammamish or at the Pacific Equestrian Center in Kent, they are shaken and scared, Hammon said. It generally takes several weeks before they are saddle-broken and ready to train for drill. Above all, they must be able to trust humans.

Kermit, a pregnant quarter horse who arrived at Cowgirl Spirit's stable in Sammamish in January, didn't want anything to do with people at first. She backed away in fear whenever someone approached.

The only thing the team knew about her history was that she was between 4 and 6 years old and came from Nevada.

David Nimmo, the team's coach, spent more than a month working with Kermit in Sammamish. Every weekday evening, for four hours, he stood near her, feeding her grain, and making incremental movements toward her. She eventually accepted him and others. She even developed a small, cultlike following on the Cowgirl Spirit Web site, and the birth of her baby, Prince, was streamed on a Web cam April 9.

Now, the 1,100-pound mare isn't shy about asking for affection. Kermit eagerly nuzzles visitors on a recent afternoon in Sammamish, while keeping an eye on her foal frolicking near the stable.

Once the baby is weaned in September, Kermit will be ready to train for drill, Nimmo said.

"It's been so wonderful to watch her confidence grow," he said. "It will be exciting to see what she's capable of next."

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com