The cards were stacked against Faith ever being born. Her mother Open Zipper had been purchased and shipped by a meat buyer in the slaughter pipeline before rescue. Faith and mom will travel to Massachusetts soon for permanent sanctuary. Photo by Kay O’Hanlon Myruski
A crippled kill-pen horse who was heavily in foal when she was purchased by a meat buyer in February, driven two hours to a collection facility for slaughter-bound horses, and then miraculously saved, has been offered lifetime sanctuary in Massachusetts, along with her month-old filly.
Christina Sawelsky, a registered nurse and experienced caretaker of five OTTBs she has adopted over the years from the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, stepped up to offer broodmare Open Zipper and her foal Faith a home, without hesitation.
“Just the fact that she was dumped at auction, heavily in foal, and barely made it out of the slaughter pipeline was amazing to me. It was like a movie. I followed the story about them on social media, and when I realized they’d be made available for adoption, I knew I had to help them,” says the Sharon, Mass. horseman. “The fact that she slipped through the cracks after doing so much, and then spent time as a broodmare, inspired me to offer them a soft place to land. And to give the filly a place to grow; she’ll never leave us.”
Open Zipper was among a band of four heavily pregnant mares saved in a multi-prong rescue effort Feb. 29. The rescue, led by Gerda’s Animal Aid of Vermont and supported by numerous individuals and charities, removed four heavily pregnant mares and a fifth who was not in foal, and brought them to safety.
Open Zipper walks with her foal Faith in a Goshen, N.Y. foster home. Zipper, who has a left, front knee injury and gait problems, was heavily pregnant when she was rescued from the slaughter pipeline in February.
Though all the mares were special, Zipper’s story was nearly miraculous, recalls Gerda Silver, who spearheaded the entire effort. Zipper was in the worst shape of them all, and dropped deeper into the black hole of the slaughter pipeline than any of them.
After Silver managed to trace Zipper to a holding facility about two hours from the Pennsylvania livestock auction, and then convince the meat buyer’s son to turn around and bring the horse back so she could be purchased the animal, the appearance of a perfect adoption home made Silver’s heart soar.
“I never expected to find a situation like what Christina is offering her. This is something so wonderful I can’t imagine how it even happened. It’s like a miracle,” Silver says.
Kay O’Hanlon Myruski, a horse rescuer in Goshen, N.Y. who has been caring for Zipper and Faith since they were saved, agrees.
Christina with a TRF adoptee Quantity at her farm in Sharon, Mass. Christina and her daughter Elisabeth plan to create a sanctuary for Open Zipper and Faith.
“This home is so perfect for Zipper and her foal,” Myruski says. “Christina will find that Zipper will be a very easy keeping mare. And even though she has physical difficulties, she has learned to accommodate her bad leg and gait, and is a great mother to her foal.”
She adds, “Open Zipper is a such a high-class mare. You can look at her and see the stamp of old-world European Thoroughbred on her. And her filly is going to be absolutely stunning. She’s nicely bred, with good conformation, and she’s just a pretty, pretty filly.”
Both mare and foal have received clearance from a veterinarian for travel. The plan is to wait for mild weather before Sawelsky hitches up her trailer to personally retrieve them.
When she hauls them into Massachusetts, Sawelsky and her daughter Elisabeth, who is also a nurse, plan to make Zipper and Faith the centerpiece of a horse sanctuary they are beginning to create. They plan to found a sanctuary for Thoroughbreds, which serves adults and children with disabilities.
In her years spent working with human patients, and with Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation adoptee Sing Me Back Home, who she nursed through many illnesses before his death, Sawelsky plans to welcome the mother and foal into the barn with TRF adoptees Private Relations and Quantity. (Please see an earlier story about Sawelsky’s TRF horses here: http://offtrackthoroughbreds.com/2016/01/29/in-tribute-to-her-warhorse-2-others-find-a-home/).
“My daughter and I both love horses. And it’s been a dream of ours to combine our passion of helping people—we’re both nurses, and our love of horses,” Sawelsky says. “We’ve always been drawn to the underdogs and the misunderstood. I think that’s where my love for off-track Thoroughbreds comes from. And kids with disabilities are so often overlooked in their life. I hope to create a sanctuary where kids and horses can find some peace and happiness in each other’s company. And Zipper is the perfect horse for this.”
Such a beautiful ending to Faith and Open Zipper. Both have a wonderful new home soon and both are angels who found their destiny. If only more success stories were made on the news then the horrendous crimes. Great article Susan.
I still cannot understand why an owner of a mare who is bred to a good stallion would ship her out to a known kill-buy auction? That part just doesn’t make sense!! Owners who do this horrible dead should become public knowledge. That this mare was rescued so close to the brink add to the miracle!
Again, it is my feeling this owner had no choice in this matter. Divorce, bankruptcy, whatever, we were told that legally they HAD to go to an auction.
Thanks to the rescuers, and the reporter for a beautiful story. What a beautiful face that foal has.
those are 2 LUCKY GIRLS & the people that saved them are very lucky to have such SWEET ,GENTLE,KIND, BEAUTIFUL HEARTS . in their life . Thank God they where saved , ALL horses/animals go to Heaven after what people put them through here on Earth , I pray they stay save 4-ever as ALL animals should be loved & cared for . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es6U00LMmC4
Thank you Susan for your perfectly described piece of just how close these two became the miracle of 2 horses that are alive but came way too close to having been sent to Mexico to endure an unimaginable death!! The are alive and will be loved for the rest of their days and yes with a no breeding contract..Gerda
Thank You !!!!
Thank you, Susan, for writing a splendid rest of the story to the tale of Open Zipper and Faith. It is comforting to know they are loved and are treated with dignity & respect. High hooves and 3 whinnies to ALL involved in their rescue and resettlement!!! Love to ALL, Mary in Boone
I cannot put into words how strongly I feel about 2 women and 2 horses I’ve never met. Though it is likely I never will meet any of them, I hope they know the depth of sincerity I have when I say to the ladies “Thank you” and “Bless you” to the equines. This narrow escape could have ended so much differently.
Wonderful story! I am hoping the mare will not be bred again, since she is going to a sanctuary. Just wondering if the TRF prohibits mares they place from being bred? It would only make sense, but it would be nice to know that is one of the policies of the TRF.
Gayle, this mare and filly came from a rescue effort led by Gerda’s Animal Aid, and not the TRF. The adopter, however, is a long-time TRF adopter, having had 5 horses, through through the years. The perfect little filly is destined to go to Christina Sawelsky’s daughter Elisabeth. Elisabeth is a nurse, but in her younger years, she broke babies for Pin Oak Stud.
Is it inappropriate to ask if the identity of Faith’s sire is known?
The sire would be Mad Flatter, who passed away recently if I recall correctly.
Veronica,
How do you know who the sire is? Just curious.
You can look up who she was bred to for a 2016 foal on the Breeder’s Cup nomination eligibility site.
That’s really interesting Veronica. Can’t a DNA test be done to find out if he was her sure?
So happy for Open Zipper and Faith. Bravo!