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BURKEVILLE, Va. (AP) — Off a thin dirt road, horses roam in a pasture while others are tended to inside. They're blind and they're crippled, many recovering from years of neglect.
"They're just different. And we had the opportunity to do something," said Jorg Huckabee-Mayfield, who founded the White Bird Appaloosa Horse Rescue with her husband.
The horse rescue has seen an increase in its numbers the past few years, but despite the growing demands, volunteers and workers at the rescue are careful to treat the special-needs horses with extra love and care, she said.
The couple started the nonprofit in 2003 and has been in Burkeville in Nottoway County since 2005 after a short stint in Northern Virginia.
The barn space there simply couldn't accommodate the number of horses they wanted to take in, so 11 years ago, they bought a bigger farm — about 50 acres — and came to Burkeville, which is just over an hour's drive from Richmond in Southside Virginia.
Huckabee-Mayfield walks through the stable, stopping at each of the 21 horses to give them a treat while telling their story. The horses love her back — following her directions and showing their appreciation for the treats by rubbing their heads against her.
"They really become like family," she said.
The reasons that the horses are taken in vary.
Many people don't have the money to properly care for the horses. Sometimes a horse is inherited by a son or daughter who doesn't have an interest in the horse. Other times, the horse is simply neglected and the state seeks a new home.
"Rescues should be a safe haven for horses, so the inquiries sort of just mount up," said Tom Mayfield, Jorg's husband.
Cheyenne, a 30-year-old Appaloosa, is a typical horse for the rescue. She's blind in one eye and her owner went into a nursing home, leaving Cheyenne with nowhere to go.
That's when White Bird took her in. The situation was urgent. As was the case for "Mr. B," who made quite the name for himself while he was at White Bird.
Abandoned at an auction in Montana after the auctioneer and bidders found out he was blind, "Mr. B" was taken in by White Bird and spent time with children. Huckabee-Mayfield wrote a book about his life, "I am Mr. Bowersox," which was published last year.
"He was an interesting illustration of a pony that had no value whatsoever — not even a dollar — by his owner. But here, we wouldn't have taken a million dollars for him. It's a matter of perspective," she said.
Mr. B and "crazy" Ulysses are the kinds of horses volunteers like 16-year-old Casey Sousa like to interact with.
Sousa said he enjoys feeding the horses and letting them out to pasture and helping the Mayfields operate the rescue as they rely on the assistance of volunteers and interns.
While inability to care for a horse is a reason for its homelessness, state seizure is another. Since November, more than 200 horses have been seized by the state in the 100-mile radius surrounding the farm, Huckabee-Mayfield said. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services doesn't keep data relating to horses or horse rescues.
"We try to cooperate well if there's a big seizure," she said, adding that there is collaboration among rescues to find homes for the horses. "But it's been tough."
The financial side of the operation can be a problem, too. The rescue relies on charitable campaigns and individual donors to pay for the extensive medical and food costs associated with treating the horses. Food expenses alone add up to about $1,200 per month.
"We try (to) operate in the most cost-effective and efficient manner as we can," Huckabee-Mayfield said, but "it's getting tougher and tougher to do this.
"It's hard to find them homes, and they deserve those homes," she said.
The horses are available for adoption and some of them have experience as training horses and working with children.
As she walks around the stable telling stories about the horses — from the ones she's bought at auction to the ones seized for maltreatment — Huckabee-Mayfield can't help but smile. She's in her comfort zone, a feeling she and her husband have tried to pass along to their rescue horses.
"We just don't worry about physical issues here. Everyone has their problems, but they deserve good lives," she said.
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Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.timesdispatch.com
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