Friday, April 23, 2010

The ANNIVERSARY

The Anniversary of
the Death of 3 Strikes Ranch
.....there is a lot of discussion happening
about what should the actual date be
which would mark the anniversary of the
saving of the horses that remained
in the hands of Jason Meduna,
or you could call it the
end of 3 Strikes Mustang Ranch.
It would seem natural that the date would be when
the last surviving horse was removed from the hell hole
that engulfed so many others; a final count that will
never be known for sure as to how many perished.
We will never know how many innocent babies died,
out in those sand dunes of Nebraska.
The land so abused, as abused as the horses;
in the care of Meduna and his wife.
For myself, the first anniversary was March 6 of 2010.
I started taking pictures long before that day of March 6, 2009,
but it was that Friday afternoon that he walked
out of the trailer, and noticed me on my 4-wheeler.
It was Friday, March 6, that he saw me taking pictures.
*
It was that afternoon:
he knew that I knew.
*


This picture was taken Saturday, April 10, 2010

It is already different from when I first saw it earlier. My mom stands in the background. That day Mom, Dad, and I went to the bone pile. They had never seen it; in person. As we crested the hill and the bones were in their view for the first time, there was a little gasp. My dad said, "That's not right." My mom said, "Oh my God." It is hard to imagine someone just dragging a bunch of horses to a pile and leaving them to rot. It's hard to imagine until you stand at the pile, and those bones become bodies of helpless, loving and innocent horses. Horses of all ages. A baby laying by it's mom in bones over the hill. A sight that those who were out there could have seen, if they just could have been allowed off the trail, because the trail was so close. Many would have driven right by this pile....they did not hear the cries of the horses. They did not listen. They listened to Jason. Now, people are listening. The horses and burros will always be remembered. Time will go on, more horses will have unimaginable endings somewhere else, but some horses will be saved.... By loving, unselfish people who do what they do, because they are called? or because they just know they are needed. So in their compassion they reach out and give all they can to help. They do this time and time again. The strength they have is something I cannot imagine; but it is something I could only hope to be blessed with. Thank you Mom and Dad for all you helped me with during this whole entire ordeal. And thank all the people who had anything to do with the saving of these wonderful animals. You can find more information about the survivors on various sites. Start with the NE200:

http://nebraska200.horsereunions.com/

One of my favorite songs, "Bless the Beasts and the Children"...I think I'll go sit down at my piano now. I haven't played this in ages. I imagine I'll have a whole new perspective on the song.

4 comments:

  1. Oh Shit, I never had the guts to walk out there last year while I was there for 5 days saving the ones we could..... This is so sad, my heart breaks for the suffering at the hands of such a callous individual. If he had just asked for help sooner,so much suffering could have been avoided. We did what we could once we became aware. This just should never happen to man nor beast, we need to respect life all life.
    Love in Life ~ Love All Live ~ Jodi Messenich Zuma's Rescue Ranch We have 11 of the survivors from Three Strikes
    Wyomie, Topaz, Ella, Journey, Joe, June, Colton,Takota and the foals of Three Strikes Merry Legs, Bad Boy, Fitzgerald.
    All are well Blessings

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  2. I think they announce the last horse was out of that hell hole on April 24th. You are so right Jody, if he had just told the truth that he didn't have the hay to feed all the horses a little bit sooner, so many lives could have been saved and his own butt wouldn't be sitting in jail. Talk about poor judgement - or was it big ego? I hope that the rest of the horses are all doing well, put on weight, maybe got some training, all the poor mares have had their last foal and I pray most of all that none of the horses or their get will ever be hungry again.

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  3. This is a very dramatic photo. thank you for sharing this ground zero update. Our anniversary celebration will be on Mother's Day. That's when our 23 survivors arrived at our ranch in California and just 3 hours later one of the mares gave birth. All our 3 Strikes Ranch rescues are named after wildflowers or something representing new birth - regeneration. Our baby was named Wildflower and her dam is Daisy. All are doing fantastic. Some have already been adopted, some are being trained,one will be in a performance for Mustang Makeover in Norco next month,and the rest will go live at our sanctuary never to fall hungry again. Jill Starr/Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue

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  4. It is just so unbelievable to me that someone so unfeeling, so cruel, so EVIL was allowed to do this horrible thing. He is going to pay for this atrocity for the rest of his life by spending each and every day in prison, HELL on earth.

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