A Horse and a Haircut

How one small act of kindness changed everything for an animal in need

Sarah Olson Michel

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I didn’t know what to expect when I saw my new horse for the first time. I had paid for her sight unseen, and arranged for her to be shipped to Oregon from Washington. It was nerve-wracking, but that’s the nature of rescues — you don’t always know what you’re getting yourself into.

This May, I bought a horse from a feedlot, where the animals wait in purgatory to be shipped out of the country for slaughter or bought by someone willing to give them a second chance. She was an unhandled youngster, fearful of people, and in rough shape. Where other people saw a waste of time and money, I saw potential.

But there she stood, a solid little American Quarter Horse with a knotted mane hanging down to her knees. I wasn’t worried about the journey that lay ahead of us. This is what I do in my free time; take in unwanted, neglected horses and transform them into something extraordinary.

I’ve named her Alula, after a parallel star in the Ursa Major constellation. Working with challenging horses like this brings me joy and purpose. I’m not an equine veterinarian or a professional trainer, although I work collaboratively with them on my horses. I just have time, patience, and TLC to give.

It only takes a few minutes of assessing Alula for me to realize this young filly has never been properly cared for and only minimally handled. Horses need to be touched and trained from a young age or they will resort to feral behavior, like the mustangs that roam America’s public lands. Once the horses of colonizers, generations and hundreds of years have turned them into rugged and wild animals.

Alula was never wild, and not a mustang. For all I know, she may have been born on a nice little farm and ended up slaughter-bound by no one’s intentions. The little filly is careful to avoid me when I approach, and keeps her ears flicked toward me to listen. She watches my every move with a wary gaze. She is a smart and observant horse, and I love her immediately.

This is my happiness project. Her training starts with a pair of scissors.

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Sarah Olson Michel

Feminist twentysomething whose reading time is continuously interrupted by life.