The Davison Rescue (Click on thumbnails for larger photo)

Although it's been a few years now, what has become known as the Davison Rescue remains an incredible story of heartbreak and happiness, and Horses' Haven remains proud of what we accomplished. It is a story of the worst humans can do to our animal friends, and the best we can do for them.

A weanling we estimated was caked with 50-60 pounds of dried manure. A mare with badly deformed feet Bobber was adopted and moved up north Riptide, a weanling filly, was the first adopted, despite an eye injury Another adoptee, Sweet Pea, and her owner	On Jan. 1, 1998, Horses' Haven assisted the Michigan Anti-Cruelty Society with the rescue of 57 horses from the farm of James and Susan Knotts in the Davison, Michigan area. We gathered horsemen and trailers all in one location. After a short prayer asking that the horses be delivered safely into our hands, in a convoy, we proceeded to the site, not knowing what we would find. The conditions were deplorable. Manure in stalls was 71" deep; the horses were wedged between the manure and the ceiling. All of the stalls and outer walls had been chewed through. Some younger horses had never been moved from the stalls they had been born in. The roof on the broodmares' run-in barn had collapsed, trapping several, who then had no access to food or water. Yearling babies were still nursing. One weanling had a severely lacerated eye. The feet on all the horses were bad: many hooves so long that they curled over the top of themselves. Outside pens were only large enough for one horse and were full of manure. Some contained two horses. Two older stallions were contained in one stall. Almost all horses, even babies, were caked in manure. The phrase "caked in manure" doesn't really paint the picture. As we were looking at these pitiful creatures, we heard a strange noise. It sounded as though someone had many strands of heavy ceramic beads clacking against one another. We looked around to find a baby in the adjacent stall swishing what was left of its tail. The clacking noise made by big beads of the petrified manure on his tail. This stuff was like concrete. Volunteers representing ALL breeds of horses brought trailers and experienced horse people to help. The first tour through the property brought total silence and tears as we looked at the horror before us. Often there were six men on a horse just to move it out of its pen because it couldn't or wouldn't walk. Horses were led-- and some of them got their first haltering and leading lessons-- down a grassy hill as the driveway was steep and deeply rutted. Trailers were waiting at the bottom of the hill. Some horses who couldn't walk and had never seen a trailer took over an hour to load; volunteers urging them every baby step of the way, and letting them rest occasionally. One beautiful mare took three days to load. Even so, several volunteers fell in love with her and offered to adopt her. Some horses never did get halters on, but we got them into stock trailers on Tuesday and Wednesday. One of the neighbors brought over a bulldozer to level the ruts by the barn so one trailer at a time could get up the hill and back up to one of the barns. Horses outside in the larger paddocks had to be lassoed on Monday. Volunteers willingly came back on both Monday and Tuesday to complete the job, refusing to give up until all horses were rescued. We also rescued three cats. The rescue was successful, although it took us three days to remove the horses instead of one day. Many of these horses had never been haltered or handled in any way, and some were very wild. Of course, most did not want to leave their home because they didn't know there was any better place. Volunteers who were waiting at the barn that was to house the horses sobbed as each trailer arrived and the horses slowly and painfully unloaded. Horses were put in freshly bedded stalls, some looking at the shavings and wondering what it was. Water was slurped and slurped-- a far cry from the frozen buckets they were used to seeing, and there was plentiful hay. The horses were fed hay at their old farm so they were lean but not in bad body condition. They started to relax and let volunteers touch them. On Friday, farriers and vets came to assess the horses and begin to bring them back to health. Many of the long hooves were completely trimmed, making the horses much more comfortable. We estimated upwards of $10,000.00 a month to keep, feed and care for these animals, including farrier and vet bills. The outcome: + 57 Horses Rescued + 2 Born at Horses' Haven - 18 Euthanized at Horses' Haven - 2 At Michigan State - 1 Euthanized; 1 died - 31 Adopted out as of 10/1/98 The Adoption Committee did an incredible job; horses were placed all over Michigan. Debbie Morgan and Doris Knight spent hour after hour checking videos, references and either they or the members of their committee (Jan Harrison, Terri Caroselli, Susan Kuntzman, Patience Miller) visited and inspected farms and barns. "It was worse than being interviewed by the Gestapo," one prospective adopter said, but was overjoyed when she was approved and got the horse of her choice. Debbie made certain that EVERY horse went to the best possible home, and with the stories that are coming back about how loved these horses are, she and her whole committee should take pride in a job exceptionally well done. Sentencing: The Hon. Judith Fullerton, Genesee County Circuit Court, sentenced James and Susan Knotts to the following: one year in the County Jail, 500 hours each of Community Service, 5 years Probation, Restitution of Expenses on the horses through February 16, 1998, and not allowed to own ANY animal again. The first test for horses of the new Animal Abuse Act was very successful.
	If you adopted one of the Davison Rescue horses, we'd love to hear from you and see pictures.