Madison

Madison is a Comstock Mare, also known as "Virginia Range". She is not built like a Mustang; her build is sleeker, including the shape of her head. She is a bay with 4 very flashy white stockings & a big white spot under her mane, which only shows when the wind is blowing it. Although still "wild", Madison is wearing a halter. She has been handled previously, for 6 months in 2005.

Although not aggressive, she has become very standoffish since being returned to Intake, where there are no facilities & no time to spend with her on a long-term, consistent basis, which is what she needs. She also needs to be an only horse, until she calms down. We are offering Madison as a FREE 2-year LEASE. SHE IS ALSO FREE TO A FOSTER HOME, until she is adopted out. Either way, YOU can help Madison. Would you like to invest a year of training and then be able to ride her for a year, or would you like to take her as far as you can in her training, & still feel comfortable letting her go? Our policies respect your commitment, no matter what it is. Madison is also AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION. FEE: $ 75.00. She is timid, shy, & untrusting, although she will come right up & try to take the feed bucket out of your hand. She treats people like they have kooties; if they happen to get too close to her, she scurries away as quickly as she can. Madison never strikes out or turns to kick. She will also not load into a trailer. Apparently, she's decided after 4 trips that she's not the traveling kind. She will need to be roped, or you will need to supply portable corral panels so we can get her into the stock trailer. She hasn't had any bad trailering experiences at all, we are positive. In the past, she has always been relatively easy to get into a trailer. She's just had a change of mind now, that's all. Madison arrived with a negative Coggins & a health certificate from California. We have had her for 3 years. We have not been able to get her to a point where she can be touched, so she has no current Coggins. There is not a vet in our county who will treat a wild horse. We could not even get them to euthanize one for us, because we don't have a squeeze chute. We are very sorry, but there is no way we can get a Coggins test done on Madison. In the years since we've had her, she has only been exposed to some of the horses coming into Intake, all of which have had steady, current, negative Coggins tests. There are no other horses within 1/4 mile.

We do not have the facilities to work with Madison here. Madison was in a group of 4 wild horses we took in from Santa Barbara Animal Control. Because we facilitated the placement of horses from Madison's herd (of 300) in California, we took in a few of them ourselves. Really, all of the rescues that could did, all over the United States. It was truly a beautiful thing. This was our first experience in taking in truly wild (as opposed to "un-handled") horses. We realize that we do not have the facilities to make them adoptable, and there is no demand in Texas for wild Mustangs. Trainers won't train them, farriers can't trim them, and vets won't treat them. Wild horses in this region need to be worked with and proven not to be "untrainable", as that is the big scare-story around here about Mustangs. We have learned that we cannot take in wild horses, no matter how dire their need. There are many wild horse rescues, 3 within a few miles of USESR Headquarters. We will leave wild horses to those who can best help them, at least when it comes to physically taking them in.

Madison doesn't deserve to stay in an Intake facility for the rest of her life. We know someone out there can help her. If this is you, please step forward.

If Madison's story has touched your heart, but you cannot physically take her in, please consider sending a donation to help us care for her. Because of the Texas drought, hay has tripled in price & literally crippled our rescue this year. Checks, credit cards, & money orders accepted. Donations are tax deductible. Checks should be made out to "USESR". PayPal is available on our main website: www.usesr.org. Mailing address: P.O. Box 565, Bridgeport, TX, 76426.

We are looking forward to a happy new year & a happy new life for Madison in 2007. With your help, we can complete the steps of a successful rescue!

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