Gupsy & Flicka
Our horses from Ukraine
THE STORY OF GUPSY:
UKRAINIAN WARMBLOOD STALLION
December 6th:
Vera (LTH, my former workplace in California) asked if I could help with rehoming a stallion that she'd just saved in Ukraine. Anzhelika found him on December 4th when visiting family in the formerly Russian occupied Eastern part of Ukraine. He was set to be slaughtered the next day so his family had something to eat.
*Anzhelika met Vera last spring when she needed help getting her Arab out of the war zone. This time she contacted Vera again, to see if she could buy this stallion and save him but also his owners.
Vera was able to buy him (Gupsy) but his paperwork was lost and she wanted him checked, cleared and out of Ukraine and at least into Germany, as far away from the war as possible: Lots of expenses and with no end in sight, because boarding him somewhere afterwards without an adopter isn't doable for any rescue and also unfair.
So on December 7th I was asked to start looking for possible adopters in Germany and The Netherlands. I had no luck after a day of calling and asking around, when Vera asked me if I could take him, since she trusted me and he needed a person. I really wanted to be his person, but had nowhere to bring him until we move to our new place in March. Of course the Universe pulled some strings and within 15 minutes I was lucky enough to find something relatively close to our current ànd new place, with someone I know and trust. If I needed another sign, this was it.
Gupsy was transported to Dnipro asap, it was like he knew that he was saved. His eyes went from 'I don't want to be killed and eaten' to 'I trust these guys'. He was cleared by a vet but hasn't been castrated yet because of the icy weather, so that'll have to wait until Spring. We waited days for his papers to come through, there aren't a lot of functional buildings and the available appliances are slow.
On December 13 his long journey to The Netherlands began, first to Myrohoshcha (which was a long trip, we didn't hear from them for a long time because of power outages caused by bombings) and then into the EU/Poland on January 12th where they rested in Rseszòw for a day. The costs of transporting him across the border were $ 2.000 alone! Something we didn't expect and what made this rescue operation even more costly.
On December 17 Gupsy began his final trip (without Anzhelika, who had to stay in Poland) to his temporary/ decompressing location at my coworker and friend's place, where we finally met him after weeks of waiting and stressful planning on January 14th.
Gupsy will be enjoying good food, room to play and exercise and lots of love from us until our new place is ready. We can't wait to see more of him when he has gained his strength! He also still needs to be castrated, his teeth and feet need to be looked at as well as his overall body. Since we are expecting some expenses due to our relocation and renovation at my stables next March/April, we don't have the funds to cover all of his expenses (yet). So far, we have been lucky to have raised his currents funds, which made it possible for him to be bought and transported to The Netherlands (a journey of about 2500 km's) and boarded and fed at my coworker's/friend's place.
If you would like to donate to help us cover Gupsy's final/unexpected expenses; use the button at the top of this page and select any amount! We are more than grateful.
Love, Zoë
Vera (LTH, my former workplace in California) asked if I could help with rehoming a stallion that she'd just saved in Ukraine. Anzhelika found him on December 4th when visiting family in the formerly Russian occupied Eastern part of Ukraine. He was set to be slaughtered the next day so his family had something to eat.
*Anzhelika met Vera last spring when she needed help getting her Arab out of the war zone. This time she contacted Vera again, to see if she could buy this stallion and save him but also his owners.
Vera was able to buy him (Gupsy) but his paperwork was lost and she wanted him checked, cleared and out of Ukraine and at least into Germany, as far away from the war as possible: Lots of expenses and with no end in sight, because boarding him somewhere afterwards without an adopter isn't doable for any rescue and also unfair.
So on December 7th I was asked to start looking for possible adopters in Germany and The Netherlands. I had no luck after a day of calling and asking around, when Vera asked me if I could take him, since she trusted me and he needed a person. I really wanted to be his person, but had nowhere to bring him until we move to our new place in March. Of course the Universe pulled some strings and within 15 minutes I was lucky enough to find something relatively close to our current ànd new place, with someone I know and trust. If I needed another sign, this was it.
Gupsy was transported to Dnipro asap, it was like he knew that he was saved. His eyes went from 'I don't want to be killed and eaten' to 'I trust these guys'. He was cleared by a vet but hasn't been castrated yet because of the icy weather, so that'll have to wait until Spring. We waited days for his papers to come through, there aren't a lot of functional buildings and the available appliances are slow.
On December 13 his long journey to The Netherlands began, first to Myrohoshcha (which was a long trip, we didn't hear from them for a long time because of power outages caused by bombings) and then into the EU/Poland on January 12th where they rested in Rseszòw for a day. The costs of transporting him across the border were $ 2.000 alone! Something we didn't expect and what made this rescue operation even more costly.
On December 17 Gupsy began his final trip (without Anzhelika, who had to stay in Poland) to his temporary/ decompressing location at my coworker and friend's place, where we finally met him after weeks of waiting and stressful planning on January 14th.
Gupsy will be enjoying good food, room to play and exercise and lots of love from us until our new place is ready. We can't wait to see more of him when he has gained his strength! He also still needs to be castrated, his teeth and feet need to be looked at as well as his overall body. Since we are expecting some expenses due to our relocation and renovation at my stables next March/April, we don't have the funds to cover all of his expenses (yet). So far, we have been lucky to have raised his currents funds, which made it possible for him to be bought and transported to The Netherlands (a journey of about 2500 km's) and boarded and fed at my coworker's/friend's place.
If you would like to donate to help us cover Gupsy's final/unexpected expenses; use the button at the top of this page and select any amount! We are more than grateful.
Love, Zoë
Use the hashtag #LTHGupsy on Social Media to see all his updates!
December 2022
March 2023
August 2023
december 2023
january 2024
How Flicka came into our lives:
The story of how Flicka suddenly came into our lives:
Although we were definitely not looking for a third horse, we couldn't say no to giving her a safe haven. Gupsy was rescued last year by Love This Horse and fostered/adopted by us, but we rescued Flicka privately/on our own after we were contacted by Anzhelika. She is the one who also initially found Gupsy, contacted Love This Horse and transported him through dangerous war zones in Ukraine.
Last month she contacted me, asking if I could take in a mare that's had an abusive past but was rehabilitated by friends who now had to move out of Ukraine and couldn't take her with them. 'Coincidentally' my husband and I just agreed to start looking for a horse for him around March next year, so we agreed that Flicka would join us in March since she seemed like a good fit. Then, last weekend, everything turned into a rollercoaster.
There was a carrier leaving from Ukraine to Poland and from Poland to The Netherlands, so it would make (financial) sense to transport Flicka with this carrier. They would arrive the next Wednesday or Thursday and needed an answer asap. After discussing this at home and with help from my parents, we agreed to take her in now.
Communications were a struggle since none of us speak the same language (thank you Google translate!!) but on Wednesday morning Flicka got her health certificate at the Poland/Germany border and was on our way to us. Of course I got sick (hadn't been for a while so I guess it's just my turn) but still had to prepare for Flicka's arrival ànd the departure of the last boarding horses a day later. Then, just hours before their arrival, I was asked to also prepare a second stall so the other horse that was being transported could stay overnight, before leaving for Amsterdam Airport and ultimately the US the next day. So (still in my pajamas) I went to literally stuff my car with bedding before the store closed, race back to prep the stalls and do our evening rounds. Then, just before midnight, they safely arrived.
It took 2 hours to get everyone settled in, Anzhelika and the carrier herself also stayed for the night. It was heart warming to watch Anzhelika and Gupsy's reunion, she fed the herd carrots while I watched from a distance. It seemed so magical and spiritual to have Anzhelika not only bring Gupsy to us, but also Flicka almost exactly one year later. It was once again the outcome of divine intervention, something unexplainable that we had to act upon.
In the 2 weeks before Flicka's arrival and before even knowing she would arrive so soon, I experienced an insane amount of synchronicities that I couldn't always pinpoint or explain. Now that Flicka is home, I can explain every single one of them and they all make perfect sense. For whatever reason, this was meant to happen. This is important.
This, is our Flicka
Although we were definitely not looking for a third horse, we couldn't say no to giving her a safe haven. Gupsy was rescued last year by Love This Horse and fostered/adopted by us, but we rescued Flicka privately/on our own after we were contacted by Anzhelika. She is the one who also initially found Gupsy, contacted Love This Horse and transported him through dangerous war zones in Ukraine.
Last month she contacted me, asking if I could take in a mare that's had an abusive past but was rehabilitated by friends who now had to move out of Ukraine and couldn't take her with them. 'Coincidentally' my husband and I just agreed to start looking for a horse for him around March next year, so we agreed that Flicka would join us in March since she seemed like a good fit. Then, last weekend, everything turned into a rollercoaster.
There was a carrier leaving from Ukraine to Poland and from Poland to The Netherlands, so it would make (financial) sense to transport Flicka with this carrier. They would arrive the next Wednesday or Thursday and needed an answer asap. After discussing this at home and with help from my parents, we agreed to take her in now.
Communications were a struggle since none of us speak the same language (thank you Google translate!!) but on Wednesday morning Flicka got her health certificate at the Poland/Germany border and was on our way to us. Of course I got sick (hadn't been for a while so I guess it's just my turn) but still had to prepare for Flicka's arrival ànd the departure of the last boarding horses a day later. Then, just hours before their arrival, I was asked to also prepare a second stall so the other horse that was being transported could stay overnight, before leaving for Amsterdam Airport and ultimately the US the next day. So (still in my pajamas) I went to literally stuff my car with bedding before the store closed, race back to prep the stalls and do our evening rounds. Then, just before midnight, they safely arrived.
It took 2 hours to get everyone settled in, Anzhelika and the carrier herself also stayed for the night. It was heart warming to watch Anzhelika and Gupsy's reunion, she fed the herd carrots while I watched from a distance. It seemed so magical and spiritual to have Anzhelika not only bring Gupsy to us, but also Flicka almost exactly one year later. It was once again the outcome of divine intervention, something unexplainable that we had to act upon.
In the 2 weeks before Flicka's arrival and before even knowing she would arrive so soon, I experienced an insane amount of synchronicities that I couldn't always pinpoint or explain. Now that Flicka is home, I can explain every single one of them and they all make perfect sense. For whatever reason, this was meant to happen. This is important.
This, is our Flicka
November 2023
December 2023
January 2024
"The Universe Provides"
