Victory

November 20, 2017: VictoryA decision that leaves a bitter taste. In October 2016, we collected 8 equines from a trafficker. 4 mares and their foals who were in the wild. All fearful and unsocialized, we took the time to put them back on their feet for 2 months. Then, once the foals had been weaned, we began the work of socialization.
The mares were brought to Antoine Cloux. It took a while for 3 of them, but most of the breaking-in was done. One of his mares, Victoire by name, showed deep-rooted signs of mistreatment. For 2 months, we worked exclusively on the ground, approaching the mare and haltering her. Every day, it was an ordeal for the mare to see a human approaching and, above all, touching her. She can’t stand the touch of a human hand; skin contact drives her crazy. Various manipulations have been tried, but with little improvement or even rebellion. Victoire throws the antecedents at anyone who comes near her.
After several attempts, Antoine Cloux decided not to continue the work, as the mare was really traumatized. We have deduced that when the owners tried to handle her to chip her a year ago, the handling must have gone terribly wrong, and Victoire must have been pinned to the ground by numerous hands…the trauma was very violent….
We’re reluctant to put him to sleep, but we’ll give it another try.
A friend from the Refuge will take her home, to her stable, to take the time for everything. Here we are, 8 months later Victoire timidly accepts to be touched, except for her hind legs. She is still inaccessible in the park, but above all, for no reason, she continues to rear up and throw her forelegs at the people taking care of her. The evolution is minimal, the mare remains traumatized by what she has experienced, contact with humans remains a permanent confrontation and she unfortunately puts the lives of certain people in danger.
It took me a long time to work up the courage to make this terrible decision, but before an accident happens, because it’s only a matter of time, I decided to put Victoire to sleep.
We’ve given her plenty of chances, but unfortunately we won’t be able to save her. We could have put her in a park, and forgotten about her…but is it animal protection not to assume these obligations? The day the mare is injured, how will we look after her? We won’t be able to: entrust her to someone else? A failure for me, for the Refuge, but you have to know how to strike a balance between the lives of humans and horses. It’s a disappointment for us to see a horse pay the price of its life because of incompetent humans who inflicted actions on it that could have traumatized it to such an extent….
Victoire has only just accepted the halter and contact after 1 year, and approaching her with a syringe and intravenous injection is just impossible. We decided to sedate her with a hypodermic gun and then try sedation before the fatal injection. With time, and also thanks to the courage of the vet who managed to inject the sedation intra-muscularly, Victoire was led out onto a grassy strip before lying down for the final injection. The seconds in these moments are long, very long. Victoire has breathed her last… she leaves this world to join a world without bipeds. A bitter taste for us all, and only one consolation remains: she will have been spared the death-row of a slaughterhouse where she was promised with her daughter.
I’d like to thank Valentine and her sister, who have given unstintingly for months, taking many risks to give Victoire a chance. And who have accepted and understood this terrible decision. Thank you to our vet for taking the time to carry out this euthanasia in the best possible way, given the conditions.
For you, Victoire, from now on, you’re free of humans… Happy trails to you, little bay mare….