“Faith” is the assurance of things hoped for and the belief of things not seen.
The call came in to Red Bucket at around 5:00pm on what was one of the hottest days of summer three years ago. The caller was concerned, actually more like panicked. He had frantically tried for three days to get Animal Control out to investigate the dire situation of three trapped and starving horses living in the San Gabriel riverbed inside a makeshift corral. They had no shelter from the heat, no water, no food. Within minutes of the call, our trailer was hitched up and we were on our way to save them. With the caller’s vague verbal directions of, “First, find a Corona beer bottle on the edge in the sand,” along with a texted video showing the trails leading to the three horses, Red Bucket volunteers set out without hesitation. One of the volunteers, 15-year-old Amy Knox, recalled that day vividly. “This was the only actual rescue I’ve ever been on! I got to go because my mom and I were still helping at the Ranch when the call came in.”
Once at the location given by the caller, the three Red Bucket volunteers found the beer bottle mentioned in the call. It was now time to follow the texted video. Looking over the edge into the riverbed exposed a maze of trails accessible only by sliding down a steep embankment and following several twisted paths strewn with broken glass and littered with other debris, overgrown weeds and underbrush. It seemed more like half hiking and half sliding in order to get to the horses. They were all clearly starving. There was no water or food anywhere, and the summer heat was sweltering. Amy remembers walking up to Faith. “The look in her soft, kind eyes said she was ready…seeming to state ‘anywhere I am going is better than where I am.’ ” Amy says she was asked to name Faith. The three mares received their new forever names of Faith, Hope and Charity. After thirty days in quarantine, the three mares were moved to pasture to give them some much needed space and time to clear their heads and bring back their sweet spirits. All had the obvious signs of abuse, along with the physical scars to prove it.
Fast forward to the present time. Faith has now returned from pasture. Volunteer Cathy Hessman says, “Faith is the sweetest girl. She nickers to me when I walk past her stall. It’s as if she is saying, ‘Hey, I’m over here, please come see me!’ ” Kathy says there was a time when Faith was very
depressed and did not want anyone to come see her. Those days are long gone and Kathy says, “I’m so happy she is back to feeling happy, trusting and wanting attention.” Another volunteer, Carol DeMott says, “Faith loves to vocalize and call out to all of us! She is very aware of what is going on and watches our every move. She even responds to her name!” One of Carol’s favorite things to watch is when Faith does her animated “quick step” on the way to her turnout time. “Faith actually likes to sing to the volunteers too!” says Carol.
One thing everyone agrees on about Faith is that she is a gentle spirit. She is a beautiful and kind Appaloosa who is currently ridden under saddle with the trainers, and is considered the perfect ride and temperament. Cathy says this about Faith, “I know that when she finds that one special person to love her, she will be their best friend forevermore!” Faith is now ready to find her new Forever Home…if you think it might be you, please let us know! We know her future home is near and Faith is patiently waiting, as she believes in things that are not yet seen, but assured.
Written by: Johanna Downs