History

Morningstar Jen, or just Jen, is a Bay Appaloosa Curly mare, foaled around 1997 in Tennessee.

I did a little bit of digging on the internet, and what I found out was very sad. Apparently, Jen was rescued as a little filly, maybe about a year or two old? From someone who was feeding her nothing but bread and water. She was in horrid condition, from what I could gather, but was very friendly and sweet. I understand the breeder of these horses was not only starving them, but he was also abusive. The Curly community is quite small, and it is not difficult to dig up the history of most of the horses, owners and breeders.

Then a Curly breeder from TN found her, and bought her from the person that rescued her from presumably the breeder. She was about 3 years old at the time the breeder from TN bought her.

She had her about a year, and had her trained under saddle shortly before she sold her, apparently she took to training very easily and did well. She was also exposed to their stud. She was then sold to the woman I bought her from, where she foaled her first filly from that exposure (that filly is now living at another Curly breeders in TX).

I learned about Jen when I bought her full sister, Lakota Gem. The owner of Jen (the person I bought her from) contacted me, and we had chatted via email off and on over a few years, comparing the girls temperaments, and just keeping in touch because we owned full sisters. I was told how wonderful Jen was, very calm, smart, willing, and a wonderful childs horse.

In the fall of 2006, it was brought to my attention that some photos were posted in the owners Yahoo photo album of Jen, her fillies, and the other horses on the property, and they were all in horribly emaciated condition.

Apparently things had gone horribly wrong for the owner in her marriage, and the horses were not being fed properly since before 2005. Apparently the husband was abusive, among other things, and the story comes across as a movie of the week worthy of an award.

The horses continued to suffer, and the owner continued to do nothing about their condition, other than continue to move, avoiding the sherriff each time they were called to a new location to investigate.

In February of 2007, the owner finally decided to put Jen up for sale (and kept, and still has, the fillies and studs, despite being ordered by the State Vet and Sheriffs to find them homes). I attempted to network and find a buyer for Jen, but there was nobody I could find stupid enough to pay $1500 for a rack of bones mare.

I could not stop thinking about Jen. She haunted my dreams every single night, and I thought of her every waking hour. I was not currently working, and my husband was out of work for 3 months due to a bad accident that broke his leg, and shattered a vertabrae in his back. We were in no position to purchase, ship, and care for a horse in this condition. But we made it happen, Jen traveled from Texas to Connecticut, and her new life has begun. This is her story.