05/26/2026
Yesterday, Ginger brought her beautiful baby girl into the world, and before her hooves touched the ground, she was taken from us.
There are not many moments in this rescue world in which I feel pure and raw rage. I champion myself for being level headed in the chaos and just focusing on the horse. But that was not the case yesterday.
After the adrenaline from desperately slicing through placenta and amniotic sack to free the filly and allow her airways the life giving air they so desperately needed left me, a raw and violating rage filled me. Because she was gone before my hands even had the chance to help her.
Ginger delivered a stunning palomino filly with a big white blaze and four white socks. What caused her death is something called a “red bag” delivery in the horse world. During labor, the placenta tore, which deprived the filly blood and oxygen during the delivery process. She was born with the placenta covering her face, which is why I had to tear through it to get to her mouth. This could have happened for many reasons, but most likely was because of the extreme stress, malnutrition, infections, and neglect that Ginger had during her pregnancy.
These horses come to us broken, and I take such pride in my job of caring for them and giving them everything they need or want. But yesterday, the rage filled me because I was not able to give Ginger what her body and soul so desperately needed.
All day I heard her frantically screaming for a baby that never got the chance to hear her mother’s call. And there was nothing I could do to soothe her shattered soul. And it broke a part of me.
This post is raw and real because there is no other way to describe it. Ginger’s body is riddled with evidence of how humans have failed her, and yesterday they broke yet another part of her.
I decided to name the filly Daisy, and buried her next to a little pond overlooked by her mother’s stall. I couldn’t separate them more.
Right now the Lilacs are blooming and showing their beauty. I would like to plant a lilac bush over Daisy’s grave to remind us of her youthful blooming beauty every year.
Please consider donating $50 for the Lilac Bush
