My Personal Life
I am Heidi. Professionally, I am a Registered Nurse but by choice, I am a Mom.
My husband and I are raising 4 children in a rural community in central Oklahoma. We share our home with several horses, all
but one from rescue. Multiple dogs, again mainly rescues. An entourage of cats. And one lone Royal Python snake.
I started rescuing when I was 4 yrs old. My brother, sister and I had sneaked
with some neighbor kids down to the town pound. We spied a box with wiggly puppies in it. The rumor was that the town was
so small, they shot the unwanted dogs. This was unbelievable to us kids but we weren't taking a chance. We snuck around the
building until we could each grab a puppy then we ran off with them.
My parents were not happy about us bringing home 4 mutt puppies but they handled
it well. They worked at finding the little ones homes and when we moved so many months later, one last puppy went with us.
So my life in rescue was started.
As a teenager, I rescued almost more dogs than I can count. I showed
hunters and all my horse friends knew if they brought me a puppy, I couldn't say no. I did meet a few rescue horses in those
years but they were rare.
Fast forward to 2002, when I first found a PMU website. I knew how Premarin
was made but I had never seen any intimate information on the industry. I was apalled at the horrible pictures posted on the
site.
I knew that wasn't the whole story so I kept clicking links until I found sites
that told a different story. They also showed pics but they were pics of mares happily munching hay in a bright, clean barn.
Pictures of foals romping in lush fields.
I believe that in every profession, every industry, every everything,
there is good and bad. What I was seeking and found, were the farmers who loved their horses as I did. Their horses' wellbeing
came first. These were the people I wanted to associate with and help.
In November of 2002, my first PMU foals arrived. Two young, healthy Belgian
weanlings stepped off the trailer and into my heart. As the winter days went by, I found myself more and more in love.
Scott Smith of Sleipnir Horse Sanctuary is my hero. He was assisting some caring
PMU farmers find loving homes for their foals. When he announced that he needed to cease his full time rescue, I felt bereft.
But I knew I needed to do something.
After discussion with my husband and family, we decided to form a website
devoted to finding PMU foals good homes. I had already been helping Scott by volunteering. I had been placing ads online to
help draw attention to the foals. Then I started typing up foal agreements. This showed me another side to rescue.
I dealt with potential purchasers who wanted a foal but hadn't thought
it out. Some sought information while others were all talk and no action. I found people who filled out applications and then
disappeared forever, even going so far as to delete their email address. I was shocked!
I also found the most wonderful, caring people. I made a new friend in Alaska
that showed me how incredible and wonderful people can be. I found a lovely lady in California who has a golden, pure heart.
My Southern friends give me strength thru every storm. Plus my NY connection offers a my guiding hand thru the trials
and tribulations of running a business. I truly enjoyed dealing with these people. Helping them was a joy not a hardship.
So I have seen more than one side of the horse world and I will see more in
the months and years ahead. I am ready to help the farmers in every way I can by posting their foal pics and finding them
good homes. I have my family and a large, wonderful group of online friends to assist me.
Prism will continue to sell the PMU foals and horses that have worked and continue
to work in the Premarin industry. The small fee charged on each purchase will fund our rescue efforts. It is our sincere belief
that everybody in the horse industry should work in rescue.
So who I am, is a stay at home Mom, horse love match connector, animal rescuer,
horse trainer, dog trainer, community volunteer, avid reader and mediocre artist. I have many facets but they all love
horses and always will. This business is my new baby. I will devote myself to making it a success by placing as many
foals in homes as I can. I will never give up on a horse in need.
