Compassion

Are we born with compassion? Is it something we acquire as we get older? Tonight was auction night at the Heart of IL Arena down on route 29. We always enjoy this and usually buy buckets, manure forks, lead ropes, halters and lots of other fun stuff. Not very often have we ever purchased a horse there. I can count on one hand and then only need a couple of fingers of our horse purchases there in all the years we have gone. Tonight my heart over ruled my head big time. An older man brought into the ring a young very frightened 4 year old buckskin mare bleeding from her neck, jaw, and shoulder. This poor mare has never had any handling, just run into a stall then dragged into the arena bruised and bleeding. The only other bidder worked for a Canadian slaughter house. He thought he could pick her up for a hundred or 2, ship her to Canada where he would get 60-70cents a pound. I just couldn't let it happen and started bidding against him. He finally dropped out when it looked like he wasn't going to make anything on her once the shipping to Canada was figured into her price. I went to this auction without a trailer, so had to leave the mare until tomorrow. Before we left we spent some time in the stall just talking softly to her. She calmed down enough to let us check out the worst of her wounds and apply some healing salve. Rhoda agreed to meet me in the morning to try to load her, we would appreciate prayers anyone wants to say for her and us as we try to load her tomorrow. Pictures will be posted of her as soon as we get her home and then we will document all progress with her.