Q&A

In the spirit of ‘Clearing the Air’ (not to mention saving me from needless hours of redundancy) I am putting this out on the proverbial table.
Pull up a chair.

Some of you out there are far too aware of the sheer ugliness that sometimes ( okay, often) accompanies ‘rescue’. If you are NOT aware, allow me to say a heartfelt ‘Lucky you!’
I have , in the past, given entirely too much time to ‘defending myself’ and feeling the need to answer every comment on social media.
After two years of answering the same questions time and time again, I felt it far easier to just state it ONCE, here.
So away we go!

To answer a few of the most ‘common’ ( and uglier) ‘questions’ once and finally, please continue reading .

1. ‘Do you work with ( or for ) a ‘Kill Buyer’? Are you ‘Paid by the kill pens’?
   No. I have not , nor do I now ‘work for’ any kill pens. I am not paid by kill pens owners.
   However, I do maintain ( sometimes through very gritted teeth) a civil
   relationship for the benefit of being able to help the horses.
2. Are you a 501(c)3 organization? If not, why ?
   I am not. I am a Texas state nonprofit, not a federal 501(c)3.
   As for ‘Why Not’ …. the simple answer is this:
   I do not currently have a ‘board’. Due to several unsavory partnerships ( ‘Friends’) in the past,
   I am the sole entity of Soul Horse Texas. Founder, president, vice president, secretary , and treasurer. Should the time come that I find people trustworthy enough, that share the same goal as I, then I will have a ‘board’ and file for a 501(c)3.

3.Why don’t we see YOU with each and every horse, hands on?

Two years ago, you would have. I began riding ( and loving) horses at age eight. I rode, trained, showed, taught….Up until I didn’t. For various personal reasons ( The foremost being so ill I could barely walk to my own kitchen, much less cart feed out to a hungry horse) , I have not had horses here with me PERSONALLY in two years.
When I thought I was dying( Okay, fine…I WAS) , I wanted to build a network of ‘rescues’ and people to take in these unwanted horses , and THAT has been my role for nearly two years now.
I still desire to build and strengthen that network. ( I would also like to add ‘So?’ It takes ALL of us doing a different part to get this accomplished. For now, this IS my part. )

4. ‘If you don’t have land and a barn and trucks and trailers, why do you rescue horses?’
TO me, that is like saying ‘If you do not have all that you dream of, why do you dream at all?’
That is not how my mind works.
I am a person who if I have something another needs, I give it. I’m told I was this way even as a child.
The point is…..
Though I do not have a ‘facility’ of my OWN to house all these horses, why should I not help others to help them?
My parents do own a small barn and acreage , but Hurricane Harvey did quite some damage that honestly, I’ve not had the funding get get back up to par as yet.
Hopefully soon, that will be remedied. (God willing and the creek don’t rise…literally.)

I see absolutely no reason why I should not get these horses SAFELY into homes, quarantines, care providers, and other rescues. They need somewhere to go….
Why not help them get there?

5. ‘With all the mistakes you have made , why don’t you just quit’?
This is one I’d rather not dignify with a response….
But I will say this.
Mistakes are how we learn, and I made MANY along the way, my largest being trusting the ‘wrong people’.
Needless to say, I have learned more than I could possibly convey.

6. . ‘Why do you save so MANY’?
This question puzzles me. I still do not have a proper answer , I suppose.
Soul Horse Texas has aided in saving over 300 horses from slaughter. Being self taught ( and far too trusting)
of course mistakes have been made. What those mistakes have determined though, is precisely what NOT to do, and how to go forward a smarter, better, more organized organization to help more horses.
And of course, people.

Lastly, and one I debated including…

7. .’Is it true you have agoraphobia and panic disorder’? Why do you do this if you have ‘that’?

Yes. I have dealt with this for most of my life. I am not ashamed to say that I suffer from both, though it is one hell of a kick in the pants on a daily basis.
ANYONE who uses this is a weapon to berate another person . . .
Well, it is they who should ‘be ashamed’. ‘Making fun’ of someone for something out of their control just to be nasty is largely what is wrong with the human race.
In doing this, YOU are saying ‘ You should be ashamed, and hide what you are, and what you deal with’.
Tell me how that helps …anyone? Helps anything?
When you try to shame someone for things beyond their control, you set the example and precedent that they should just not try to make the most of things or attain their dreams. That they should be ;ashamed’ .
That says far more about YOU than ‘them’.
Nuts to that.

Though I most assuredly DO deal with these less than desirable ‘traits’, I find ways to do this.
To help horses, and people who help horses.
I am in no way ashamed of that.

This is not a ‘Typical Post’ for me , as it is a bit personal, but one I felt necessary. I have given far, far too much time to answering these very questions so many times.
Now, with the beauty of the ‘Internet’ it is all in one place with the hand benefit of a ‘Clickable link’ .

Until further adieu ~

Remember ~

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
~ Winston Churchill

Randi L. Collier