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Cusack

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From a kill pen to a 40-acre dream home. How Facebook helped save Cusack.

From a kill pen to a 40-acre dream home. How Facebook helped save Cusack.

Deb Johnson rarely gets on to Facebook. A couple weeks ago when she “just messing around,” she noticed a friend had made numerous posts about horses in “kill pens” at an auction house in Washington.

Johnson, a retired sky instructor now living in Westmoreland, typically turns away from such posts because she feels there is nothing she can do to help the large animals who find their way to auction.

But when Johnson saw a picture of New Zealand-born racehorse Cusack — named after actor John Cusack — she gasped.

“It was like an arrow shot out of the computer into my heart,” said Johnson, 58. “It was love at first sight, and I knew he didn’t belong there.”

The 12-year old gelding, meaning he is unable to breed, found himself a long way from the sandy beaches of New Zealand with a $500 price tag on his head for purchase.

Cusack’s temporary home was, as Johnson learned, a concrete-floor stall or loose pin in Enumclaw, Wash., at the Enumclaw Sales Pavilion. Many feared the thoroughbred’s fate would end in slaughter in Canada.

The Enumclaw Sales Pavilion declined to comment about Cusack or the specifics of the auction.

Awaiting an unknown fate back in Washington, little did Cusack know that his plight had inspired a worldwide effort to rescue him.

Tampa, Fla., resident Susan Young, a horse supplies seller, saw the picture of Cusack posted by Auction Horses, a group based out of Washington. The organization, according to its website, educates the public about the plight of at-risk horses destined for auction and possible slaughter.

Auction Horses had posted a picture of Cusack on its Facebook page. As a fellow Kiwi, Young recognized his New Zealand mark and felt a need to save “one of our own.”

“It was just something in his eyes that said he knew damn well he didn’t belong there,” Young said.

Young contacted an equestrian news and information site in New Zealand, and it agreed to assist in raising funds for transport and purchase.

According to the site, donations poured in, totaling about $2,200. The money alleviates expenses relating to vet bills, boarding, food and supplements. It allowed for Cusack to be purchased and pay for his temporary board with Lisa O’Gorman at the Back Forte Equestrian Center in Enumclaw, Wash.

O’Gorman said Cusack “rolled and rolled” around in his new 16- to 20-foot stall, where he will remain until June 4 when Paul Lynch, the owner and operator of 4railhorsetransport, will make the trek across the country with Cusack.

Johnson expects Cusack to arrive two to five days later at her 40-acre property she shares with her husband, about 45 miles east of Topeka between Westmoreland and Wamego. The couple has six horses already grazing the green pastures and exploring the creeks and woods.

Little is known of Cusack’s history. Johnson said she had no paperwork on Cusack but knew he raced briefly in 2007. According to Auction Horses, Cusack raced 34 times and won $53,000.

Retired racing horses frequently find themselves at auction once they are out of their prime. Johnson said sometimes auction is the only option for owners and horses as the economy takes a toll on people’s ability to care for their animals.

“These days, most folks are trying to pay rent,” Johnson said. “I didn’t care how Cusack ended up there, I just wanted to know his story and get him out.”

Luckily for Cusack, his fate destined him retire to Kansas where a future of competitive trail-riding awaits him — if he is willing, Johnson said, adding that her place is like a hospital for horses.

“Horses are sent here, and it was no different with Cusack,” Johnson said. “Feels like divine intervention, and I’m participating in something greater than me.”

Interview sourced from : THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL - By Angelique McNaughton

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