Early that morning our crew was at auction jotting down numbers of the horses most needing rescue that would surely be picked up by the kill-buyers. 

Among them stood an older gray OTTB gelding being knocked around by the neighboring horses tied on each side of him. He didn't care, didn't push back, or try to defend himself. He had resigned himself that this was the end. More than 300 lbs underweight, long whip marks on his rump, swollen hind legs, and a gambit of wounds throughout his body, I shuddered to think what this poor horse had gone through. He was at the top of my list. Only having funds to save two on this day, the choosing is agonizing. 

Generally the higher priced horses, the better horses, are auctioned first so I figured I had some time. The less desirable meat horses go at the end when the crowd has thinned out to just a few rescues and the kill-buyers. 

Not on this day! The old gray horse was the very first one, quickly bought up by a kill-buyer, ushered out, and directly loaded on a full truck. The last to complete a load. My stomach just sank.  So many horses in need but I had my heart set on this one. Our board president, a rather tall commanding sort of man, approached the buyer and convinced him to sell us the horse for cost. (It is our policy to never give a kill-buyer a dime of profit from our donors’ money.) The horse was far too thin to bring much at slaughter and too fragile to perhaps even make the trip. The truck was closed and the driver was stepping into the cab as we rushed to catch him. Moments later he was offloaded and transferred to our trailer. 

Now I've done some 11th-hour rescues in my day but this was truly 11 hours and 59 seconds! 

Over the next 10 months Kismet healed both physically and mentally. The blank stares turned into playful whinnies of greeting each morning. Kismet’s rehab included treatment for injuries that are most often seen in plow horses as well as for Lymes. In this part of the country the Amish use every breed to plow, so that explained a lot of his post-racing history. 

Kismet went on to a fabulous adoptive home where his only job was to except love and pampering from his new mom. HIs days of working too hard for too little were behind him.