Local cowboy rescues foals from slaughterhouse

By Mitzi Brabb
Mogollon Connection Correspondent

It was just like any other day for horseman Rick Slightam at Betsy Ross Acres in Strawberry. He was going about his normal routine, caring for horses on the 20-acre property just off Fossil Creek Road.

Then he got the call.

It was no ordinary call inquiring about farrier services or a guided trail ride. It was the kind of call with wings attached, like a whisper from heaven about a good deed that would turn an ordinary man into a hero.

The call came from one of Slightam’s buddies, Mic Greer. He happened to be on hand at the Payson Event Center next to a horse trailer crammed with frightened, weary foals. Only moments before, Greer learned what was to be the fate of these young horses, and he knew something had to be done immediately.

“He told me that we had to do something to save them because they were heading for slaughter,” said Slightam.

He wasted no time meeting Greer there. There was little time to lose, as the man transporting them to auction was to return soon from his break at the casino just across the road.

His heart told him what he needed to do even before he arrived at the event center.

Slightam, who has been around horses his whole life, knows the business as much as he knows horses. The foals would first be sent to auction and circulated with dozens of other horses. In this economy, when it is difficult to give a horse away, a “kill buyer” (as they are known in the industry), would most likely purchase them at meat price. They would then be jam-packed into a trailer and hauled off on a long, torturous journey to a slaughterhouse in Mexico or Canada.

Starved, dehydrated, and possibly trampled in their metal prison, Slightam knew that some of the poor creatures might not even survive the trip.

Once he reached the event center, Slightam met Greer and looked at the 15 unfortunate foals, whose ages ranged from three weeks to nine months old. They were from a ranch in Winslow that had run out of water. The owner had tried to give as many horses away as possible, but found that it wasn’t easy. The foals’ mothers had already been sent on ahead, and had most likely already met a terrible fate.

“I just looked into their eyes,” Slightam said. “I couldn’t say no.”

Slightam and Greer literally put together everything they could muster, including pocket change, and were able to purchase all the foals at meat price, which was roughly $150 per head.

“It took two loads,” said Slightam. “I called my wife while we were hauling the horses and she contacted the radio station to put them on Trades and Sales.”

That week Slightam was able to find good homes for seven of them. The youngest of the foals, taken from his mother much too young, struggled to survive. But he pulled through, and is now running around the ranch like any feisty little colt would.

Slightam’s 11-year-old daughter, Janelle, has gotten as attached to the foal as her father. The family, who appropriately named the colt “Lucky,” has decided to keep him for their own.

“I was very impressed and happy about what my father did - that he saved the horses and shows them so much love,” Janelle remarked.

Raised by his grandparents who were both horse trainers, Slightam learned the family trade at a young age. When he was a kid he quit school and worked at horse racing tracks, where he honed his equine training skills. He even had the opportunity to meet one of the most celebrated horse whisperers of all time, Monty Roberts.

For the past 35 years, Slightam has dedicated his career to working with problem horses, trailer training, riding lessons, trail rides, shoeing and trimming horses, and equine training. Now he is about to expand his “Gentle Hands” business into a charitable cause.

After speaking to Betty Gooden, who owns Betsy Ross Acres with her husband Ross, Slightam became convinced that he should found a non-profit horse rescue organization. With seven ponies still in need of a permanent home, he is off to a good start.

“I want to find good homes for all of them, and all I ask is that they let me know how the horses are doing after about two weeks,” said Slightam, who is determined to make sure the foals don’t end up back on the road to slaughter.

If you are interested in learning more about adopting one of these foals, you can contact Rick Slightam at (928) 595-1384 or (928) 476-9905. He is not asking for more than what he and Greer paid out of their own pocket for these beautiful animals - animals indeed fortunate to be blessed with a second chance at life.