Tom and Mary Ann Messmer were getting ready for their barn-warming. It was a hot July day, and the couple had been racing around Stone Bridge Stable, their new farm, making sure the air conditioning in the tack room was working, their five horses were clean and stalls were mucked for the celebration. After years of making compromises at their farm in Blue Bell, PA, Mary Ann and Tom were practically giddy reflecting on their great fortune.
Their small farm was cramped. “We had a cinder block barn and the water just flowed through it,” Tom says. The barn was at the bottom of a hill and whenever there was a heavy rain “I had to change bedding for the horses.” And there was not enough storage for extra hay, nor was there enough space for the family’s small herd to be together. So, they had to board a couple of their horses at nearby farms. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked for them.
Late last year they discovered that a farm in Perkasie, PA—one they had looked at years ago—was on the market. It was big enough so all their horses could be together, but not so big that it would be impossible to manage. The stars aligned perfectly, and soon they were planning new fence lines and the reunion of their horses instead of worrying about the next rainstorm.
The Perfect Ride for Claire
Mary Ann and Tom are committed to adopting rescue horses, and they’ve brought several horses home from Omega Horse Rescue in Airville, PA. Horse number five, a mini-Shetland named Cindy Lou Who joined the family in January. “I didn’t really want her in January, but Kelly said she needed the room,” Mary Ann says, laughing. Kelly Smith is the founder of Omega. “Cindy Lou Who is charming, and she’s just a nice pony.” The perfect pony for their four-year-old granddaughter, Claire.
“My daughter Joan is fearless. She put Claire on Cindy Lou and told her to just hug the horse when she wanted to get off.” She says it was so empowering for Claire, who was thrilled that she didn’t need anyone’s help to dismount.
Mary Ann explains that Cindy Lou Who was scruffy and plump, despite her impoverished circumstances when Omega found her. She was at the New Holland auction when she was rescued by Omega, Mary Ann says. “Some crazy person sent her there in the back of a landscaper’s trailer.”
The couple both laugh at the memory of their curiosity about this pony. Another mini rescued at the same time was a male, and Georgina Bloomberg adopted him. Mary Ann says that Cindy Lou Who’s mouth was badly torn, so she spent some time at New Bolton Center before coming home.
“You just never know their history, what they’ve been through,” Tom says about the horses they’ve brought home from Omega. He points to three horses grazing peacefully in the pasture, marveling at how quickly they all bonded once they got together at their new home.
The Ultimate Barn Warming Gift
“Tom goes and feeds the ponies every morning,” Mary Ann explains. “We have a system and we’re just ‘eyes on the prize.’” She says there’s not a lot of talking, because both of them know what needs to get done. But the morning of the barn-warming, Tom was cleaning out Cindy Lou Who’s stall and noticed that something had changed. Displaying excellent manners, Cindy Lou Who had brought a special gift for the hosts: a foal!
Mary Ann said she would routinely hug Cindy Lou Who around her belly, teasing the pony about her girth. “I never felt anything!” The baby was a complete surprise.
“We pulled out the placenta and I turned the fan off because she was still wet,” Mary Ann says. They called the vet, who came and pronounced mom and baby in good health. They named the foal Star Baby, and it’s uncanny how her markings mirror those of her mom. They speculate about what’s ahead for this unexpected gift. “I think she will be bigger than her mom, so here we are. Of all the things I wanted to do with horses, raising a foal was not one of them.”
“I haven’t had my chance. I guess it was meant to be,” Tom says. He’s thrilled with the little foal, and thinks about all the mornings and afternoons he brushed and groomed Cindy Lou Who, talking to her all the while and telling her what wonderful adventures lay ahead. “She heard my voice the whole time,” he says, recalling that when he first saw the foal she was wet and probably less than an hour old.
Star Baby has a personality that’s much bigger than one might expect. “She’s a sassy pants,” Mary Ann says. “She doesn’t follow her mom. We have to be careful leading her, and her mom doesn’t care.” As if to prove the point, Star Baby walks over and begins untying Tom’s shoelaces, then runs around in circles, then comes back for some cuddling and scratching. Cindy Lou Who continues to grazes peacefully, barely gazing at her baby.
An Unusual Event?
Kelly Smith, founder of Omega Horse Rescue, says Cindy Lou Who’s unexpected delivery is not that unusual. “It happens more than people realize,” she says. If the adopters don’t want the foal, Omega will take it back. But she emphasizes the reality of the rescue mission. “I think in general rescue animals need time, patience and love. You can get a wonderful animal and I wish people would be more open-minded.” She says that there’s a serious over-breeding problem in the Unites States—whether it’s horses or dogs and cats. “People look down on rescue animals,” she says. “My thing is those animals had a home before they wound up in the situation they were in when we rescued them. And they deserve the same things any animal does.”
At Mary Ann and Tom Messmer’s Stone Bridge Stable, love is all around. “Taking care of five horses is more challenging than taking care of two,” Tom says. But they look out on the pasture and point to the new fences, the run-in shed and talk about the plans they have. Star Baby is demanding more attention, which they both give without reservation. “It’s our peaceable kingdom,” Mary Ann says.
Indeed it is.