The last of the chickens, ducks, geese and 11 Arabian horses that were left without an owner after Taylor's untimely death July 31 will be hauled off Saturday from Taylor's Bitterroot Valley ranch north of Stevensville.
“I think it's a success story. We've been really happy to find them all good homes,” said Marilynn Taylor.
Lin Taylor was fostering cats for a Hamilton feral cat rescue at the time of her death. She had also rescued a number of downtrodden horses over the years, several of which she still had with her.
A retired Marine and veteran endurance rider, Taylor, 60, died of internal injuries a week after she was thrown from her horse on Bass Creek in the Bitterroot Mountains.
Marilynn Taylor has since led the dispersal efforts, which included a screening process for would-be horse adopters and a showing of the Arabians on an August evening that drew some 30 people.
“We visited people's places and saw what their facilities were like, if there was shelter for the horses,” she said. “We asked each person to make up an annual budget, to see if they had realistic expectations of how much it cost to keep a horse for a year.”
With the help of Lin Taylor's neighbor and a couple of horse-savvy friends, Marilynn Taylor tried to find the best match for each horse. Many had been rescued from bad situations and nursed back to health.
“There were some that had no training at all. It was a little difficult because we really didn't know some of them,” she said.
Five of the 11 horses weren't broke to ride, or had injuries or illnesses. They went to two women in Seeley Lake, who've been informally rescuing horses for years.
“They have training experience. The ones that aren't trained, they'll train. The ones that have physical infirmities, they have a couple of vets lined up and someone to work with chiropractics and that type of thing to see how they can rehabilitate them and put them in good homes,” Marilynn Taylor said.
Most of the 20 tons of hay that sat in Lin Taylor's barnyard when she died has been donated to the Seeley Lake ranch, she added.
The other six horses went to individual owners in the Bitterroot and Missoula. Taylor feared it could be difficult to find suitable adopters at a time when horses are being abandoned or hauled to the slaughterhouse in the face of skyrocketing feed and gas prices.
That proved to be unfounded.
The hardest “sell,” it turned out, were nine roosters. But even that turned out well.
“They're going to be picked up on Saturday by a gentleman who loves roosters,” Marilynn Taylor said. “His wife had said at the beginning if we didn't find a home for all the roosters that they really liked them and liked chickens in general.
“We got down to these and it's been two weeks and nobody would take any, so I called him back and, oh, he was so excited about it. They're all set up, he has buildings and pens and all that type of thing. He'd like to get more chickens now, but it's the wrong time of year. They don't have them at the feed store.”
None of the animals was sold, but Taylor did solicit donations to Fox Hollow Animal Project, a nonprofit, low-cost spay and neuter clinic for which she works. Some $2,000 in donations are going to those caring for the foster cats and dogs.
“This will help carry them through,” said Taylor, who urged anyone who can adopt a cat to call her at 273-6007 or 381-0223.
Lin Taylor's son, Scott Logan of California, is heir to her estate. He has arranged for the sale of the ranch at 834 Pineview Drive off El Capitan Loop on the Eastside Highway. Worden Realty has listed it for $349,900.
The horses are all registered Arabians, and Logan will sign the adoption papers over to the new owners.
“We have an adoption agreement that they can't be sold beyond that, and the mares can't be bred,” Taylor said. “If people do come across circumstances where they have to give one of the horses up, they have to get hold of us and we'll re-home the horse again.
“We don't want them going to slaughter. There are too many of everything in the world now, horses included - really nice horses - that are going to slaughter. We just asked them to sign a contract to that effect.”
Reporter Kim Briggeman can be reached at 523-5266 or at kbriggeman@missoulian.com.
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Fonda Ghiardi wrote on Sep 13, 2008 7:38 PM: