SEINE RIVER FIRST NATION – Earlier in September, a fire burned down the hay barn at Grey Raven Ranch in Seine River First Nation.
Ranch staff say the barn in northwestern Ontario was deliberately burned down. However, OPP has not been able to confirm.
Now, the Ojibwe horses are running out of the little bit of hay that was stored elsewhere to survive for the winter.
Kim Campbell, director at Grey Raven Ranch, said she received a ‘bad news’ text from ranch president, Darcy Whitecrow, on Sept. 16.
“I got this horrific picture which I didn’t recognize at first, believe it or not," said Campbell. "It was the barn of fire with the hay in it."
“We’ve had a lot of people who have done foolish things in the past, go in there and smoke a cigarette, but we’ve never had the whole barn burn down so quickly and so hot,” she said.
The barn was 24 feet by 24 feet, Campbell said.
“We could store an awful lot of hay in there, since we keep the Ojibwe horses next to where the barn was standing," she said.
Ojibwe horses are one of the most endangered horse breeds on earth, Campbell said. There are fewer than 200 left worldwide.
Grey Raven Ranch's mission is to help preserve the species of horse by breeding them.
Campbell said there are several horses at Seine River First Nation that do programs for people to come and meet them.
“The horses are normally fed by the hay we purchase with funds from various events, which was stored in the barn," she said. "The hay is gone."
Campbell started a GoFundMe page to raise money to purchase hay to keep the Ojibwe horses alive.
“The money will go straight into Grey Raven’s bank account, and from there it goes to two entities," she said. “One of them is our hay supplier, and the other chunk will either go to the gentleman who brings our hay or we’ll have to rent a U-Haul."
In normal times Grey Raven Ranch would not have to make an appeal like this, Campbell said.
“We do fundraisers throughout the year. We do a big event at Quetico Provincial Park," she said. “The last thing we were expecting is to have the barn burned down just at the point of the year when we’ve moved all the hay in there.”
Campbell started the page because she could not figure out another way to get the horses fed for the winter.
In less than two weeks, the campaign has raised more than $2,500 for hay.
“I’m grateful. When I saw that this morning, I kind of started crying," said Campbell. “It makes me so grateful that people are willing to donate, because I know it’s hard for everybody. Inflation has got everybody right to the wall and the fact that people are willing to give $10 or $50 or some people have given us $100 or $200.The fact that people are willing to do that for these horses and help them survive this winter, that’s a generosity of spirit that gives me faith in humanity."
Campbell said to anyone who has donated or to anyone interested, the ranch does have lots of visitors. She said to email the ranch in advance of any visit.
The campaign will most likely stay up until they get to, or close to, the fundraising goal, she said.
For more information, or to donate visit the GoFundMe page.
