A lovely Standardbred

Our hearts go out to the people who cared for this beautiful boy. 💞

But there is so much more to his story than his passing so we'll start at the beginning.

He was a Standardbred and kept as a stallion for the first 19 years of his life. We can only speculate but he was likely used for breeding as he spent that whole time alone living in field. It is sadly not unusual for stallions to spend their lives in isolation. His owner had suddenly passed away and he was taken in by a Standardbred rehoming organization. They had him gelded, which is a risky procedure for a horse of that age. Thankfully he recovered and he began to learn some basic handling skills.

Later he was sent to another foster home for training so he could continue learning how to be a horse. One of the first things he experienced was something he had never had before—friends. That changed everything for him. He truly thrived.

He became gentle, trusting, and incredibly kind, allowing both adults and children to ride him, participating in a therapy program, and even happily accepting being doted on.

Recently he came into the barn very uncomfortable. It was discovered that he had suffered a severe colic that caused his stomach to rupture. Nothing could be done to save him and he was given the Last Act of Kindness.

His foster home had this to say about him: "He was one of the friendliest horses I have ever known. Even though his time with us was far too short, he finally got to experience what it meant to be loved, to have friends, and to truly live like a horse. And that is something I will always be grateful for."

We are grateful too. Horses are not meant to live solitary lives. They are a herd animal. We are so thankful he finally was able to experience the joys of companionship and loving care from humans.

Thanks to our donors we were able to provide them with our Humane Euthanasia Grant.