Emaciated Race Horse Found, Rescued With Not A Moment To Lose
Leo Shvedsky
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There are few things in this world more heart-wrenching than an animal being tossed out and left for dead by their owners. Such is the case with Blessing, a pure bred rescued from the desert after being left for dead by her previous owner.
Blessing, the name given to her by her rescuers, was first spotted around the Gila Bend area by local rancher. If you look at the Google Maps satellite image Gila Bend is south of Phoenix in a sparsely populated part of the desert. This is no place for a lone horse to survive.
When found, as seen in the images, she was emaciated, malnourished, and likely did not have long. The local ranch manager that spotter her called the Sherriff and together they tracked her and brought her a bucket of water, which she gratefully accepted.
The vet who eventually treated her believed that she lost upwards of 600 lbs while on her own.
From there they contacted a few establishments that take in horses like this, and Hope Ranch out of Buckeye answered the call. Once they came to pick her up Blessing duly earned her name. As Misian Cory from Hope Ranch put it –
“Without hesitation she got right into the trailer and was quickly brought to safety. Today she is getting her hooves trimmed. They are in terrible shape and it’s difficult for her to walk. The vet has been called and we are doing everything necessary to get her well. This is going to be a big expense and we are asking for donations. Anything is appreciated. Even prayers and good thoughts. We have named her Blessing. That’s just what she is… a Blessing”
Just four days after being rescued Blessing was doing much better and in good spirits. Her handlers report that she’s super gentle. Probably because she is grateful for having been saved from a harrowing situation.
But her tender disposition is also likely due to the fact that she was under the care of a previous owner, and trained to interact with humans and equipment such as trailers. It’s not known at this time who Blessing’s previous owner was, or if Blessed was abandoned on purpose. She is not chipped like a lot of horses are, so we may never know.
But it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility for her to have been left to fend for herself. It is estimated that somewhere around 100,000 unwanted horses are abandoned or slaughtered each year. If accurate, that is truly a startling number and one we need to be reducing.
And Hope Ranch is doing their best in that regard. They are a non-profit so they’re in it solely for the sake of the horses. They don’t usually take donations, but recently they’ve taken in a few abandoned horses and are looking for any help.
If you feel so inclined, you can make donations to their GoFundMe found here.
