If you’ve been following the work of The Lily Pond in recent years, you know that we’ve focused on providing a safe landing for ex-racehorses rescued from the kill pen. Once again, we were given the opportunity to help a horse who escaped the slaughter pipeline. But this horse had to be rescued twice!
Charlie is a Standardbred Pacer who raced the tracks… without much success. Sold into farm labor where he toiled for years, Charlie found himself dumped in the kill pen. Rescued from a terrible fate by a national horse rescue organization, he was nursed back to health by the quarantine facility and adopted out to a new home.
But happily-ever-after was not yet to be. His adopter failed to provide adequate care, eschewing vet and farrier care and feeding only one flake of hay in the morning and evening. Charlie began to starve. It was a woman boarding her horse at the same facility that blew the whistle, including rumors that Charlie’s owner was going to sell him down the river.
The quarantine facility stepped back in to retrieve Charlie, and began the process of rehabilitating him a second time. We were contacted for potential placement because Charlie has dropped suspensories and is thus not rideable. This made finding an adopter very difficult. What this horse needed was a safe forever home where he would not be expected to work or ride.
We welcomed Charlie on a cold day in November and discovered a truly beautiful and resilient soul. Despite his towering height of 17 hands, Charlie is sweet and gentle. Smart as a Harvard graduate and willing to trust new people, he also demonstrated a gift for making friends with the other horses in our herd. We looked on with delight as Charlie nuzzled Roll To Thunder and frolicked happily with Super Tuesday. A beautiful friendship blossomed between these two chestnuts. Two race horses who both experienced the trauma of the kill pen and redemption of rescue, Charlie and Super Tuesday are never far apart from one another. They playfully romp around the paddock together and show up side-by-side for morning and evening meals.
We are honored to be part of Charlie’s family.
