This story begins, as far as we know, in the winter of 2022, when a horse we now know as Hoorah (mid-20’s) was rescued from the New Holland auction in New Jersey by a sanctuary.
Like many of the horses at the auction, Hoorah was hungry and sick. While we don’t know what Hoorah was thinking at the time, one certainly would believe that the sanctuary would be a kind and loving home. Unfortunately, for Hoorah and hundreds of other animals, it was not. When the condition of the animals of the sanctuary was revealed, Rising Starr was called in to help save two of the 30 horses that needed help. Hoorah is just one of 11 that we rescued.
[READ: More Happy AHFEH Stories]
A Close Call
We didn’t meet Hoorah until our second trip to New Jersey. At first, we weren’t planning on taking him, but another horse we were assigned to take went home with rescue, so we had an extra spot on our trailer. We were asked to take him along with Brandi, a senior horse in well into her 30’s. Both horses were rated one out of nine on the Henneke Scale. The Henneke Scoring System is a scientific method of evaluating a horse’s body condition regardless of breed, body type, sex or age. This means Hoorah and Brandi were just days away from dying of starvation.
Hoorah was the first to get on one of the trailers we brought. He stood with one of our wonderful volunteers, Barb, and danced in the trailer, not trying to back out and not trying to go forward. Little did anyone know, it was the beginning of a love story.
During the first few days at Rising Starr, Hoorah just stood in his stall with his head facing the back wall, his eyes empty and hopeless. He had been let down by everyone, including the sanctuary who ended up starving him. He had given up. Then Hoorah and Brandi met. Believe me when I tell you it was love at first sight! Hoorah had found something worth living for. For the first time, we saw a little glimmer of life in his dead black eyes.
5 months later, we can’t separate them for even a moment.
I have never in all my years seen a horse grow to accept and love life more than Hoorah. I would like to say it’s because of Rising Starr, but it’s because of Brandi.
Staying Together
Eventually, we received the call we were hoping for—a wonderful person was looking for a companion for her 30-year-old horse. She had settled on Brandi, but before I got off the phone, I mentioned the bond Hoorah and Brandi had. Then she told me she had changed her mind. She wanted both Hoorah and Brandi!
A few months later Hoorah sleeps now and his new buddy Dakota watches over Brandi. Looking at them and their story, no matter what we all go through and how shut down we are, there is something and someone out there for everyone.
