Boo

We were approached by long-term supporters to ask whether we could help with a mare that was in desperate need of a home.  Sadly, until a year before she joined us, Boo had suffered at the hands of humans and was a very nervous horse with complications and injuries (such as a broken shoulder that had been forced to repair without any veterinary help) caused by her past life.  She had been rescued by an amazing lady who had been looking for a riding horse, had come across Boo and knew she had to help. Unfortunately, she couldn’t keep her long-term and needed to rehome her but knowing how nervous and frightened Boo could be in a traditional environment (stables terrified her as did rugs and other everyday equine items), she needed a home where they could continue the amazing rehabilitation job that had been started.  Having learnt about Boo’s past and the extra care that she would need, we offered her a home. Some of the initial hurdles had been crossed by her rescuer but she has a long way to go – the most usual of horse tasks are terrifying for Boo and she needs huge patience to even accept general care, such as the barefoot trimmer or dentist.  After a gentle integration into our herd, we could see that Boo took great comfort from the other horses and started to relax in their company, staying close for security.  She then accepted our staffing team and would work well with them, a little wary of strangers still.  So we gave her regular carers and introduced her slowly to new people, each one reinforcing that not all humans are bad. Whilst Boo is very settled and coming on leaps and bounds each week, she is a long-term project.  But what we know is that we have all the patience in the world and we will give her the best life we can – her past is well and truly behind her now and she has nothing to fear.