12/24/2023
In the horse world, it’s become a bit of a tradition to cut the tail hair of our best horses when we lose them.
We didn’t have Leo for long, just days. Truth be told, the plan was never to keep Leo. Our intention when we bought him at auction was simply to end the cycle of suffering for this big sweet horse. We knew that the end he would have faced without us was not a humane one. The gavel fell that day and he was ours, spared from the semi that was there loading others.
You see, we don’t know about Leo’s past, but his worn body told a story. Leo had two crude brands, clipped fresh for the auction in an attempt to squeeze every bit of money out of him. He had saddle sore scars across his back. He had deep lacerations across his body. His knee was large and painful, presumably from a very old injury. He could not stand without extreme pain. This horse paid his dues to his humans somewhere along the line, yet there he was at auction, failed.
So, we did what his owners before us should have done, the only humane thing for Leo. We brought him home and gave him a kind, dignified end here at the farm.
He deserved so much more, a fraction of the effort he gave the humans who failed him. While that saddens and angers us, we do feel better knowing that the buck stopped with us. That had to be good enough.
We stopped him from being bought and sold at another auction. We saved him from being loaded onto a semi.
If you take nothing else from Leo’s story, hear this:
If you have a horse, when the time comes, BUCK UP AND BURY THEM.
Have the courage and the respect for your horse to put them down in the comfort of their home with people they know.
It’s the only right and humane thing to do with our old horses at the end of their lives.
Full stop.
When your horses are old and infirm, unless you bury them, you are failing them.
Do not dump them on a rescue.
Do not take them to an auction.
Do not try to give them away for free online.
Do not send them with that guy that shows up with a cattle trailer and $100.
Give your horse the end they have earned. Bury them.
Leo is gone now, no longer in pain. While it is hard on our team, we are very grateful that we were able to do that for him, if nothing else. We see so many horses who need the same kindness and don’t get it.
Leo was a good horse for somebody, and we didn’t want him to be forgotten. Before he was buried we cut a piece of tail hair to keep, because everyone knows that all the good horses show up in horse heaven with chopped tails.
Leo was a good boy.
❤️
Bella Run Equine is a non-profit organization located in Athens Ohio.
