Pilgrim’s Story: From Kill Pen to Sanctuary
Pilgrim was an Amish work horse. We don't know what his exact job was but we know that he loyally and faithfully performed that job day after day. One day his family decided not to put him to work anymore and he was brought to an auction where he was purchased by a kill buyer. He was in the lot awaiting his horrid fate when he sustained an injury to his back leg and his feet began to become infected with thrush from standing in mud 24 hours a day. Volunteers came to take his pictures, to which he happily obliged. He even happily allowed them to place a small child on his back and have them ride him around the pen. The volunteers posted him so we could find him, and we are sure glad we did! The day we saw Pilgrim's pictures and videos is the day his life changed for the better. No horse deserves to be where Pilgrim was but something about him spoke to us and we knew we couldn't allow this beautiful, sweet horse to head to Mexico or Canada. With the help of this AMAZING community, we bailed Pilgrim out of the kill pen and he got his freedom ride. Currently, Pilgrim is still in quarantine where he has received a full vet check and has approval to make his way to Happy Tales in the next couple of weeks. HIs quarantine family says that he is phenomenal and incredibly sweet and has been an absolute pleasure to have at their farm. We are super excited to meet this newest member of the family and equally excited to introduce him to all of you. We have been busier than ever preparing for his homecoming. We have re-graveled all of our barn areas, cleared a space for Pilgrim's barn, and are in the process of having barns moved and fences built. We are also working on our arena area so that we have a space to work with Pilgrim and the other horses, as well as those that want to come and participate in the many equine programs we will be offering in 2021!
