In January 2019, a grandfather in Mississippi decided he wanted to get a special gift for his young grandson: an elderly pony. The grandson had gone for a ride on the 30-year-old pony and fallen in love with him, and the grandfather decided to buy the pony at a livestock auction.
Jennifer Aylesworth, vice president of Rocking R Ranch and Rescue, was also at the auction. This rescue group goes to livestock auctions and attempts to outbid “kill buyers” who want to send the horses to slaughterhouses. The rescue group gives the horses a home at their sanctuary.
The auction began, and the grandfather placed his bid for the pony his grandson loved. Aylesworth didn’t bid at first—she was happy to let the grandfather and grandson buy the pony.
But then, a kill buyer also began bidding for the pony. To the grandfather’s dismay, the bidding went much higher than he anticipated. The grandfather couldn’t afford the new price, and he told his grandson he had to stop bidding.
“He said I have to stop,” Rocking R Ranch and Rescue wrote on Facebook. “So we bid, and then a few bids later he bid again, and then he stopped. He said that’s all I can do. The little boy didn’t complain or whine, but had tears in his eyes.”
Aylesworth watched as the grandfather got outbid, and she decided then and there that she wanted to get the pony for him. So she began bidding against the kill buyer, and thankfully, she won!
As soon as Aylesworth learned that she won, she approached the grandfather and grandson. She offered to give them the pony.
“I said sir, if that baby wants that pony, you can adopt him from us… Long story short, the little boy gets his pony, and this senior pony gets a little boy that has waited on him all day, and loves him already. He hugged me and thanked me, and I made him promise he would love him and take good care of him every day.”
The grandfather and grandson took the pony home, and they sent Aylesworth a photo of the pony in his new pasture. The senior pony is so happy to be spending his golden years with a little boy who loves him more than anything!
Aylesworth is thrilled to know that the pony is in such a good place.
“That is our wish for every horse that we rescue,” Aylesworth told Liftable. “That we can help them find their family. So there his family was, standing there ready to love him. There was no need for the pony to come home with us, he needed to go home with that family.”
Thanks to a determined a little boy and a group of kindhearted animal rescuers, a senior pony was saved from slaughter and has a great place to call home. If you want to learn more about Rocking R Ranch and Rescue, check out their Facebook page.
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