At 30 years of age, Arthur was deemed too old and decrepit to be of any more use, so his owners carelessly tossed him aside.
Shortly thereafter, the Belgian draft horse, whose life had been filled with too much hard labor and not enough love, found himself bouncing around from dealer to dealer in the horse auction circuit.
It got to the point where he was so exhausted and weak, he could no longer stand up on his own.
That’s him there lying in the grass, about to give up on his pitiful, heartbreaking life.
By the time Cindy Daigre found him at a high-kill auction, Arthur was literally at the end of the line.
Unless Cindy could save him, there would be no hope for this poor boy!
Horses are magnificent, highly intelligent animals who deserve love and respect, but sadly they’re still used and abused by disgraceful humans for their own selfish gain.
Cindy, who runs Ferrell Hollow Farm – a sanctuary for senior horses and cats in Tennessee – first discovered Arthur and his friend Max at a dealer in Pennsylvania. She explained to The Dodo how these unwanted seniors were rescued just in the knick of time:
“I pulled both Arthur and his buddy Max from dealers in Pennsylvania where they had been bounced around from auctions and were heading to New Holland, a high-kill auction, next.”
When Arthur finally arrived at his new home on the farm, he still wasn’t well enough to stand up.
It was obvious that he was in really bad shape – his bones and ribs were poking through his skin!
The long trailer ride across state lines was rough, and all this beautiful horse could do was lay down and rest while his 22-year-old buddy Max munched on some grass nearby.
There’s no telling what horrors poor Arthur endured during his life as a work horse in New England, but now that he was in a safe place, he finally had a chance to heal the wounds of his past.
The question was – did this beautiful boy have enough strength left to pull himself through?
Cindy thought she could still see a glimmer of life left in those sad eyes, and wasn’t about to give up on him!
After a thorough examination by the vet, it was discovered that Arthur had dermatitis, mites, and was lame in his front feet. That was in addition to the other ailments he was suffering from. No wonder he had problems standing upright!
Cindy did everything she could do to help this starving horse survive. This is her feeding Arthur his very first nibble of food on the day he arrived at the sanctuary.
Soon enough, Arthur was back on his feet. He was still lame, but at least he could stand up on his own, and even prance around in the grass with his buddy Max.
But his favorite activity, when he wasn’t yawning with adorable fierceness, was munching on crunchy hay! He actually preferred that over fresh green grass.
Arthur’s friend hadn’t fared much better when he first arrived at the sanctuary.
Max had suffered terribly at the hands of his former owners, as evidenced by the brutal scars all over his body.
“Max has a back injury with neurological issues as well as feet issues. He was physically abused and was so full of fear upon arrival and had no use for people. He was actually dangerous to work with.”
Thankfully, the special bond Max formed with Arthur helped him get past his initial fear.
In fact, their friendship helped them heal each other!
“…they do care for each other and would be upset if they were to be separated. [They have] a friendship formed through tragedy and then compassion.”
With some love and a healing touch from their human caretakers, both Arthur and Max finally had a chance to dream big!
In fact, two years after they were rescued, these seniors were still going strong, living the good life that they totally deserved.
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