A horse named Joanie had hadnโt had much happiness in her long life. The mare was born in 1999, and she spent her first years as a racehorse. She participated in tons of races over the years and even won many of them.
But finally, she got too old to race, and her owner sold her.
Joanie was sold to an Amish family, and she was used to pull a buggy.
The buggy equipment painfully tore at the fur on her face, leaving her with hair loss.
For unknown reasons, Joanieโs second owner didnโt want to keep her, and so he decided to send the horse to an auction house.
They placed her in a โdirect ship pen,โ which meant that she was going right to a slaughterhouse after she was sold. This poor horse had done nothing but work her whole life, and now, she was going to be slaughtered. But then, someone came to save her.
Jamie Castano, founder of Freedom Farm Animal Rescue, wasnโt planning on adopting any animals when he went to the auction house where Joanie was being held. He planned on taking pictures and video of the auction house to raise awareness of these animalsโ plight. But then, Castano saw Joanie.
He examined the horse, and he was shocked when he saw that she had the number โ25โ tattooed on her neck.
โI actually have the number 25 tattooed on my arm as a memorial for my uncle who had passed away,โ Castano told The Dodo. โSo when I happened to see her, I was like, โOh my god.โโ
Castano examined Joanie further, and he noticed that her legs were covered in pin fire markings.
โThey give them to racehorses,โ Castano said. โItโs pretty much like a shot of acid to freeze the tendon or muscle. So when they have an injury or theyโre not performing their best, this is supposed to make them not feel that area. My vet had said, โMaybe four or five pin firing marks is almost normal,โ but she had 18 on each leg.โ
Castano knew he couldnโt leave this poor horse at the auction house. He put a post on Freedom Farm Animal Rescueโs Instagram page asking for donations so he could buy the horse.
The post was widely shared, and Castano was able to raise the money he needed to buy Joanie.
Just like that, Joanieโs fate changed. She was no longer going to the slaughterhouseโnow, she was going to a wonderful home where she would have plenty of space to roam and run.
Castano and his team took Joanie from the auction house and brought her to their sanctuary. They took her over to their quarantine field and opened the door to Joanieโs trailer.
Joanie immediately ran out into the field and rolled around, so happy to be free.
Castano shared footage of Joanieโs freedom roll on Instagram. It was amazing to see how happy the horse looked!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWGUwPoA-IU/?utm_source=ig_embed
Joanie loves life on the farm.
At first, she was nervous when anyone tried to pet her or feed her. But soon, she realized that she was in a safe place, and she began to relax.
โSheโs just an absolute sweetheart,โ Castano said. โIf weโre in her field, sheโll follow us all around. To go from a horse that was on her way to a slaughterhouse to following us around the pasture โ thatโs incredible.โ
After a lifetime of hardship, Joanie made it to a safe place where she could relax and enjoy her senior years. Weโre so glad she finally got to experience freedom!
Check out a sweet video of Joanie below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
