Looking at him today, it is hard for me to believe that my horse Tino was ever in this bad of shape. Tino was seized, along with a number of other badly neglected horses, by Skagit County animal control officers. After being in foster care for three weeks, I welcomed him into our family.

The lesson I’ve learned from Tino is that horses are remarkably resilient animals. Even the most malnourished and neglected horse can rebound quickly given the proper diet, hoof care and repair, grooming, and a spacious area to fulfill the needs to roam and graze. I have heard from many people that accepting guardianship of a rescued horse is too much of a gamble. They say you don’t know what you’re getting, that the horses are dirty or diseased, or that their spirits are forever broken and that they will always distrust humankind.

Tino has demonstrated to me that these beliefs just don’t hold water. You will see in some later blog posts a couple of videos I took just a few months after he joined our family that Tino has transformed into the beautiful, vibrant animal he was meant to be and that he fully trusts and seeks human companionship.

If you would consider welcoming a neglected horse into your family, I recommend checking out the Web site a wonderful farrier named Shane Westman at Westman Farrier Services. Shane volunteers his time to work with Skagit County Animal Control to shod the hooves of seized horses and has done some truly amazing repairs. He often lists horses that are available for adoption on his Web site here.