On a cold winter morning in early 2023 a woman from one of our partner rescues was at her local vet office for a routine appointment. As she waited a trailer drove up and a woman got out of the truck that was noticeably upset and crying. When asked if she was ok the woman broke down and said she was there to put her horse to sleep. Our friend from the rescue tried to comfort her and asked what was wrong with the horse, the woman replied there was nothing wrong with the horse other than she was old, but the woman had nowhere to take her and could no longer care for her. As she told our friend from the rescue the story the vet walked out and our rescue partner quickly let the vet know that there was no need to put the horse down, she would take her.

The owner was overwhelmed with relief and shared the story of how Nikki came into her life. Nikki was a working horse on an Amish farm for most of her life. Like many Amish working horses, when she was too old to work on the farm she was sent to an auction. Luckily this woman was able to save Nikki at the auction that day and brought her to California where she lived happily for many years. Unfortunately, the owner had fallen on hard times and she could no longer keep Nikki.

Nikki stayed at our partner rescue in Northern California for a few months before being transferred to Redwings. Today Nikki is happy and healthy, she shares a large pasture with 3 other horses including her best buddy Ethan.