Sophie’s Herd
Colorado Horse Rescue could not operate without the hundreds of volunteers who have donated their time throughout the years. They take on essential tasks by providing the daily care our horses need to thrive. On top of that, some volunteers even find themselves eventually taking home a friend or two, or in Sophie’s case, four! Today, we would like to highlight a past volunteer of ours and the horses that have found such beautiful lives in her herd.
Epona (formerly Cowgirl) and Natasha are lovely girls who found themselves together in our all-mare herd at CHR. Both of these mares were rescued from a local livestock auction by the CHR team, where they otherwise could have fallen into dangerous hands.
Epona and Natasha joining their new home with Sophie.
Epona and Natasha came to the rescue with unknown pasts for the team to decipher. Right away, it was clear that Epona had a severe injury in her right hind leg that had developed scar tissue, limiting her range of motion. While manageable, she required physical rehabilitation, high-quality hoof care, and a lot of patience to live the happy and comfortable life she deserved.
Natasha came to CHR seemingly healthy, however, upon evaluating her eyesight, we discovered that she had a cataract in her right eye causing restricted vision. Despite this limitation, Natasha seemed to break out of her shell when joining the mare herd at CHR, and we saw the wonderful life she could lead in a private home.
Bronte (formerly Spirit), a beautiful dun gelding, quickly stole the hearts of many at the rescue after also being saved at auction. Upon his arrival, he was diagnosed with a fractured pelvis by our veterinarian. After much-needed rest, he recovered well and could still have a light-riding career but would need proper care and management.
Bronte at Colorado Horse Rescue.
The latest member of Sophie’s herd is sweet, sweet Indy. If you’ve been to CHR within the last couple of years, you likely would have seen this beautiful, shy mare. Indy was a good friend of Epona and Natasha’s while they were at CHR and enjoyed her days alongside other horses in our mares pasture. Indy is a gorgeous appaloosa horse who stayed at the rescue for a longer time than we expected due to arthritis in her knees, taking her out of being a riding horse. However, this didn’t mean that she couldn’t be an excellent companion animal and friend to her humans. Over the years, Indy has transformed from a shy mare to a personable horse with so much love to give.
One by one, Sophie took these horses in as she too grew in her journey of horse ownership. These horses had medical challenges that needed to be monitored and well managed in their adoptive homes. Most of the time, potential adopters come to CHR looking for the horse with the least limitations and fewest medical needs – and we do have those horses! However, we are incredibly grateful for adopters like Sophie who open their homes to horses with more special needs and give them the specialized care they need. Thank you, Sophie, for being such a special part of our community and for giving these special horses the loving home they deserve!
Indy getting reacquainted with the herd in her new home.