Florida Thoroughbred Gets a New Lease on Life at Rescue

When a cut and scraped three-year-old Kid awoke on July 8, 2008, he had no idea his life was about to soon get immeasurably better.

For on that day, the well-mannered thoroughbred gelding managed to find his way to Beauty's Haven Equine Farm and Rescue, located in Morriston, Florida after getting out of his paddock more than a mile away.

According to Beauty's Haven President Theresa Batchelor, she received a call from the local sheriff's office to alert her that a horse was on the loose. The staff concluded that as the result of a severe storm the prior day, Kid must have panicked and escaped from the pasture where he was kept. When the call came, no one had contacted authorities to report an escaped horse.

The deputy on duty followed footprints to the home a man who confirmed he was missing a horse and said he would take a trailer to pick up the gelding at Beauty's Haven. While waiting for this individual to arrive, the staff began to treat the many wounds they noted on the horse.

Once the man reached the rescue, he reported that Kid had been unsuccessful on the track due to a leg injury received a few months earlier while swimming, adding that the young horse's owner wanted to train the animal to be a pony horse. He also revealed he was leaving the state the next day for a few weeks without mentioning what would have become of Kid during his absence.

After Theresa Batchelor explained how Beauty's Haven helped horses by rehabbing them and finding them homes, he asked her if the rescue would like to have Kid. With the sheriff's deputy present, the owner agreed to this over the telephone. Kid then joined the dozens of other horses - past and present - that Beauty's Haven has helped.

The rescue received its charitable, 501(3)(c) status in 2007. It operates through the generosity of donors, many of whom earmark their contributions for the care of a specific horse described on the Beauty's Haven web site. For some of the animals, the care they receive as part of the rescue herd is the only love they will ever remember.