Malnourished and poorly cared for horses can be found even in countries of relative wealth such as Canada and the United States. In fact, the problem of neglected horses in these countries has worsened in recent years and reflects the growing number of horses that are no longer wanted or needed, or whose owners are no longer capable of providing care for them, physically or financially.

The often tumultuous world of horse rescue is most certainly a rollercoaster ride at best – from glorious victories to crushing failures, to those long nights with a colicking horse, to the utter confusion cloaking a mystery ailment – the ride our horses guide us on is never easy.

It was late August 2012. In Crawford County, Pennsylvania, Jessie Woodworth was eager to get home from work. She and her daughter, Loretta, had planned an evening ride. At home her husband, Bob, had checked the horses in their sixty acre pasture. Little Bit, their big Foundation Quarter Horse, was near the gate. But he could see no sign of their six-year-old Paint, Northstar. Assuming their daughter had already taken him out, he wasn’t too worried.

At 7 a.m. on November 25, 2011, Libby Naylor, a Vancouver Island dressage trainer, and Heather Tryon were heading north from Errington, BC, trailering two horses to a Bonny Bonello clinic in Courtenay, BC. They were just ten minutes from home when disaster struck.