Olaf, a starving tourist horse, collapsed during a ride and was left to die. He had been pulling a horse carriage for tourists in Northern Spain but years of neglect took their toll. He began falling down because he was so exhausted and hungry he simply couldn’t do it any more. “He was really broken,” said one of Olaf’s rescuers from the Dutch horse rescue Horses in Distress Spain (Paard In Nood Spanje)
The rescuers were “really, really sad” wondering how anyone could “break a horse like this.” Not only did he weigh half of what he should weigh, they found wounds on his body and long nails piercing his feet! They had to act quickly to get him up and standing. But thanks to a team effort he was able to stand up. But he was giving up and didn’t want to eat. So they transported him to their rescue shelter at Los Caballos Luna España.
There, they began to feed him. Laura, one of his rescuers said she’ll always remember the way he looked at her when he saw the bucket of food. “His eyes, I’ll never forget, he was looking like, ‘is that all for me?'”
Olaf was introduced to a female horse who gave him comfort and inspiration to recover. Now, he absolutely adores his rescuers and loves getting petted. He also protects the other horses that come to the ranch.
Horses in Distress Spain offers shelter to horses that have been abused, abandoned or starved and left for dead. To help support the amazing work of Horses in Distress Spain (Paard In Nood Spanje) does visit www.paardinnoodspanje.nl
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