Newborn Foal Of Abused Miniature Horse Gives Volunteers Hope

AUBURNDALE, FL – It’s the very definition of hope, say volunteers at Hope Equine Rescue in Auburndale.

This week volunteers at the nonprofit horse refuge videotaped the birth of a foal born to Xena, one of 28 badly neglected miniature horses seized from a Lakeland veterinarian in August 2017.

“It’s a beautiful outcome to such a tragic story,” said Dani Horton, founder and president of the horse rescue group. She named the organization for Hope, a horse that Horton found starving and tied to a tree with a dog chain.

Horton said she and her volunteers decided to leave the naming of the baby horse to their nearly 9,000 Facebook fans who loyally followed Xena’s high-risk pregnancy on the social media site.

Their choice of a name reflected their faith in the rescue group, which has saved hundreds of abused and neglected horses over its 10-year history, said Horton. They named the tiny foal Grace.

Xena and the other surviving miniature horses were turned over the Hope Equine Rescue in November by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Three of the horses were so sick they had to be euthanized by Polk County Animal Control.

Xena’s condition was poor but treatable. She had so much tooth decay that a hole had formed in her mouth that went through to her sinus cavity.

The rescue group turned to the University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine for help. To their surprise, an ultrasound showed that the little warrior princess was pregnant.

Tests revealed that the birth was viable so the veterinarians decided to put off Xena’s much-needed mouth surgery until she gave birth.

That day came Tuesday, April 10, just days before the rescue group’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

Horton expects Grace to be a major draw for Saturday’s fundraiser, which also celebrates the rescue group’s 10-year anniversary.

The event, called Celebrating a Decade of Hope, will take place at Hope Equine Rescue, 1200 Dixie Drive, Auburndale, Saturday, April 14, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“This is our fourth year doing this fundraiser,” said Horton, whose rescue group depends entirely on community donations. The organization receives no state or federal funding.

The event will include educational seminars on a variety of horse topics, a kids’ zone, raffles, vendors, a tack sale, “some seriously good barbecue” by Hoggy Style BBQ and tours of the barn including a chance to see Xena and Grace.

Now that she’s given birth, Horton said veterinarians can proceed with Xena’s surgery.

Xena is among a few of the seized miniature horses that have not yet been adopted due to their medical conditions.

Polk County Animal Control veterinarian Dr. Abbe Degroat said some of the tiny horses had severely overgrown hooves causing excruciating pain and forcing them to walk on just three legs.

Others, like Xena, had infected, overgrown teeth that had pushed through the nasal cavity.

The sheriff’s office said 18 of the miniatures horse were found starving in “a dirt pasture” with no access to grass or hay.

Between the overgrown hooves and the tooth infections, Degroat concluded that all of the little horses were in “a great deal of pain.”

The video of Grace’s birth can be viewed on Hope Equine Rescue’s Facebook page.

For information on this weekend’s fundraiser, visit the Hope Equine Rescue website.

Images via Hope Equine Rescue