When a horse now known as Diplomat was discovered tied up in a field in 2015, it was the beginning of his happiness.
“We arrived at the site after being called out by San Javier police to find a skeleton and wild stallion tethered within a small yard,” Koren Helbig, media manager for Easy Horse Care Rescue Center (EHCRC), a charity in Spain that seeks to preserve neglected and abused horses and donkeys, wrote. “We cut our way into Diplomat’s yard and released him free under the protection of four-armed cops and an ambulance on standby in case of violence from Diplomat’s proprietors.”
Not only did Diplomat have health problems because of the neglect he suffered, he also was disoriented, temperamental, and even dangerous.
“Diplomat was very malnourished and full of worms, and he drags one of his hind legs a little, meaning he will never be 100 percent sound,” Helbig wrote. “He was also a big and strong stallion who had very likely never received any proper training. He was uncontrollable, a real handful who would rear if we tried to lead him past another horse.”
To help the horse calm down, the rescue center decided to neuter him. Despite this, he developed a territorial relationship with the first companion the rescue center tried to put him with. Helbig writes, “We decided to try putting him with Conker, a mischievous young pony who was living with some of our older horses and chasing them around a little too much.” “It began off great, but they quickly became macho men, each trying to be the ruler of the field.”
Rescuers couldn’t let Diplomat live a life of solitude. “Equines are herd animals,” Helbig wrote. “So ensuring they have the company of a companion is hugely important to their mental well-being.”
Luckily, there was someone else at the rescue center who would change Diplomat’s life.
TGoldie arrived at the rescue facility in 2014 after suffering from malnutrition and abuse. According to the EHCRC, Goldie spent years alone in a tiny cage.
Goldie has grown since her rescue. And there was something about her that drew Diplomat in – perhaps it was her grin.
“In early 2017, we decided to try opening up Diplomat’s gate to let him mingle with the group of mares (Bella, Goldie, Mystery and Nakita) he had been neighbors with for about a year,” Helbig wrote. “Incredibly, within just a few short weeks, handsome Diplomat landed a girlfriend.”
Because he’d spent his life alone, Diplomat had a lot of difficulties socializing with other horses and he didn’t like to share. But with Goldie it was different.
“They’re a full package now,” EHCRC posted on Facebook. “They eat together, snooze together, and groom each other.”
Something about Goldie made Diplomat feel completely at ease. He seemed to have a similar effect on her as well.
After witnessing the couple resting in a field together lately, the rescue organization commented, “What an absolutely great sight – Diplomat laying flat out in the field with his new sweetheart Goldie.” “Diplomat has never been so calm as to lay flat out like this before. It’s very nice.”
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