Yuki
Date of Birth: 11/07/2003
Gender: Male
Gotcha Day: 01/10/2016
Breed: Equus Ferus (horse)
Yuki was bought as a show jumping pony by a female family member. Before being sold he had been struck on the head by a boy which caused in him a fear of men. On top of that, he became scared of everything, and startled easily, even of leaves falling from trees.
He won a lot of show jumping competitions but soon she grew too tall for him so she sold him to her farrier. She didn’t know who he was going to sell Yuki to and he actually refused to tell her. Worrying he might be sold for meat, she started looking for him online and by chance found Yuki because she recognised the blonde streak he has in his tail.
She contacted the new rider and made friends with her on social media. Until one day the parents of this girl called to ask if she wanted to buy him back because their business went bankrupt and they were splitting up. Since she had acquired a different horse to suit her size, she was in no financial situation to pay for a second one, so she declined. A few days later, the owners called her back and asked if she would just take him for free. That’s when she called to ask if there was room for him at the sanctuary.
When Yuki arrived here it was love at first sight with Tintin, one of our donkeys. These two are inseparable; they need to be within eyesight of one other or panic ensues. They also shelter together in the same stall. It’s our second indivisible interspecies couple between a horse and a donkey after dynamic duo Fedj & Victor.
Yuki was the kind of horse who, if you let him loose in a field and removed his halter, you wouldn’t be able to catch him because he knew it meant going back into a stall, which he hated. He no longer minds being caught with a halter because he knows he will be freed soon after, he is no longer frightened by anything and he is practically no longer afraid of men. Our farrier can handle him now, as can our male volunteers.
All this tremendous development can be due to his strong friendship with Tintin, his newfound freedom or a combination of various other things. We are happy to see this pony flourish the way that he has. He is no longer the scared pony he was when he arrived.
We wish to remind readers that horses are sentient animals with complex personalities and should not be bought or sold as things, nor exploited for sport or otherwise.