Josie
Breed: Paso Fino Age: 9
After Josie was brought to Heaven Can Wait originally over 2 years ago because of the way she had been treated and the conditions in which she lived. She arrived as a very distrusting and nervous mare. We began to do everything we could to help her regain her trust of people and to be a happy horse, but her past experiences, or possibly even a birth defect, left her confused and angry most of her life. We fostered her out to a very experienced natural horsemanship trainer who, with Josie on her property, would have more time to work with her and socialize her. But to no avail. Her confusion and anger continued and she began exhibiting violent behavior towards other horses and towards people, to the point where she could no longer have her feet trimmed or her veterinary needs met safely, or be with other equines. Her quality of life was poor and nothing short of massive tranquilizing allowed anyone to work on her, and that's not the way this little horse should be forced to live. Sadly, everyone involved directly with Josie's maintenance and well being agreed that our hands have been forced in this instance and we must release this beautiful but damaged little mare in all fairness to her and to the people and animals around her. So we did. We released her on October 5, 2010. She is now in Heaven, finally at peace.
JOSIE, a 9-year-old Paso Fino, arrived at Heaven Can Wait a very scared, distrusting and neglected little mare. We were told that Josie's training had consisted of being tied to a pole many times and beaten into submission. She was sold to someone who apparently did not have the knowledge of how to gain the trust of this terribly abused mare. As Josie could not be caught easily, she was confined to a very small space totally isolated from all contact with other horses and people. This space was nothing more than corral panels strung between 5 pine trees. Josie never got out and paced for hours and hours in a circle through mud and she never saw the sun. When help finally arrived, money was collected from several people in order to purchase Josie from the owner who had her for sale. These wonderful people then brought Josie to Heaven Can Wait. Within just a few weeks, she already allows herself to be caught and handled. She has a long way to go, but her journey to being happy and trustful again has begun.