The transformation of a rescue horse, who was found neglected and alone in a woodland, has made waves across the internet.
The horse, who has been affectionately named Princess Pebble by the animal sanctuary that rehabilitated her, was spotted “wandering a neighborhood” in Tennessee by a passer-by who then alerted The Gentle Barn animal sanctuary to come to her rescue.
After close inspection by sanctuary staff, the horse was found to have overgrown hooves, a byproduct of the years of neglect that she is believed to have suffered while fending for herself. The condition had left her with a deformity in her front left hoof, but thanks to a rigorous care plan, Princess Pebble is now “comfortable, mobile and happy.”
The rescue horse’s journey back to health has been chronicled in a widely shared social media video by The Gentle Barn via their Instagram account, @thegentlebarn.
@thegentlebarn
The clip has been viewed more than 2 million times since it was first shared to the social media platform on December 26. Viewers were shown the horse being taken into The Gentle Barn’s care after being found living alone “in the woods,” and could see her deformed hooves and resulting painful limp. Over 155,000 users have liked the clip to date.
“The video we created shows when Princess Pebble first came to us and how bad her hooves were. As you can see in the video, she had trouble walking because she had been neglected for so long,” Ellie Laks, The Gentle Barn’s founder, told Newsweek.
“We trimmed her hooves so they were a normal length and this helped her to walk better. To keep her hooves short, she gets hoof trims once a month. She also gets groomed, plenty of food and water, treats, and lots of love,” the sanctuary founder added.
The Gentle Barn, which was founded more than 20 years ago to help animals recover from abuse, had been Laks’ childhood dream. The animal rescuer told Newsweek that she had always loved animals and had noticed that the people around her did not.
“Helping animals was the only thing I could think about, but I didn’t know how to start The Gentle Barn, so for years I procrastinated, until I saw an abusive petting zoo. I found so much abuse and neglect there that I ended up bringing home sick and injured animals from there, healing them, and partnering them to ultimately start my dream,” she said.
“We specifically take in animals who have nowhere else to go. We work with other rescues, animal control, and people call us with cruelty cases. We host folks from all over the world, of all ages.
“The purpose of The Gentle Barn is to make the most significant impact on as many people as possible. Most people don’t know about the intelligence, affection, and personalities of farmed animals,” she added.
The care plan that helped the rescue horse heal included quality veterinary care and dental work. Princess Pebble’s long list of treatments included hoof trims once every four weeks, bimonthly injections, daily medications, acupuncture, massage therapy and a tailored nutritional plan
Moved TikTokers have voiced their appreciation of the staff at The Gentle Barn for caring for the horse in the post’s comments section.
“Beautiful people, you are so loved,” one user wrote.
Another user added: “Thank you so much for the wonderful work you do on behalf of animals!”
“Thank you for caring. She looks so happy,” a third user shared.
A different user wrote: “She deserves everything”.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.