Paloma
Rescued: January 7, 2009

Paloma was once an expensive riding horse, trained in Spanish dressage for competitions. But both Paloma and his young English rider lost their confidence after a riding accident, which left the then 10-year-old gelding with only 10 per cent vision in his right eye.

After the accident, Paloma spent much of his time alone in his owners’ garden – not an ideal life for a herd animal. Eventually, they asked if we would take Paloma, allowing him to rebuild his confidence around other horses.

Paloma settled in well, but his life really began to look up in February 2011, when a piebald pony named Pablo arrived at our rescue centre. This unlikely pair immediately hit it off and have been the best of friends ever since.

Incredibly, the bond between Pablo and Paloma is so strong that when Pablo fell very ill in 2016, Paloma spent many hours waiting and watching at his field fence for his friend’s return, and they often called out to each other. What amazing animals – they deserve to be together forever.

A couple of years after Pablo’s arrival, we decided to surgically remove Paloma’s damaged eye. As often happens with cases like this, the eye would regularly weep and become sore, causing Paloma unnecessary pain. Now one-eyed, Paloma is much more comfortable and happy in himself.