Former racehorse Diamond Beau, who also once served as a therapy animal to autistic children, was recently saved from slaughter by the very age group he once helped.
A gentle-eyed horse that adores children and loves to soak up human attention has a new chance at life.
Former racehorse Diamond Beau, which also once served as a therapy animal to autistic children, recently was saved from slaughter by the very age group it once helped.
“Perhaps it is fate that he was saved by kids after serving children and being their best friend for years,” said Hannah Power of Stoneridge Stables and Rehoming, a Stratford-area rescue that works with a network of people to save horses destined for slaughter.
One hot chocolate, and one or two dollars at a time, a group of pupils from Embro, named the Hoof Club, wanted to give a horse a second chance.
Spearheaded by Brenna Parkhill, a pupil at Zorra Highland Park elementary school, the club’s goal was to raise money to rescue a horse from the kill pen by selling hot chocolate on their school breaks.
He’s a very sweet and well-mannered horse and he absolutely adores children.
Brenna and her mother Jill Bowery, who owns 10 horses, rescue animals sent to slaughter for meat markets in Quebec, France, Belgium, Kazakhstan and Japan.
In 2017, 33,494 horses were slaughtered in plants across the country. An additional 12,273 horses were imported from the U.S. for slaughter. The number of live horses sent to Japan for slaughter totalled 4,846.
Brenna said she was thrilled with the final total of $825 and that she was able to raise awareness about the issue.
They discovered the 18-year-old chestnut gelding in a kill pen of horses.
Diamond Beau was calm and gentle when taken for a walk. At that time, they knew nothing about its heritage.
The Hoof Club at Zorra Highland Park elementary school in Embro helped save a race horse from slaughter. Celebrating are club members Kyra Fraser, left, Olivia Townsend, Lilli Taylor, Calleigh Robillard, Lochlann Rember, Arianna Bojanowski, Marley Haight, Kylie Leversage, Hailey Minler, Brianna Vandersar, Brenna Parkhill, Morlee Dubuque, Karlee Needham, Zoe Jarrell, Alexis Finch, Abby McIntosh, Coral Lilley. Missing: Hannah Houston, Tapanga Dzieciol, Addison Haid, Kassandra Dewit, Ashley Hewitt, Addison Haid. Submitted photo.
But what happened next was a surprise to the duo who decided to explore its pedigree by researching its tattoo.
“When we checked his pedigree, we were amazed,” Bowery said.
Born in 1999, the 18-year-old chestnut gelding is a registered thoroughbred and the great, great, great grandson of Northern Dancer, a Canadian thoroughbred that won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 1964.
Diamond Beau also descended from Canadian champion Regal Classic, Northern Dancer’s grandson. Both came from Windfields Farm in Oshawa.
“He is uniquely Canadian,” Bowery said.
First a racehorse, then a riding horse, Diamond Beau no longer can be ridden due to arthritis in its hind hock. For the last 10 years, it has worked with children with autism.
Power said Diamond Beau would have been shipped to Quebec for slaughter, had it not been intercepted.
“Hopefully someone has the room in their heart to give this special guy the love he so deserves,” Power said.
Power said they run their rescue from pocket funds and donations.
“The donation we got from the kids was one of the bigger ones we’ve ever received,” she said.
Horses sell by the pound, and Beau, at 1,180 pounds, cost about $600. It is gaining weight at a foster home.
“We knew absolutely nothing about him, other than that he seemed very kind and gentle and incredibly friendly,” Power said.
After she posted information about it on Facebook, a few of its past owners sent messages saying they were shocked about where it ended up.
She also learned one of its owners thought she sent it to a safe retirement home, but somehow it ended up in a kill-pen.
The remainder of the money raised by the Hoof Club was put toward a little pony that also deserved a second chance.
“These kids are amazing, they’ve done such a good deed and deserve to be recognized,” Bowery said. “Beau is alive literally because of these kids, and once he’s rehomed, the funds from him will go back into the rescue to be put toward another horse.