Clue was surrendered to NEER North in 2021 at 18 years old. He spent his entire life receiving minimal care and almost no training. He was housed with his mother and had never been apart from her since his birth. When he was surrendered, he was thrust into an entirely different world. Having no training he was dangerous to handle at first and lashed out aggressively due to his immense anxiety and fear in his new surroundings. It took a long time, but Clue started to settle into his new routine and NEER North was able to make progress with him to the point of starting him under saddle.
Fast forward to January of 2023 and Clue arrived here at Horses with Hope.
Unfortunately, Clue quickly reverted back to his original behavior upon arrival at a new farm, and needed professional and careful handling. We also noticed that his feet, which had been neglected his entire life were starting to fail structurally. We focused on getting him as comfortable as possible, while also working on being a good equine citizen. After several months, it became apparent that due to his physical limitations and age (which is now 20 years old) Clue could not become a riding horse. We continued to focus on ground manners and basic care items like standing for the farrier, trailer loading, etc. Clue improved dramatically but still needed an experienced handler to help support him through tough moments. We were very worried about his future and how we would be able to find the right home for him.
Then completely by accident Clue made friends with our lifetime resident, Yuma. Yuma had been alone since losing his partner, Star, last fall. Yuma has always been very difficult with other horses and does not get along well with others. After Star was laid to rest last fall, we accepted that Yuma would likely spend the rest of his days alone. Along came Clue and he and Yuma became fast friends. Napping together in the field, playing face tag, sharing their hay piles and the shelter. We couldn’t believe it, a happy ending for two horses that we could never have predicted.
We made the decision with NEER North for Clue to join our lifetime residents permanently and live out his days here in Maine with his new friend. We are so grateful that Clue will never again have to experience settling into a new home and will continue to use his story to illustrate the importance of educating horses from a young age in the very basics of handling and care. Congratulations Clue, you are home!
