I’ll confess–I get most of my news and information from YouTube these days. I also watch things on chickens, strange and mysterious disappearances, and the royal family. I love vids about dogs and especially horses.
The other day a video from HOMESTEAD HORSEMANSHIP appeared in my feed. The main guy (would you call him a protagonist?) was going to a horse auction, and I was fascinated, never having been to one. His name is J.R., and I was so impressed by the way he examined horses before the auction. He could sum up their physical condition and temperament within a few minutes. He trains and raises Missouri foxtrotters (a breed I wasn’t familiar with), but while he was looking at horses, he fell in love, I think, with a young Clydesdale in poor condition.
My heart broke just looking at that sad horse. His head hung down, and he looked world-weary, and he wasn’t even two years old. JR wasn’t in the market for a Clydesdale, but he was intrigued, so he told a friend to bid up to a certain amount because JR and his family had to leave the auction.
Well, the owner of the horse had put a reserve on him, and the bids didn’t reach the reserve, so the horse was put back on a truck and sent to another auction in Texas. Meanwhile, JR kept thinking about the horse and his YouTube viewers kept asking about him. So J.R. decided to call him “Oliver”.” He started looking for Oliver, and finally found the owner.
JR did another video explaining that he wanted to help Oliver, but he didn’t have the budget for it. And if anyone wanted to help out, he’d do his best to buy Oliver and help him. Well, you know how most people love animals. The donations came, and so JR and his daughter drove to Texas, picked up Oliver, and brought him home.
The horse was in terrible shape. He wouldn’t lay down, JR believes, because he knew he wouldn’t have the strength to get back up. In Texas, JR led him in a circle to check his gait, and noticed that the horse stumbled on his hind end, a sign of EPM, a serious disease in horses that affects their skeletal system.
Once Oliver arrived at JR’s farm in Missouri, the gifts from caring donors poured in through Oliver’s Amazon wish list. Now JR posts frequent videos about Oliver’s progress, and I’m one of the people who waits with baited (or is it bated?) breath to see Olive trot, lie down, and kick up his heels a bit. We still haven’t heard him neigh (JR says he hasn’t done it yet), but we are all rejoicing to see a good family give so much of their time and effort to help this poor horse.
I wrote JR and his family and told them I wanted to write their story. They’re too busy at the moment, but I can’t help feeling that this story would touch the hearts of so many people. JR is a practical farmer, but he’s also a Christian, and he understands that animals were put on earth to have a purpose and serve man–and that men are to be benevolent stewards of the animals God entrusts to us. I agree wholeheartedly. (If you haven’t read the book DOMINION by Matthew Scully, I highly recommend it.)
I don’t want to violate copyright by posting a picture of Oliver here, but I am including a link to one of the Homestead Horsemanship videos. (I cry every time I watch it). If you’re as big a sucker for horses as I am, subscribe to their channel and enjoy. You can support Oliver financially by joining their Patreon page as I did. Every little bit helps. If you can’t support financially, simply watching and subscribing to the family’s free Youtube channel helps them tremendously.
I am not likely to ever own a horse, but I sure do love enjoying them through JR’s horse training videos. They’re amazing.
Until next time,
~~Angie
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That video made me cry! Thanks so much for sharing.
Me, too! Every time!
Oh, I’m nervous to watch it because I know I’ll cry too. Such a sweet story you’ve told of how they are helping him. Thanks for spotlighting it!
Be sure to check out some of their other videos. Oliver is getting better every day! (And their other animals are adorable, too!)
I’m nervous to watch it, because I know I’ll cry too! Such a sweet story of how they are helping him! Thanks for spotlighting it!
Thank you for this story & the link about Oliver, Angie. I’ve subscribed to thier YouTube & Facebook page. So happy to see Oliver running & playing!Very grateful that people cared enough to help him – God is good!
We are God’s hands, aren’t we? That’s what we’re supposed to do–help animals and other people. I love it!
This is heartbreaking and so touching. I’m going to be keeping up on Oliver’s life…he has hope…and a future. Maybe it is to teach us love and compassions.
Amen, Roxy! It’s so much fun to watch Oliver’s progress.
Love this post! Thanks for sharing this site and about Oliver. What a wonderful journey. I hope you get to write this story one day.
Thanks, Tammy. It’s so affirming and heartwarming to see people–people EVERYWHERE–come together to help this horse. God bless ’em!