HARPER
Harper is Staydopted and supported for life by Marley R, her dedicated sponsor since 2018.
“Mona Lisa Smile“
The peace of this gentle mare belies her difficult years, working every day plowing fields, which was her life before being rescued. She was bred as a 3/4 Belgian and 1/4 Standardbred and inherited the build and coloring of the former, with the quiet disposition of the latter. A kinder soul you could not meet, and her former owner bragged about what a good worker she was, even as she was being sold at an auction. Her hind legs had weakened so that she could not work any more, and she could barely walk, on painful dropped pasterns. This condition is called DSLD (Dropped Suspensory Ligament Disorder) and is debilitating if left untreated or stressed further with work. This was why she was being sold. Fortunately, a kind buyer was at the auction, watching, and reached out to Rosemary Farm, who covered the cost of her rescue. When the gavel fell, the mare was lucky to get on a trailer headed to the Sanctuary, instead of one to the kill buyer. How very lucky Harper was that night, and how deserving of some kindness to finally come her way.
Harper was fortunate to get a reprieve and join a her family at Rosemary Farm. Here, she has received supportive care, daily arthritis supplements, and a promise to never work again. Harper is close friends with Charlotte, a small pony, and both mares are blind now in their right eyes. They are very similar in color but opposite in size, and are sometimes mistaken for mother and daughter, but they are just good friends. She is also building friendships with the other draft horses Ella and Behr. Harper hasn’t met a human or equine she doesn’t like. She enjoys being inside in a stall, getting grain treats, and wandering the pathways of the Sanctuary at liberty. Always calm, quiet, with a faint smile, she has filled out into a beautiful mare, enjoying being loved.
Harper is now Staydopted by a devoted supporter, who visits and gives her extra attention. Finally Harper is loved for who she is.