Neglected horse too thin to stand rescued by animal welfare workers transforms into a completely new horse after weeks of supportive care

Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager

May 28, 2026 7:30 AM EDT

'She looked like she had given up on life'

Seeing Mara run on her own in the grace brought more tears to our eyes than we were ready for today.

Horses are some of the most beautiful and empathic animals. If you've ever interacted with a horse, there's something that feels slightly human about them. They just have a presence about them that makes you feel safe and loved. Which is why we cannot understand when people treat them terribly.

Mara, the horse in our video below, courtesy of The Dodo, was neglected to the point of giving up by her previous owners. She was so thin, she couldn't stand on her own. Luckily, an horse welfare organization called Equitom Foundation found Mara and swooped in to help her. They had to lift her with a crane in order to move her and treat her. But, after 20 days of intensive treatment, Mara was finally able to stand on her own.

They saved her life, even when she didn't have the power to save herself. Now, she's a beautiful horse, full of life, and will never have to worry about going hungry again.

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via thedodo and equitom.foundation

"Our producer @anita_thedodo connected with @equitom.foundation to learn how Mara went from barely standing to truly living again"
It hurts us to see animals in this state. It never gets easier to look at, no matter how many animal rescue stories we cover. As someone who actually had two horses living with us growing up, we could never imagine letting a horse get to that state.
For some background, we grew up on a farm with 4 dogs, 3 cats, and 2 horses. Yes, it was amazing, but it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. On Saturdays, guess who’s chore it was to muck the stalls and brush the horses? Ours. No Saturday morning cartoons for us, we had work to do. However, we got an experience not many kids these days get to have!
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"Now she’s so majestic"

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There’s nothing like watching a happy horse run. It looks like perfection. Freedom. Joy. This is why we never go for rides on those horse-drawn carriages in cities - horses are not meant to live in cities and we will never support anyone who makes them live there.
We hope Mara touches nothing but her stall and grass for the rest of her life, she certainly deserves it after everything she went through.
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