Before we rescued Rosie, we were looking to help a couple of miniature horses who were in a neglected hoarding situation in Pennsylvania. We were looking for a couple of smaller horses to bring in and unfortunately, that situation never worked out for reasons that are stranger than we could ever understand. So, we kept our eyes open on various pages we follow and along came Rosie.

Known formerly as Tag #557. Rosie was run through at least two auctions before residing with a kill pen buyer in Pennsylvania, where she was bailed out the night she was intended to get shipped to slaughter. Not having any experience working with mules and in this case a really big draft mule, the moment we saw her listed (on a nonprofit kill pen group who tries to save these equines before they get shipped to slaughter) we had to try and save her. And just like that, the stars aligned. She was held at another farm for 3 days and traveled a quick 3 hours to what she now knows as her forever home with us, but given her past there are days we believe she still doesn’t quite believe it’s true.

What we do know about Rosie. Rosie is a BIG girl, with the biggest head & the fuzziest ears, and an even bigger heart. She came to use at the end of fall, her coat is super thick and can warm up your hands instantaneously when you stick your fingers in it. Most mules like her are used for plowing within the Amish community and we know she was run through the New Holland livestock auction based on the buyer that obtained her, so the chances are she was a plow mule her whole life.

For the most part Rosie looked like she was somewhat cared for, her feet were definitely overdue upon arriving and she had some remedial thrush on her back right hoof after our farrier examined and cleaned her hooves up. She has lost a lot of her muscle mass and the causes are unknown why, our medical team believes she could have been turned out in a field for a while before going to auction. She doesn’t appear to have been severely abused, but she is cautious to let you near her head and feels more comfortable standing shoulder to shoulder with new individuals. Once she knows you are safe, she will give you her head, her heart and her rump so you can scratch the itches she can’t reach! She is stiff in her back end and it’s more than likely she couldn’t perform up to standards and a choice was made to dump her off at an auction.

Mules can live a VERY long life, up to 40+ years and with God’s grace she will have a long life ahead of her.