The Big Lick

Midnight Heart was born on Mount Juliette - Tennessee Walking Horse Country. He was in the world of the Big Lick - a name given to a cruel sport where gaited horses are trained to move in unnatural way. The aim is to get the horse to lift his front legs high and the methods used to achieve this range from barbed wire around his legs to applying acid on his coronary band and wrapping it in plastic - ultimately seeking a pain reaction when he puts his foot down. This is called soreing and is illegal - and so the trainers now have to teach the horses not to react to pain when they are being tested by inspectors at shows.

Midnight heart came to us with cigarette burns and scars from this cruel world. His back leg had been injured - he was now of no use to the sport and had been discarded and thrown out like trash.

He was frightened of his own shadow when we bought him - his mind had been turned against humans and he wanted no interaction with us at all. A slow rehabilitation has turned him around - a lot of love and patience was needed ! But now he is the most loving horse in the stables - he wants nothing more than to please us and be our friend and hang out with us. We use Midnight now in part of our rehabilitation program to show horses who have no trust that things are ok - he seems to be able to calm them and let them know everything will turn out just fine.