our animals

Badger is the first rescue animal at SALIʼs Farm. Badger had a very tough life as a baby horse. He was trained as a reining horse way too young, before his baby bones were fully mature. It was too much for him, and the bones in his hooves finally said enough is enough and he came up lame. In 2008, he was on the block at the Fraser Valley Auction but was passed by because he is lame. Thankfully, a kind person saw how special he is and contacted the owner to purchase him. Badger became a beloved member of her herd and went on many trail rides. But a couple of years later, his lameness got worse, and Badger was diagnosed with navicular disease (which is most often a death sentence for horses). He could no longer go on trail rides. He wasnʼt content just hanging out with the herd – he actually thrives on human attention. He became listless, stopped eating and definitely needed a lot of extra care. He was close to being put down. Badgerʼs owner, heard that SALIʼs Farm was looking for a rescue horse, and they contacted us to see if we would take him.

Badger was assessed as a very kind horse and would be appropriate in our childrenʼs program at the farm. There is no horse back riding at SALIʼs Farm, so we didnʼt care that he was lame and actually quickly realized that our farm is the perfect place for animals that need lots of extra care. At first, we were dismayed at the thought that navicular is a death sentence, but we rallied together and found treatments for Badger that keep him pain free (although he will always be lame). Badger is now 14 years old and will continue to live out his days at the farm. He gets all the daily attention he needs from the SALI volunteers and the children that attend our childrenʼs program.

In 2013, Badgerʼs former owner was invited to visit Badger at our farm, and she was thrilled to see how happy and healthy he is.

Many of the children at SALIʼs Farm have left everything behind to flee violence and live in safe houses. Badgerʼs story resonates with the children because he also left everything behind to come to a safe place.

Follow @Badgerthehorse on Twitter.