Rescued Horse Gives Her New Family The Sweetest Surprise

<p><a href="http://www.dogtales.ca/">Dog Tales Rescue and Sanctuary</a><span></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.dogtales.ca/">Dog Tales Rescue and Sanctuary</a><span></span></p>

The bidding price for a horse named Beauty was rising pretty fast at a Canadian auction last October.

That's likely because Beauty was packing a few extra pounds.

And she was being auctioned off for meat - which is sold by the pound.

Dog Tales Rescue and Sanctuary

Although no one knew it at the time, the extra weight was so much more than "meat."

Dog Tales Rescue and Sanctuary was among the bidders that day. The group frequently attends horse auctions in the province, bidding against those who would buy the animals for slaughter.

"Going to these auctions knowing that you cannot save them all is one of the most difficult things you can ever do," Clare Forndran of Dog Tales tells The Dodo.

Dog Tales Rescue and Sanctuary

But that day in October, Dog Tales outbid everyone for Beauty.

Instead of being killed for meat, she joined 70 horses - all of them bought at auctions - who will spend the rest of their days at the sprawling sanctuary in King City, Ontario.

Make that 71.

Dog Tales Rescue and Sanctuary

On Tuesday, Beauty gave birth to a boy. Born free, baby Haven (as in safe haven), will never know the terrors of the auction block. He'll know only his mother and horses like him.

Dog Tales Rescue and Sanctuary

In fact, Beauty and Haven are not the only mother-and-child tandems at the sanctuary.

There's Gia, who was also bought at auction. And, like Beauty, she gave birth shortly after arriving - to a girl named Gigi.

Dog Tales Rescue and Sanctuary

And more horses will almost certainly join them.

"Sadly, horse slaughter for meat is extremely common in Canada and is something that many know nothing about," Forndran notes. "Horse slaughter was recently banned in the United States, and, since then, thousands of horses are shipped to Canada every year to be killed."

Dog Tales Rescue and Sanctuary

Want to help dog tales provide much-needed medical attention, vaccines, food and care to horses? Consider sponsoring a horse.