Leading Abused Horses Back to Life

By Diana Gipe
Photos Courtesy of Idaho Horse Rescue

They called him an “untouchable” horse. The beatings and abuse Paco had endured from his owner were so extreme that he wouldn’t let anyone near him.

Now a twelve-year-old mustang, Paco was approximately two when he was first captured by the BLM in Idaho’s Owyhee Desert. After his capture, he was adopted by cattlemen and sold a year later under the name “Not Worth 2 Cents.” For the next nine years, he was sold again and again, and then given away to an abusive cowboy. When it was decided he could not be easily trained, his owner adopted the use of a two-by-four piece of lumber as a means of submission.