NORTH DAKOTA BADLANDS HORSE

REMEMBERING maleficent

Life in the wild of Theodore Roosevelt National Park can be difficult, even cruel at times. 

Maleficent was born to Raven by Mystery, 2-13-17. 

Little Maleficent was believed to be injured shortly after her birth. It was not determined what had happened but she was very lame on a hind leg.

In August she sustained another injury to the opposite hind leg that almost left her unable to get up after lying down. She hobbled around the park, trying to keep up with her band.

She would have been captured and removed from the park had she ever been in a location where the capture team could have gotten to her, but that was not ever the case. She is a tough little filly but things did not look good for her long term.
This time nature took a positive turn. Well, Maleficent would not have thought so when she got kicked out of her natal band and picked up by a roving bachelor but, in his quest to find more mares, he brought her to the handling facility. Last night she was actually walked into the facility where she could finally be free from the aggressions of stallions who would add her to their harem.

We were hopefully that this would be she would have a happy ending, be nursed back to healthy and find a new safe home.

Sadly, when the Vet came to see Maleficent she did some radiographs of her joints in the hind quarters. It was shown that the poor filly had no ball and socket joint in her one hip. This condition was determined to be causing great pain and inoperable. Because of this she was euthanized to keep her from suffering any more pain.

She was buried at the park at an undisclosed location.

This little one suffered from a very young age. She will be remembered and missed but now she is free from pain. Thank you to all of you who prayed for this sweet filly and so cared for her welfare.

We like to think of her pain free and healthy running in heaven's band.  💔