It’s the monsoon season in India, and right now, Animal Rahat staff are in the midst of a flood of a very different kind—six truckloads of horses have arrived at the sanctuary.

Until a few days ago, dozens of horses and donkeys who were seized as a result of three separate cruelty cases in Mumbai were confined to a dank and dirty “cattle pound.” Their care was less than adequate in every way, including having no soft places to rest and nowhere to exercise. Many were bone-thin as well as scratched up from kicking and biting because of their close confinement.

Horses and ponies, so thin that their ribs are visible, stand on the wet floor of a cattle pound.

The cattle pound is dank and dirty, with no soft or clean places for the animals to rest.

Donkeys and horses languish inside a barren, wet, and dirty cattle pound.

With no enrichment provided, the horses, ponies, and donkeys can only stand on the hard concrete and hope for rescue.

As soon as Animal Rahat got the green light to pull them out of there, staff members moved quickly. Their hard work paid off: 21 horses were gently loaded into padded trucks for the 14-hour drive to the sanctuary.

The rescue team and volunteers stand among piles of straw as they fill some of the trucks that will transport the rescued horses to the sanctuary.

A team of volunteers and Animal Rahat staff fills the trucks with plenty of straw to keep the rescued horses safe on their long journey.

A brown-and-white rescued horse stands patiently in the back of one of the trucks.

This photo shows the care taken to cushion the hard walls and floor of the truck so that the horses would be safe during transport on sometimes rough roads.

A line of trucks, each loaded with rescued horses, drives up the road.

The six-vehicle caravan traveled 14 hours from the cattle pound to Animal Rahat’s sanctuary.

Six trucks traveled through the night, and team members stopped regularly to check on the animals and give them food and water. They finally reached the sanctuary early yesterday morning. The horses were unloaded, given garlands (the traditional welcome gift for new sanctuary residents), and treated to a meal of molasses and lots of fresh green grass.

Three horses wearing yellow and orange garlands eat green grass from a feeding trough.

The horses, now looking quite festive in their garlands, were grateful for this hearty meal at their new home.

The horses are in quarantine until they can be sterilized, but that’s not stopping them from enjoying themselves in their new home. Even the sanctuary’s resident dogs are getting in on the fun.



Arrangements are now being made for the transfer of the remaining horses and donkeys who are still at the cattle pound, and hopefully, they’ll soon be on their way to a better life. We can’t wait!

Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.

Please consider making a gift to support a peaceful new life for these rescued animals—and all of Animal Rahat’s other life-changing work for animals in India.