“O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.” (Psalm 130:7, NIV)

It was a quiet springtime evening. The work of the day was laid to rest and I gave my mind a mini-respite by “treasure hunting” through the local Craigslist ads. I scrolled through the farm and garden section, passively looking for items that the Ranch might need. I also enjoyed looking at the various horse photos. What is normally relaxing and fun . . . suddenly shifted. My eyes locked onto a single photograph. I could not look away. I could not move forward. I could not unsee what I was seeing.

All I could do was stop and stare.

In the wake of my abrupt halt, I could sense what felt like train cars painfully colliding inside my heart. I enlarged the picture and studied every feature. I could feel my brow furrow and I was subconsciously leaning forward to see every horrifying detail.

Moving like a tattered survivor into my heart, a single thought emerged through the blackness of shock, "How? Lord Jesus, how could anyone allow this to happen?”

Captured within the brightly colored photo were two horses. Their heads were nearest to the photographer and held low so their spines were the focus of the shot.

When looking down their backs—instead of seeing two bodies that were well rounded with normal muscle—this picture showed just the opposite. Like a mute witness of their prolonged neglect, the top of their croup looked more like a forgotten tent pole left to hold up a sagging, rotten canvas. These horses were so emaciated that even the relative camouflage of their ragged winter coats could not hide the gruesome rise of their spines above their skeletal bodies.

In nearly three decades of equine rescue and rehabilitation, I had only encountered this severity level of starvation three times . . . and not all of those survived.

Sarah, the Ranch Equine Director was sitting next to me on the couch. Without words, I rotated my laptop toward her. I watched as her silent horrified response mirrored mine. With awareness of suffering comes responsibility. Compassion rushed into the plight of these completely helpless souls. Within that moment of understanding, we turned to our greatest action, our greatest weapon—prayer.

Time was precious. Genuine compassion equals genuine action. We could not wait for a convenient time to fit into our already full schedules. The next morning, Sarah made the call and I hitched up the trailer. Deirdre, the Equine Coordinator, quickly joined our team as we climbed into the truck together. Everything was moved aside . . . because life was waning.

From the single photograph that had alerted us to their plight, the actual condition of the horses was unspeakably WORSE than any of us could have imagined.

Upon arrival, we learned that the taller, red and white paint was a 15-year-old mare and the smaller chestnut was a coming 2-year-old colt. The mare was so desperately thin that the skin covering where her rump should have been hung like an old curtain, in loose, empty folds. A horse of normal weight has 8–10 inches of muscle on the inside of each thigh. This muscle naturally holds the hind legs in a strong and straight plumb line from the hip to the ground.

Appallingly, this mare had lost so much muscle that there was nothing beneath her tail but air. Because no muscle existed to correctly align her hind legs apart, the result was that her lower legs crossed. This caused her hind hooves to hit each other with every awkward step forward.

Their need for rescue was unmistakable. Without further examination or discussion, we quickly moved to pay in full the asking purchase price. Based on their dire states, it felt more like fulfilling a ransom.

With great care, our little team went to work. While I handled paperwork with the owner, I could see Sarah and Deirdre gently haltering the horses and guiding them toward the trailer. Not knowing what would happen next, we prayed.

The mare was first. She saw the open door and seemed to understand that this meant only one thing . . . freedom.

She didn’t look right or left. She appeared to focus all her strength toward simply moving forward.

At the threshold of the trailer—without hesitation—she gave a herculean effort and lifted her front end up into the waiting salvation. But her diminishing strength failed as she tried to raise her hind legs. Her hind hoof slammed against the rubber bumper and she slipped hard. Undeterred, she crouched low until her weakened limbs followed her into the safety of the trailer. As Sarah led the exhausted mare to the front, I moved to the open window to take her lead rope so Sarah could secure the divider to help hold her up.

While tying off her lead rope, I was aware of how hard she was breathing. In her desperate condition, the exertion of moving only 30 yards was nearly more than she could do.

Unsure of how he would respond, Sarah also led the colt up to the floor and encouraged him to explore it. Awkwardly—he also tried to step up. He missed his first attempt but bravely pressed in and succeeded on his second try.

We secured the doors and carefully pulled away as if moving horses of glass. While I drove the familiar road back to the Ranch, Sarah and Deirdre made a flurry of phone calls to secure a Ranch team to prepare the quarantine/recovery paddock and to summon a veterinary crew for their immediate evaluation and care.

Upon examination, the primary vet expressed that within her entire career, she had never encountered horses in such extreme condition. On a standard Body Condition Scale (where 1 is the thinnest and 9 is the fattest), she gave each horse a BCS score of 1, the lowest score a horse can receive and still be alive.

The vet also cautioned that the mare had a significant heart murmur and was actively in the process of dying. She determined that without intervention, the mare might have a few days to a few weeks left to live.

Again—we prayed.

In the days that followed, we witnessed something amazing—something beautiful.

When compassion moves in . . . despair moves out. When hope moves in . . . fear moves out. When light moves in . . . darkness moves out.

“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, 'I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.'” (John 8:12, emphasis added, NLT).

What once appeared to be humanly unfathomable, unstoppable, and unsurvivable—a prison of certain death—Jesus Christ’s love entered into the darkness and opened all the doors to redemption, healing and freedom within His presence.

In the months that ensued, two dying horses were loved back to life. 

Today, they each stand as a four-legged living witness to what the love of JESUS can do for any heart that chooses to follow Him.

The spotted mare reflected a beautiful picture of what Jesus offers to all mankind . . . loving REDEMPTION.

Jesus saw us—each of us—in our unfathomable, unstoppable, unsurvivable prison of certain death. Because of His immeasurable compassion, He came to this earth—for you—for me—and He paid the ransom in FULL with His life . . . in exchange for our freedom.

But, we each must choose.

Will we leave the prison of our past pain and follow Him?

When offered this same choice, the horses didn’t look back. When they saw the gate swing open, they didn’t fight to stay in their place of death. They appeared to understand that genuine rescue was being offered to them. With eyes forward, they chose to follow the one leading them out of captivity . . . and then they summoned all their remaining strength and JUMPED into the new life that awaited.

Today, perhaps you are the one held within an inescapable place of pain. Perhaps you are the one who is trapped in an unfathomable, unstoppable, unsurvivable prison of certain death?

Beloved . . . know this . . . it is JESUS who has paid the ransom for your redemption. It is JESUS who has opened the cell door of your inescapable prison.  It is JESUS who beckons you to trust Him. And, it is JESUS who is asking you to walk out of your bondage and follow Him.

This is the foundational choice of every human heart. This is the picture of Jesus coming to earth to pay in FULL the ransom for our redemption—so we could live in the freedom of His redeeming love.

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.” (1 Tim. 2:1-6a, emphasis added, NLT)

Like our sweet spotted mare, “Redemption,” may you also choose the freedom Jesus purchased for all mankind.

(To see the recovery journey of our new horses, please view the video “Ruins to Redemption” by Sarah Robinett).