Fueled by Hope: The Comeback Story of Diesel the Horse

Fueled by Hope: The Comeback Story of Diesel the Horse This page details the road to recovery for Diesel, a horse who was rescued from starvation in February of 2026.

We share everything: the happy updates and the heartbreaks, in order to educate others about equine rescue and rehabilitation.

Time for progress pics! Diesel continues to grow, slowly but surely. He has gained over 4 inches at the wither since arr...
05/25/2026

Time for progress pics!

Diesel continues to grow, slowly but surely. He has gained over 4 inches at the wither since arriving, and many more at the hip! His hip is about 2 inches higher than his wither now. šŸ˜… He is really gaining a lot of feathering on his pasterns, a hint of the draft cross coming out!

Diesel says ā€œI have been working hard on my smile plz rate 1 - 10ā€ šŸ„¹ šŸ™šŸ»
05/23/2026

Diesel says ā€œI have been working hard on my smile plz rate 1 - 10ā€ šŸ„¹ šŸ™šŸ»

Itā€™s progress picture day! And who is this handsome hunk of a horse?!Diesel did a lot of growing this week! He actually ...
05/18/2026

Itā€™s progress picture day! And who is this handsome hunk of a horse?!

Diesel did a lot of growing this week! He actually gained about 1/2ā€ at the withers and even more at his hip. We did increase his grain a little bit when we noticed he had stalled in his growthā€”it looks like that did the trick! It feels like his head has really gotten bigger and longerā€”maybe a hint towards his future height? No matter what, we are happy with this progress!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY DIESEL!!Diesel turns one year old today, according to his Coggins and the only record we have on hi...
05/12/2026

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY DIESEL!!

Diesel turns one year old today, according to his Coggins and the only record we have on him. To be honestā€¦ we werenā€™t sure if he would make it this far. When he arrived at the farm his condition was so much worse than what the photos showed, a skeleton hidden under a winter coat. We gave him everything we had to help him recover, our hearts guarded knowing that emaciated horses can crash at any time. He has shown so much resilienceā€”and so much heart, loving and trusting humans despite his rough start.

Diesel, we would take the chance on you over and over again. Happy first birthday, and many more to come!

Happy Motherā€™s Day and check-in day! We had another week with no gains in height. In fact, after a hoof trim, he shrunk ...
05/11/2026

Happy Motherā€™s Day and check-in day!

We had another week with no gains in height. In fact, after a hoof trim, he shrunk a little bit. šŸ¤£ still, it feels like he is continuing to fill out, especially looking down over his back. We did increase his grain a little bit to help him over this slump, though it is pretty typical for colts to alternate growing up and out.

He still has some stubborn winter coat that doesnā€™t want to shed outā€”including a Mohawk down his back, check the last photo to see it in all its glory! He is still the best behaved baby, even tolerating a spray bottle for the first time today without batting an eye!

Itā€™s progress day! Diesel had his first bath ever today! While he wasnā€™t the biggest fan šŸ˜…šŸ˜‚ he shined up nice and it hel...
05/04/2026

Itā€™s progress day!

Diesel had his first bath ever today! While he wasnā€™t the biggest fan šŸ˜…šŸ˜‚ he shined up nice and it helped him lose a bit more of his winter coat. He continues to round out and get more and more grown up. All of his pressure sores have healed besides the stubborn one on his left kneeā€”fingers crossed that one heals with time, as well.

Itā€™s progress day with Diesel!He had a hard weekā€”he was introduced to the other yearlings and had an adjustment to the r...
04/26/2026

Itā€™s progress day with Diesel!

He had a hard weekā€”he was introduced to the other yearlings and had an adjustment to the rough and tumble play that little boys their age do. As far as we can tell, he has been in isolation since September, when he was purchased at auction by his previous owner. He had to be in isolation while he recovered from starvation with us, but thatā€™s tough on a herd animal! It was exciting to give him some friends his own age so he can start to live a more normal life as a horse.

He was also gelded this week, which is an important milestone for him to live a long and happy life. More on that later. šŸ™‚

Despite these challenges, he grew another 1/2 inch at the hip. šŸ˜… He is shedding his old winter coat and his coat underneath looks much healthier and shinier. He seems to be filling out through the chest and he is getting big and tall enough that itā€™s becoming difficult to capture his topline and back in a single shot!

His first night home and 70 days laterā€¦ To see him in the same stall and in the same position is striking! We are so pro...
04/20/2026

His first night home and 70 days laterā€¦

To see him in the same stall and in the same position is striking! We are so proud of all the try he has given us and how far he has come.

Time for Diesel progress pics! We couldnā€™t help but notice that you could start a ski hill between his butt and his with...
04/20/2026

Time for Diesel progress pics!

We couldnā€™t help but notice that you could start a ski hill between his butt and his withers. Heā€™s been stuck at 50.5 inches at the withers for a few weeks now, but heā€™s actually measuring 52.5 inches at the hipā€”so heā€™s gearing up for another growth spurt!

Heā€™s working on shedding out his old winter coat and growing a shiny new black one underneath. He has a big week ahead of him finally getting to live with the other babies his age!

This is definitely his dinner time face. šŸ½ļø
04/16/2026

This is definitely his dinner time face. šŸ½ļø

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