Injured horse gets 'Hero's' welcome

After weeks of intensive vet care, there's finally a happy ending for the horse found wounded and forgotten near Cache Mountain.

Hundreds of well-wishers turned out to give him a warm welcome when he arrived at his new home at Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch on Saturday. His new life includes a new name; no longer known as Trooper, the gelding will be called Hero.

Crystal Peaks is a perfect fit; children who come to the ranch to heal their own emotional wounds will take turns showing Hero that he's finally safe.

His ordeal began after he was shot in the head and left for dead late last summer. For several weeks he stumbled through the forest, dragging a lead line and blinded in one eye; he lost half of his blood and was barely able to walk when he was found by hunters.

"Hero was incredibly lucky to survive being shot twice in the head," said Dr. Wendy Krebs at Bend Equine Medical Center (BEMC).

The once emaciated, wounded horse stood quietly in the stocks eating grain while being brushed by BEMC staff and receiving the finishing touch of a star and heart decoration on his purple leg wrap.

Hero's life has been troubled from the start, beginning when he was purchased at six months old. His new owner left the bay Arabian colt in a 12-foot-by-12-foot box stall for four years.

Back then his name was Nikko and his confinement caused damage to his growing body, possibly resulting in a sway back more typical of a horse three times his age.

Eventually, he ended up at Camp Tamarack where he served as a lesson horse, but after a leg injury he could no longer be ridden. According to law enforcement investigators, Camp Tamarack asked a former wrangler, Russell Daniel Willeford, to find the horse a home. Instead, he allegedly took the horse into the woods west of Black Butte Ranch, shot him and left him for dead.

Investigators arrested Willeford in his home town of Banks, Oregon, on October 29 on multiple felony charges.

According to Dr. Krebs, the horse's leg wound is about a year old and will still need several more months of treatment to fully heal.

Hero has spent the last five weeks at BEMC where he has been treated for his deep leg wound and the head injuries from the wrangler's gunshot. People have been calling BEMC from around the nation.

"We had one caller from Alabama who donated money for his care," said Dr. Krebs. The help is appreciated since the clinic has spent over $9,700 caring for the horse.

"We've been glad to help," said Dr. Krebs.

Along with losing an eye, he also suffered severe damage to his jaw.

"His jaw was shattered but he's doing well; chewing and thriving besides the loss of an eye," said Krebs.

He will always carry the fragments of the two bullets that narrowly missed his brain, but they don't seem to slow him down at all. Throughout his stay at the clinic, Crystal Peaks staff and students have visited everyday to get to know him and make sure he doesn't feel forgotten.

"I know he'll have a good home there," said Krebs.

His story has touched a chord across the nation. Kim Meeder, who runs Crystal Peaks with her husband Troy, sees the horse as a wonderful lesson in hope.

"I think people are looking for symbols of hope and a power greater than themselves that can guide even the most wounded of us out of the wilderness," she said.

Hero's other great lesson to share is his continued trust in people.

"It's amazing that after all he's been through, Hero's still friendly and isn't even head-shy," said Dr. Jessie Evans of BEMC.

As Evans groomed his coat and dressed Hero's wounded leg he stood quietly, even when people approached him from his blind side.

On Saturday, Hero eagerly loaded into the Crystal Peaks trailer and rode the few miles to his new home. He was welcomed by families, media crews and well-wishers from around Oregon, California, Idaho and Canada.

Meeder pulled up the hill to the barn with people cheering at his arrival. Although many horses would panic at the scene before him, Hero took it all in stride. He walked through the crowd to his new paddock, placed near other horses so he could slowly get to know them.

Until his leg wound heals, he'll remain in the paddock with periodic walks around the ranch to strengthen his muscles.

"We're so happy that something good came out of something so bad," said BEMC technician, Erica Leehman as she watched Hero snuggle up to the crowd around his paddock.

Hero's life will be full of healing from now on. BEMC will continue to care for his leg wound and soon they'll be removing the sutures from his eye area.

He'll require wound care for months and it'll be awhile before he'll be able to go out and play with is new neighbors, but while he's recovering there are many young people who will show him love through lots of carrots and kisses.