Willie Nelson sure does love horses. In fact, so much so, that he recently rescued 70 horses from slaughter and they now roam free on his Texas ranch.
“My horses are probably the luckiest horses in the world,” Nelson said. “They get hand-fed twice a day, and they were just ready to go to slaughter is probably the last thing they remembered, so they’re happy horses.”
Over the last decade, Willie has rescued 75 horses from slaughter, and this next 70 will enjoy living on his ranch too. The horses were unwanted for various reasons and call Luck Ranch, his farm in Austin, home.
Nelson, 87 and still touring, has written a song about the plight of horses, both wild and domestic, in America, for his current album, Ride Me Back Home.
We rode into battle barebacked and saddled
You took the wound in your side
You pulled the sleds and you pulled the wagons
You gave ’em somewhere to hide
Now they don’t need you and there’s no one to feed you
And there’s fences where you used to roam
I wish I could gather up all of your brothers
And you would just ride me back home
Ride me back home to a much better place
Blue skies and sunshine and plenty of space
Somewhere where they would just leave you alone
Somewhere that you could call home
And you would just ride me back home
I got a small place up in the foothills
Where green grass is precious as gold
I paid a fortune for what little I got here
But you know that I’d sell my soul
To have all the mountains, the rivers and valleys
The places where you need to roam
And I would just gather up all of your brothers
And you would just ride me back home
So what do you think about Willie and his horse rescue? Does it inspire you to save an animal?
