Willie Nelson Rescued & Saved Over 70 Horses' Lives
Sep 04, 2020 by apost team
In 1985, country singer Willie Nelson established Farm Aid with fellow music stars John Mellencamp and Neil Young, assisting family farmers to avoid foreclosure. The singer rescued 70 horses from a slaughterhouse. They now run free at Luck Ranch, his 700-acre paradise outside of Austin, Texas.
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Throughout the decades, Nelson has performed at charity concerts, raised money for the victims of terrorism, and thrown his support behind political candidates. Nearest and dearest to his heart, however, were animal charities.
The singer even offered refuge to dozens of horses at Luck Ranch, his 700-acre paradise outside of Austin, Texas. Luck Ranch currently houses over 70 horses, many of whom were rescued from slaughterhouses by Nelson, according to KSAT 12.
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"My horses are probably the luckiest horses in the world," Nelson told KSAT 12 News. "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."
Where they were once near death, they now happily roam the Texas countryside. Each year, Nelson hosts the Luck Reunion, a music festival for people to see the ranch and even feed some of Nelson’s horses.
Additionally, Nelson wrote of his love of horses in his recent hit Ride Me Back Home.
For his activism on behalf of horses, Nelson was honored with the 2015 People’s Telly Award. The award was given because of Nelson’s video The Love of Horses, which showed the country music megastar meeting with Jerry Finch and members of Habitat for Horses to convince lawmakers to enact legislation ending horse slaughter.
In recent interviews, Nelson shrugged off questions of if he was contemplating retirement. Nelson jokes that after every tour, he feels like hanging up his guitar and calling it quits. Soon after saying he’d never tour again, Nelson and his band realized the joy that comes from performing to adoring crowds.
What do you think of Luck Ranch and Nelson’s activism on behalf of horses? Do you have any favorite Willie Nelson songs? Show this story to those of your friends who are Willie fans or just love horses. They'll surely be happy to hear about this.