Nerds Republic

When Legacy the Clydesdale was born, it was supposed to be a joyous occasion at Priest Welsh Clydesdales in Canada. Unfortunately, it was a sad time. Only a day after her birth, Legacy’s mother passed away. Emily Welsh, the owner of the farm, was understandably heartbroken. Even going into the barn was emotionally draining for her, but there was a helpless foal who needed her love and care.

Luckily, someone else was there to help her and the baby out.

Buttercup, a lovely little goat, was brought to the farm to provide milk for Legacy.

Welsh figured that she could simply bottle Buttercup’s milk and feed it to Legacy. But Buttercup had other plans.

Upon seeing Legacy, the dairy goat’s maternal instincts kicked in, and she quickly adopted the foal as her own…even though Buttercup was the smaller of the two.

She snuggled up to Legacy and allowed the filly to suckle. Welsh even built a ramp so that the growing horse could have better access.

Aside from food, Buttercup has also provided Legacy with love and affection.

Welsh says that she was initially afraid that Legacy wouldn’t make it past her first week.

But at five months old, Legacy is growing stronger every day.

“Buttercup protects her, loves her, and plays with her,” Welsh says. “We owe her life to Buttercup, and we thank her every day.”

And Buttercup seems perfectly content to be this horse’s mom.

(via The Dodo)

Now that Legacy is getting older, her humans decided that she should have some equine friends, too, so another foal named Rock has joined the family. “Legacy is learning how to be a horse,” Welsh jokes. This family might be a little unconventional, but it’s one built on love — and serious cuteness.

Some people are terrified of horses. They’re big, often unpredictable creatures. But much like dogs and cats, horses can be trained to be lovable and snuggly. Case in point? This woman, who’s made it her life goal to train horses and people to live together in perfect harmony. Check out the incredibly strong bond she has with her horses.

If this kind of experience can be taught, sign me up! Having friends like these is every kid’s (and adult’s) dream.

Abandoned at only four months old, this foal was barely hanging on when rescuers from Catley Cross Veterinary Clinic found him earlier this year. They brought him to their facility and discovered the little guy was suffering from dehydration, hypothermia, pneumonia, and lice.

There was a strong chance he wouldn’t make it, but that didn’t stop them from trying.

This was how he was found in February this year, collapsed and clearly starving.

Now going by Gizmo, they warmed him up with heating blankets and began treating his many ailments.

It was a lot for such a young cutie to fight, but they knew he wouldn’t give up on them.

Gizmo’s treatments included blood transfusions, bandaging, special diets, and antibiotics — all of which don’t come cheap.

However, the facility was happy to find themselves flooded with donations from those who hoped to help Gizmo get back on his hooves.

Of course, it wasn’t too surprising for the staff to discover how many other hearts this brave boy had touched, since they were all totally smitten with him, too!

Over the months, his strength continued to grow while his wounds healed.

Pretty soon, Gizmo was able to stand on his own and they gradually trained him.

He began to enjoy nice long walks along the grounds, greeting other horses and building his strength.

And today, you’d barely recognize this beautiful boy as the same one they found six months ago!

In fact, a few days ago, he won both the Youngstock RSPCA Class and Championship at Equifest, crowning him the Rescue Horse of the Year.

Take a look at one of his award-winning performances here:

Of course, he was already the champion in their hearts, but those shiny ribbons and medals do look good on him. The judges were so swept away by Gizmo’s incredible transformation, and according to Carolyn Wyse, a surgeon at the facility, some were even in tears as they awarded him the prize.

Gizmo was permanently adopted by Halstead Veterinary Clinic where he’ll continue to live his happiest, healthiest life.

At just two days old, this sweet mini horse, Angel, was dealt a painful blow when her 350-pound mom accidentally stepped on the little one’s leg. Her owners, Maine farmers Lennie and Brenda Green, were faced with a tough decision: amputate the leg, which had begun to get infected, or put the poor thing down.

They didn’t want to put her through more unnecessary trauma if she would still be unable to live a happy, active life. After some research into other farm animal amputations, and knowing full well how much more work it would mean on their part, they decided to go through with the lifesaving procedure.

Now at two months old, Angel sports a prosthetic donated cost-free by Maine Orthotic and Prosthetic Rehab Services.

Watch the video to see the amazing bond between this sweet girl and the humans helping her:

The Falkland Islands off the coast of South America are home to around 500,000 penguins. They tend to stick together, but one of the flightless birds found himself lost from the rest of his kind. Luckily, the little fella didn’t have to feel lonely for too long.

The cutie wandered onto the Cape Pembrokeshire Nature Reserve, where he found a group of friendly horses. Then, this happened:

(source Caters News Agency, Daily Mail)

Just thinking about all the cute adventures this crew will get into makes me smile. In fact, does anyone have a contact at Disney? I think I might have an idea for their next movie…

Check out more adorable animal stories in the links below: