Can you imagine waking up with every joint screaming in pain, only to be forced to pull a heavy carriage on hot pavement for hours on end? That was once the miserable life of Animal Rahat’s newest sanctuary resident—a horse named Badal.

When the group helped confiscate him from a Victoria (carriage) driver in Mumbai, this long-suffering horse was being forced to haul tourists despite significant eye problems, osteoarthritis, and a degenerative joint disorder called “ringbone.”

He also had a painful infection called “thrush” in all four hooves. Do you see that black V-shaped area in the photo of Badal’s hoof? That’s supposed to be healthy tissue, but it’s almost completely decomposed!

Today, Badal is at Animal Rahat’s sanctuary and receiving the care that he’d so long been denied. Never again will he be made to haul a carriage, feel the sting of the whip, stand on burning-hot pavement, dodge traffic, or be denied the simple pleasure of resting in the shade.