When volunteers from a Colorado wildlife rescue team were called to Copper Canyon, they expected to find an injured wild mustang in need of help. A hiker—me—had reported a stallion lying still for hours, buzzards circling overhead. The team prepared for the heartbreaking possibility that the animal was beyond saving. What they found instead would leave them speechless.
The stallion was injured, his shoulder bloodied, but he wasn’t helpless. His massive body curved protectively over something hidden beneath him. When the rescuers moved closer, he pinned his ears and refused to move. It wasn’t until he shifted, with great effort, that the truth was revealed. Beneath the horse lay me—a human infant—wrapped in a pink blanket, weak but alive.
The rescuers sprang into action. Dr. Elena Rodriguez, the team’s lead veterinarian, cradled me while her colleagues called for emergency services. The stallion, despite his wounds, tried to follow and protect me, refusing to let me out of sight. His body heat had kept me alive through the cold night, and his vigilance had shielded me from predators.