ALBANY — Mandy Henderson sheds prideful tears as she talks about Rudy, a 15-year-old rescue horse, who has surpassed any expectations put upon him.

Not only did Rudy become comfortable with people after living the first part of his life with almost no communication, but in late September he even participated in the Midwest Horse Trainers Challenge at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. 

That all happened after months of work, dedication and communication techniques. When Henderson was paired up with Rudy, he couldn’t handle a simple touch from a human, and lived a life filled with fear after being abandoned. 

“He has a lot of emotional baggage,” Henderson said. 

Rudy was one of about 60 horses on a breeder’s farm in Central Wisconsin. When the breeder ended the work in 2013, the horses were sent to slaughter. However, when the horses were taken, Rudy was overlooked on the 300-acre property, and was left behind.

When he was found eight months later, he was emaciated and could barely stand. The then 10-year-old stallion was taken to the Amazing Grace Equine Sanctuary in Elkhart Lake, where he was rehabilitated and treated. 

Although he was close to being physically better — mentally, Rudy still had a long road ahead of him.

“The damage wasn’t necessarily due to being abandoned and starved,” Henderson said. “He had no interaction with people prior to the incident.” 

His first human interaction was being placed in a sling in order to give numerous, but necessary treatment. It was traumatizing for the horse, Henderson said.

After being with AGES for about five years and one failed adoption, Rudy became a candidate for the Midwest Rescue Horse Trainers Challenge, an event put on by the Wisconsin Horse Alliance. 

In the competition, horse trainers are given 90 days to train a rescue horse and at the end compete in a horse show. The event’s main purpose is to encourage the adoption of rescue horses. 

Rudy’s first trainer backed out, worried he would be too much to handle. That’s when Henderson received a call from her friend with the WHA who asked if she’d be up to the task. 

She agreed, but admittedly wasn’t fully aware of all she would take on at the time.

Henderson, a veterinarian technician, has worked for the vet school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the last 10 years and has been rescuing horses for more than five years. 

Although she grew up in the city of Madison, Henderson was immediately drawn to horses. 

“I must have come out of the womb asking for a pony because my parents finally broke down when I was 7 and got me riding lessons,” Henderson.

She said she isn’t sure what it was exactly that drew her to the large animals. 

“It’s a part of my being,” she said. “These animals have always called to me and I’ve always had a connection with them and enjoyed any aspect of being around them, even if it’s just mucking stalls.” 

Shannon Madden, office administrator at AGES, noticed right away Henderson and Rudy had a connection. Within ten minutes, Henderson was able to touch Rudy and worked with him for over two hours to get him loaded onto the trailer.

“I told her, ‘You’re going to end up adopting him,’” Madden said. 

Once at Henderson’s farm, Rudy spent three weeks in a stall before she could urge him outdoors. 

Henderson said Rudy wasn’t aggressive — just extremely fear-driven. When she thought about the best way to handle him, she recalled to one of her favorite horse trainers, Monty Roberts. 

Roberts’ methods involve communicating with horses as if they were in a herd. To move them, a human moves them away and once they show signs of being submissive, the human invites them into the herd. Henderson said Rudy caught on to the method immediately.

“It was like something just clicked with him,” Henderson said. 

Henderson slowly gained Rudy’s trust through training. Between having post-traumatic stress disorder and the beginnings of ringbone, a degenerative joint disease, he may never be able to be saddle-ridden, and that’s OK. 

“I feel like he’s paid his dues,” she said. 

Henderson has three other rescue horses, a foster horse and eight rescue goats. She said Rudy is fairly receptive to the other animals but appreciates his space and time alone. 

Rudy now has a daily routine where he goes outside every day. He enjoys being walked through obstacles such as bridges, kiddie pools or weaving through poles. He then returns to his stall each night, looking for his blanket. 

Henderson said he’s been thriving on the new interaction. 

With a sense of safety and comfort, Rudy also follows Henderson everywhere. She decided it would be best for Rudy to stay with her permanently since their bond is so strong. 

Training Rudy has also helped Henderson improve communication skills with other horses. 

“He’s been a very unique experience,” Henderson said.