Horse Illustrated Magazine

On Valentine’s Day, one young horse received the gift of rescue. The colt was found at the bottom of a ravine in Fremont, California with a broken pelvis. The animal service officers who rescued him state that he was likely in the ravine for at least two days, ABC News reports.

Geneva Bosques, public information officer for the Fremont Police Department, told ABC News, “Where his pelvis broke is very close to a critical artery. The initial veterinarian who looked at him said any wrong movement could rupture the artery, and he could bleed to death.”

Now named Valentine, the young horse (who was estimated to be about 6 days old when he was found) was taken to the University of California, Davis, where he underwent treatment. Valentine has the company of Sarah Cattaneo, one of his rescuers. According to ABC News, she has not left the horse’s side. Those in the community have also pitched in to help Valentine, raising more than $15,000 in under 16 hours to help pay for his veterinary treatments, ABC News reports.

“The vet was astonished that after two days he was still living. Usually after a couple of hours in those kind of cold wet conditions they die,” Cattaneo told Fox 40.

Though it was thought at first that Valentine would need surgery, veterinarians at UC Davis conducted CT scans that showed that “only Valentine’s non-weight-baring upper pelvis was fractured,” Fox 40 reports.

Dr. Mathieu Spriet, associate professor and veterinarian at UC Davis told Fox 40, “Valentine does not need surgery, and he’ll probably be fine, he’s going to need some time for the bone to heal. He might even be able to get ridden for some trail rides or something like that. He might not become a world champion top athlete, but he’ll be able to move around.”

Fremont police are actively searching for Valentine’s owner.