“I just got him home,” said MacCormick on Monday. “It’s such a great feeling to have him back.”
After Mac went missing from a Belmont field in late June he was the subject of long searches and many news stories. He remained elusive for weeks but Sunday evening fresh manure was spotted.
“I went back to the area early this morning and found more,” said MacCormick. “I was searching when I got a phone call about him being found.”
A man about two kilometres away saw the horse and had no trouble approaching him. Because the horse wasn’t wearing a halter he put a ratchet strap around his neck so he wouldn’t take off before calling a friend of MacCormick.
“A neighbor put a halter and lead line on him before I got there,” she said. “Coming down the road toward him I could see him and my daughters and I started crying. We were so overjoyed. He just put his head down and nuzzled us. I think he was ready to come home.”
She said for being in the woods so long the gelding looks good. He has only lost a little weight, has some bug bites and his hooves are a little chipped.
Mac is not being turned out in the large field again, but is being kept close to home where he has a turnout area and a walk-in stall.
MacCormick got the horse a little more than a year ago and was told he was born in July, but were not given an exact date. Because it is the date he got back home she decided July 18 will be the day they celebrate his birthday, making him 14 today.
“We’ll be getting him some treats,” she added. “It was certainly worth the long days and nights. He’s here and healthy, and that’s all we could ask for.”
