Libby Partidge was in tears as she prepared to say goodbye to her six-year-old horse, Lilly, before making a huge discovery that changed everything about her fate
A woman who was getting ready to say an emotional goodbye to her horse has had her fate changed completely after making a huge discovery with her mare.
Libby Partridge said earlier this year that she was close to closing the sale of her six-year-old mare, Lilly, after a “very serious buyer” stepped forward with an offer. They were due to come and visit the horse in April and would likely take her home the next day, leaving 18-year-old Libby in tears as she struggled with the thought of having to say goodbye to her beloved animal and potentially never seeing her again.
However, the buyer’s car broke down, and they were unable to meet the horse, which meant Libby could afford a few more precious days with her pet.
These extra days would go on to be serendipitous for Libby, as just one week after the sale was supposed to go through, she made a groundbreaking discovery about her mare – she was pregnant and due to give birth very soon.
If the sale had gone through as planned, Libby would likely have had no idea Lilly was expecting, and the buyer would have gotten more than they bargained for.
Libby shared the emotional discovery on TikTok in a video that started with her crying over saying goodbye to Lilly, and then ended with shots of the tiny foal, whom she has named Coco.
She wrote on the video: “Me crying knowing I was having to say goodbye to my horse, but she pops out this thing.”
Coco, however, is not a purebred horse. She’s actually a mule, as Libby has discovered that the foal’s dad is a donkey aptly named Donkey, who Libby bought after seeing a Facebook post.
She told Newsweek: “I saw the dad, named Donkey, in a Facebook post and I knew we needed him. I was told that he was a castrated donkey, so I thought that’s perfect. He arrived and he very clearly wasn’t castrated.
“I thought because he’s quite old already, I wouldn’t put him through the stress of surgery. So, I kept him intact in a separate field far away from Lilly. All was well until I woke up one morning with Donkey in Lilly’s field.”
Libby thought nothing of it at the time and presumed that because Donkey was significantly smaller than Lilly, they wouldn’t have been able to mate. But that assumption proved false on April 21st when Lilly gave birth to Coco.
Since sharing the video documenting Coco’s arrival, Libby has had “nothing but positive” comments on social media from over 550 people who have left heartwarming messages for the teenager.
One comment reads: “She’s like hang on, I’m duplicating.”
Another TikTok user wrote: “She said you weren’t getting rid of her that easily.”
Another person joked: “She said nice try your stuck with me forever.”