Story
Maja is not a rescued mare — at least not in the way the word is usually meant. She did not come to us broken or out of a dark stable. And yet she has her story and she belongs here.
Maja is Lucinka's daughter.
Lucinka was our first horse. We bought her from a friend — and Maja stayed with him. We used to go and see her. I knew her for years and formed a bond with her that is hard to explain to anyone who does not spend time around horses. She was part of the family, even though she was not ours.
My friend's stepdaughter grew up alongside her. She formed a bond with her and thought of her as her own. Whether Maja ever really belonged to her we do not know — but for that girl she was her mare.
Then Maja failed to get in foal two years running. For a breeder that is a problem — a mare that gives no foal does not pay her way. And so in the end he decided to sell her.
This is the hard part of the story. I knew that if I bought Maja, I was taking her from that girl. I knew it the whole time.
But I also knew she would lose her either way. And that Maja is a strong draught mare — she would be bought by people who would work her into the ground in the forest. Horses exactly like her are used up the fastest.
So we were the ones who bought her. I explained to the girl that Maja would be right next door, here on our farm, and that she could come and see her any time.
She did not take it well. And I did not hold it against her.
In time she came to understand it too. She knows where Maja is, and she knows she is doing well.
And my friend understood as well. This year he gave the girl another mare — and had her registered in the girl's name straight away. So that nobody could ever say again that the mare was not hers.
Maja has been with us since 2024. So Lucinka had her daughter in the herd right to the end — she left us in August 2025.
We did not buy Maja because she was in need. We bought her because we knew what need was waiting for her. Sometimes a rescue means simply not letting something happen.
One day we went up to the top meadows with the herd. There is a view over the whole region from there and the horses like to stand a while. Maja stopped and looked at one hill for a long time.
In that moment it dawned on me. She was looking at a hill she had known all her life from the other side. Behind it is her old home.
„Don't worry, Majuš. They are all right over there. And every time I go, I will say hello from you."
I still do it to this day.
How Maja is doing
In a herd every mare has her place. The dominant mare is the queen — she leads and she decides. Right behind her comes the second mare, the princess: she keeps close to the queen, circles around her, watches over her and watches over the foals. It is not a lesser role. It is a service, and not just anyone is given it.
Maja was a princess back at her old home too. The queen there was her sister — the one who gave the foals — and Maja was the aunt to them. She looked after them.
Here she took the same role the moment she arrived. The queen of the herd at that time was still Lucinka, Maja's mother, and her princess was Jaška. But then Bela had a foal — and Maja went and stood beside it. Bela is her queen and Maco the foal she watches over.
When Lucinka left us in August 2025, the herd lost its queen and to this day it has not fully reorganised itself. That sort of thing does not take weeks. Bela, Maja and Maco stick together in it like a little herd within the herd. Maja is the caring aunt among them and she takes it seriously.
Some horses bring an injury with them. Maja brought her role. And right now, with the herd unsettled, you can see it in her more than ever.
Photo gallery — Maja
Photos of Maja — added as we go.
Would you like to help?
We do not collect for Maja directly. Nothing is wrong with her and we manage her care ourselves. Asking for money for our own healthy horse does not feel right to us.
If you would like to help, contribute to the work of the association. That money pays for treating the horses who need it at the time, and for hay for the whole herd — so some of it always reaches her too.
Bank transfer (SEPA)
Account holder: RIO o.z.
IBAN: SK97 8330 0000 0027 0350 7560
BIC/SWIFT: FIOZSKBAXXX
Payment reference: RIO
Our account is transparent, every payment is public here. Before you confirm, please check that the recipient is RIO o.z. and the IBAN ends in 7560.
What we need right now →
A light aluminium shovel for mucking out, a corrugated pipe for a reservoir, LDPE hoses for a water supply, concrete utility poles. Maybe you know where to find them.
Thank you →
Everyone without whom it wouldn't work: those who come to help and those who support us professionally.