Life changing

Millionaire Pets – Hobbit the frightened horse

They are the pets who hit the jackpot – when their National Lottery winning owners decided to take on animals who needed love, patience and a whole load of luck. Here we meet one of the adored pets who were saved by the Lottery.

Niki Otterburn, from North Yorkshire, won £2.2Million in November 2001. She bought a pretty three-bed cottage with extensive grounds for her beloved rescue horse, Hobbit – saved from the clutches of the slaughterhouse.

When Niki spotted a terrified horse with a broken nose trembling at a sales auction in September 2012, she realised the trembling creature was doomed. Nikki explains how she earned the trust of Hobbit.

"The auctioneer asked for £500, and nobody bid. I thought ‘That’s meat money,’ and I realised that the poor horse in front of me was about to be led to the slaughterhouse. She hung her head and she was so unhappy, but there was just something there. I bought her on the spot – and I had to race home to get the lorry. I had never planned on buying a horse."

Time and patience

"It took two hours to load Hobbit into the lorry, because she was so terrified. Back home, she stood in the corner of the stables with her head down in depression. She flinched with any sudden movement, as if she expected to be beaten. She was so skinny we couldn’t tell what breed of horse she was. It was only after a few months that we realised she’s a little Welsh Cob.

For the next year, I spent hours every day with the terrified horse – coaxing her back to a normal life. I have time and patience – thanks to the Lottery. If I was working full time, I wouldn’t have been able to devote the hours that Hobbit needed."

A year later

"She had been attacked in a horse box previously by another horse – and had a phobia about being loaded. Using treats and talking to her, I spent hours trying to persuade her to walk up the ramp. One day, we spent nine hours together. It took a year – and suddenly she took a deep breath and just walked inside. It was one of the best moments of my life, because it meant she could start to have a normal life.

Now Hobbit is like a Labrador – loving and greedy. She’s constantly asking for carrots – her number one treat – and polos. My mum Dawn who is 70 wanted to ride again, so she started to go out with Hobbit. It has given Mum a new lease of life and they both set off to explore National parks. Hobbit is so gentle and loving – she looks at me as if to say: ‘Don’t worry – I’ll take care of her!’"

The National Lottery has been changing the lives of winners and supporting good causes across the UK since 1994. In that time, there have been more than 7,000 new millionaires created and by playing The National Lottery you raise over £4 million for Good Causes every dayΔ.

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