I asked the owner of the sanctuary about Darcy, and this is what she said:

His full name is General Darcy, he was a harness racing horse, we bought him at an auction where he was being sold for horse meat because he wasn't fast enough 28 years ago -- he is now 31 years old. He became blind a few years ago from something called uveitis -- the vets don't know what causes it. But because he went blind slowly and has been here almost his whole life he can still get around well and knows where the barn and water are, and does fine even though he is blind.

*****

The Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary is a 400-acre nonprofit refuge in Poolesville, Maryland, that offers care, rehabilitation and permanent sanctuary for neglected, abused or abandoned farm animals as well as providing a protected habitat for wildlife. They promote compassion and the humane treatment of all animals by educating the public on farm animal and wildlife issues.

A husband and wife team along with 100 volunteers and 8 staff care for more than 300 rescued farm animals, each with a name and a story of their rescue, and most of them quite friendly to humans. They’ve been in operation for 21 years, receive no public funding and survive only on donations.

For more information on the refuge, go to http://www.animalsanctuary.org

Jonas the survivor, posted earlier: