The Simpsons co-creator rescues lame horse

The Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon has bought a lame thoroughbred horse in a bid to save him from the track.

The philanthropist, who is battling terminal cancer, put up the funds to buy Valediction, after the horse appeared in a PETA expose video.

The footage featured videotaped evidence of chronic misuse of drugs to enhance horses' performance and mask their injuries.

PETA discovered that Valediction's legs were covered with circular, evenly spaced scars - the result of freeze-firing, the cruel practise of burning horses' legs with liquid nitrogen to try to stimulate blood flow.

After racing in Saratoga, New York in August (13), Valediction's ankles were so swollen that he had to be transported out of a test barn in a trailer. His trainer Rudy Rodriguez was then told by a state veterinarian, "This horse is lame."

The animal underwent surgery for his injures and he was purchased by a PETA agent on behalf of Simon in February (14), when another veterinarian declared the horse was so arthritic that he could never race again.

Simon tells WENN, "I was not in the best of shape when I saw PETA's video and heard about the condition of this horse, Valediction, but it was immediately clear the horse was in deep trouble.

"He had been run on bad legs to start with and had clearly been injured during the race and had stood there shaking, unable to put weight on his feet."

Valediction has been transported to a farm in Virginia, where he'll live out his life in peace and safety.

Simon adds, "When I see him in his blanket eating carrots, I know I helped one great horse... escape the track and live in clover until the day he dies."