We have lit a fire of inspiration in a lot of people, which is a great thing! I get asked a lot of questions concerning the process of bringing a horse home, and what all is involved in the care of an auction horse afterward. This post is to help share information about what we do, and some advice about what to prepare for, should you plan on bringing home your own auction horse. Before diving into bringing home an auction, horse, please take the time to read up on it. Do your research and be prepared.

First, prior to ever attending the auction, the number one thing you need to have lined up, is a good vet. You need a vet that is readily available in times of need, and who approves of the idea of a rescue horse, and trying their best to help rehab them when needed. Not every vet is pro rescue/rehab. Make sure your vet is a regular with farm animals, and familiar with horses. A good way to find a vet is to get in contact with local people who have horses, and ask for personal recommendations and go from there. You will need to establish a relationship with that vet and office, and plan on frequently being in touch with them if you plan on regularly bringing horses home. You will want to set up an appointment with your vet in the first week of coming home.

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Your farrier will be your next best friend. There is a saying, “No feet, no horse.” Our farrier, Rick Flacco, has been SO kind and patient with us. He is a world of resource. When we are at the sale barn, we have sent him pictures of foundered feet asking his opinion on if they were salvageable, and conversed with him about the different options for hoof care for different situations. He is more than willing to work with difficult horses and is always up for a challenge. A lot of horses in the loose pens are long overdue for a trim and the change of scenery and trauma they go through there, on top of getting their feet done, can be a scary experience. That being said, having a farrier who is willing to tackle a horse that may or may not be the easiest to get done, is necessary. And a patience is key! Make sure you have a good, knowledgeable farrier who isn’t hard to get ahold of. Our horses get their hooves done 2-3 days after being home with us, and see the vet on the Wednesday following the sale.

Let’s talk quarantine…Being prepared to quarantine a sale barn horse is a necessity. You should plan in advance before you bring a horse home, to have a separate area set up for them to quarantine. Sicknesses, especially in loose pen auctions, are a common occurrence. Just because your horse develops a snotty nose, doesn’t mean they have strangles. There are horse viral sicknesses just like there are in the human world. When they are in loose pens, horses are in pens packed full of other horses and nose to nose with them, sharing water, etc. It’s a perfect environment for germs to shed. Don’t panic when you see a snot nose. It is rarely actually Strangles. Sometimes, antibiotics are necessary, and of course extra precautions to help prevent sharing germs. Uniprim added into their daily feed is usually sufficient, sometimes a shot of antibiotics might be the better option. Most of the time, however, we have found that Uniprim does the job. Be careful that you wash your hands before moving on to any other horse’s chores. Use separate buckets, and designate a spot specifically for their feed buckets or mark them clearly with their name or color. Don’t ever put the hose inside their water, and don’t put the grain scoop into their feed bucket. It is recommended for a proper quarantine area to be 30 feet away from any other horses. If you are unable to do so due to space, put a sick horse, or sale barn horse in an enclosed area away from other horses so they can’t share food and water, and cannot be nose to nose. Our vet recommends a minimum of 2 weeks quarantine time. Within 7-10 days is when most sicknesses will make their debut if they have picked up a sale barn bug. Strangles has the longest incubation period of 14 days. When we bring home a horse, we quarantine them automatically for two weeks. If we are clear of any signs of infection or sickness, we will consider turn out. But if there is a hint of a snotty nose or cough, they will have another minimum one week of quarantine time. The longest we have had to quarantine a sale barn horse was a full 30 days before turnout with a friend.

The week before we go to the sale, we spend time cleaning and sanitizing the barn stalls. Bleaching walls, and buckets, and slow feed hay bags. Each horse will have a designated hay bag for the ride home and it will transfer to their stall when they come home. We use slow feed hay bags to help keep them occupied during the day when they are stalled, and take them out individually for a chance to stretch their legs and graze. Our horses see the vet two days after they have been with us, and the farrier, and spend time in quarantine with daily handling.

After a short while of settling in, if they are in good enough shape to be ridden, we begin working with them as the weather permits to refresh them under saddle. I will say, there is always a reason why a horse is in a sale barn. Whether that reason is a medical reason, or that they couldn’t be cared for, or a certain quirk under saddle, there’s a reason. Most all times there is some habit to be worked on when being ridden. So we try our best to help work out those kinks and get them back into the swing of regularly being worked with and ridden. If a horse is going to be a good lifelong riding partner for someone, they need someone to invest the time in them so they can see that potential.

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Expenses involved will be heavy. We do a fundraiser every month, and have never spent under the amount fundraised. In fact, we usually write a check for a minumum of 3-4x the amount that we raise. Auction horses are NOT cheap. You need to consider the amount of cost of a decent broke horse will probably cost you, plus sales tax, plus a Coggins fee just on the sale day. Not counting your time, and mileage and gas. Then you will bring them home and have to plan on feeding them, more than likely more grain than your average horse. Consider also the cost of hay involved. If it’s grass hay, unlimited hay is the best option. If you have a high percentage of alfalfa hay you should give them a ration based on their weight and your vet’s recommendation. You need to calculate in the cost of the possibility of medication costs, dewormer, farrier work, shoes/pads if needed, vaccinations, vet visit, possible chiropractic work, and if necessary dental work.

Chiropractic work has been SO beneficial for our horses. We don’t do chiropractic work for every horse that comes home with it, but sometimes the sale barn rescue buddies just need the healing touch of an equine Chiropractor like Dr. Bleem (Who is the BEST…Let me just interject that there!). Chiropractic work is healing, and soothing, and helps these guys so much after going through the trauma of the sale barn and loose pens. You should consider the cost of Chiropractor adjustments as a possibility as well as your other costs involved, should your new rescue friend need it. Also, consider the cost of rendering and putting a horse down if necessary. Unfortunately, it is also a part of the rescue scene. Costs quickly accumulate. And if you can’t afford the costs involved of bringing home a horse, you should not do so. They will end up in a bad off way once again even though you had good intentions.

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If you don’t feel like you can adequately quarantine and vet the horses, find someone who can and have them do the dirty work for you. You can still make the difference in the life of that horse and provide a home for them, or if you can’t provide the home for them, maybe you can support the people who rescue these guys on a monthly basis. Support a good cause and help put a dent into the horse slaughter industry. Together we can make a difference.

We have all seen the ads. The adorable scruffy little ponies with Christmas bows attached to their halters and tails, or a horse that looks to need some TLC, or perhaps an outstanding horse with exceptional breeding. Marked Will be SHIPPED on XXX (Insert date here). Their approximate age is listed and what little information is known about them and a bail out price usually with a lot of emojis. It might state, so many days left until she ships, and then the poster will comment and encourage people to look at the ads by adding into the drama saying that part of the bail is raised, but not all, or bail raised but no home yet so will still ship out.

I recently saw a horse listed on a bail out site that I recognized from a sale we were at. I told my husband when we were at the sale, we would probably see her on a bail out site saying she was registered but didn’t come with papers or something similar. And sure enough, it said out of registered stock but didn’t come with papers. This horse had gone through another auction after the sale we attended, and landed here.

First off, let me tell you, bail out pages can come in many forms. They may be labeled “kill pen,” or something along the lines of Save horses from slaughter…Or Find homes for horses etc. It might look like a rescue site ran by honest people, or it might straight up say we will ship whatever doesn’t sell etc. Usually the bail out pages have a VERY high following. If you are ever in doubt, or wonder who backs the page you are looking at a “bail out” horse on, do a. quick google search and it will trace back to a certain kill pen. Then you can search who runs that kill pen. The same guys we brush shoulders with every month run bail out pages. And it’s not uncommon for me to see horses we have seen at the sale pop up shortly after.

So, these horses and ads really pull at the heart strings. Thinking about the poor little fluffy pony being shipped to slaughter across the boarder it hard to stomach. Or a perfectly good horse that was probably at one time someone’s show horse. Here’s what they don’t tell you.. You bail the horse out, or people raise money toward bailing the horse out..The horse is then marked “safe”. What happens to them afterward? If there’s no home, some will openly say they will ship them anyway. So they have a horse that they have then raised the money to bail out and ship it for meat price, making a profit on both the horse, AND the bail out cash raised. Or they adopt it out…But the bail doesn’t cover the adoption fee. The bail marks them “safe”…So they charge for an adoption fee for the horse, and offer to quarantine for a fee which also pads their pockets…And offer transport with their own shippers etc. for a fee.

A horse is now bailed out and adopted and sitting in your barn after arriving off of a shipping trailer. Congratulations on your new horse! That horse is safe. She will settle in soon, and forever know the joy of her family. etc… BUT, please know. That by bailing this horse out…You have helped fuel the slaughter market. You saved one, but allowed them to buy two to three more. Two to three more who may not be so lucky, who will make that kill buyer a profit and thus allow him to keep on doing what he does…Making millions shipping horses to slaughter and bailing them out.

Caring, compassionate people are fueling the slaughter industry. Last year an approximate 100,000 horses shipped to Canada alone, and around 70,000 went to Mexico. If this isn’t troubling enough, I see ads for little ponies. A stud pony that is halter broke, maybe for lead-line rides, not registered. $1500. And 70 comments on him! People saying they are sending a pm. Meanwhile, rescue people who just want to help out a horse in need, bought a little pipsqueak pony at the auction… A halter broke yearling. Not bred, dewormed, vet checked and hooves trimmed, and daily handling going on during a quarantine period. And have the pony for $500 with people scoffing that it needs more work, or has it had a certain shot or its’ teeth floated…etc. But he’s not in imminent danger of shipping, so not one person messages the rescue people about the pony, but sure enough the next day the $1500 stud pony is marked “safe.” People complain that the price of a rescue is high. The bail out of slaughter bound horse is higher when it comes down to bringing the horse home! And the rescuer is putting time and effort into rehabbing, feeding, handling etc. What’s the kill buyer doing? Making sure there’s hay and water and manipulating people into getting what he wants.

If you want to impact the slaughter industry..the way to do it is NOT to bail out the horse. There are lots of rescuers that go to the same auctions as the kill buyers do. They buy the horse before they ever load up on a truck and get them before they are exposed to the whole kill pen, bail out, shipping process. If you are a knowledgeable horse person, go to the auction yourself. If you’re not a knowledgable horse person, should that exclude you ? No. But start doing your research on what a rescue horse requires for care, maintenance and get established with a good vet and farrier before you bring home an equine buddy. Talk with people who have been to the sales and can help you get an idea of what to expect. Or reach out to a rescuer, and let them know what qualities of a horse you are looking for and see what comes up! If you want to help save the life of a horse but can’t have one yourself, find a rescue or an individual who tries to bring the horses home from the sale barn, and offer to help with a donation or help with supplies, etc. There’s a lot of expense involved.

This whole process of the kill pen and bail out pages is directly driving the prices of horses up. It’s hard to find a decent, good broke horse at an affordable price anymore. The only want we can offset that, is to do our best to stop the process. The less horses that go through the auction to begin with, the less horses that will leave on kill trucks. The more individuals and rescuers buying from the auction ring that kill buyers frequent…the less horses that are going through the slaughter pipeline. We can make a difference.

With my morning coffee this morning, I realized I haven’t posted in a while. This one will probably take me two cups… 🙂 I have always been an animal lover. When I was a child, I loved animals of all kids, but I was obsessed with horses. The first toy horse I ever had was given to me by my Uncle Dennis. I was not old enough to say horse, so I walked around everywhere playing with it calling it a “horsh.” I watched horse movies, my bicycle was an imaginary, fence jumping, wild stallion. Even up until the teen years, I always imagined riding a horse while I was riding my bike. My grandad had cart racing horses, but he had to sell the last two horses he had when I was really young because he couldn’t afford to keep taking care of them. Jackie, the bay horse, was a bit high strung and only the bad grandkids could ride her. (My brother **cough cough* haha!) But Monte, the palomino, and was gentle enough I got to ride him. I must have been about three years old when my Dad toted me around on Monte for pony rides on that magnificent beautiful horse. But it stuck with me forever. I always wished for a horse of my own, and I thought it would never happen. I had allergies, and when I grew up, quite honestly farm properties were just so expensive. So to be where we are today, I am humbly blessed. I am thankful God has allowed us the opportunity to be able to work with horses the way that He has. And not only that, but to make a difference with horses in need, the way He has made a difference when I have been in need.

Some people think little of Spiritual things. God is a huge part of my life. Really, my entire life is centered around Him and around His will for my family. At a young age, I knew I was called to be a pastor’s wife. You can hear from God. He will speak to you if you will listen. I didn’t know who I would marry, or how it would happen, but I knew what I was called to do. He began changing my life and shaping me, preparing me for the job at the age of sixteen. When I was young I dreamed of being Shania Twain when I grew up. Instead, I became a worship leader… I guess that’s comparable right? 🙂 My husband and I met young, and married young. I was 18 years old and he was 17. We met at a church function in Monmouth IL. Our youth choir from Peoria was there singing, and his youth group was there doing a skit. Years down the road, little did we know then that we would end up pastoring in that very town together. Where God brought us together, we are serving together today.

We started our church in Monmouth about four and a half years ago. Nathaniel had this crazy idea to start bilingual church. And I gave him a look I constantly give him thinking he was crazy because neither one of us was Bilingual. The community of Monmouth, however is a very multicultural and diverse community. A large amount of the community speaks Spanish and French so I spent hours learning how to sing in Spanish. I would learn a song in English, and then learn it in Spanish. Make video recordings and send it to anyone willing to try and attempt music with me at church. We started to grow… And eventually, our growing congregation shifted from having Spanish speaking members, to French speaking African members. Then I spent hours learning French songs… Let me tell you, French is no easy walk in the park!

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I have a passion for people. I want to do all I can to help people. I want to help people come to know that God loves them and give them hope. God has done so much in my life, that I can’t ever remotely come close to repaying Him, so I do my best to do what I can to make a difference in the lives of people. My husband is a strong leader. He amazes me. He thinks outside the box SO much. He is willing to do whatever it takes to reach any person. Regardless of language barriers, or cultural differences. We have sang English songs, Spanish worship songs, and African praise music all in one service. We have had service in three languages at one time using two translators. We have been there to see precious babies brought into the world, funerals, weddings, community events. He dreams big, and I am so thankful to be able to dream big along with him.

What does all this spiritual stuff have to do with horses, you may be thinking… A lot actually! God cares about us. He cares about what we love, and our desires. My horse dream was long buried it seemed. I didn’t think it would ever happen… But one day my Mother in law had bought a farm fixer upper property. She allowed us to bring home a couple of hoses to keep there. And from there, things just ended up expanding. My love of horses, got transferred to my children, and we ended up going to the sale barn to buy a pony for them… And from there, saw another need.

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Do I think God called us to save horses…? Maybe not. But do I think it is pleasing to Him? Absolutely. God created the animals in the beginning. We should treat them right, and if there’s a way for us to make a difference when they need it, I think He is well pleased. Horses are healing to people. They heal emotions, and help you through hard times. We can’t help every animal in the world, but God has graciously allowed us to be able to help these ones. Sine September 2019, we have had about 200 horses through our program. Some are kill pen rescues, some are project horses that needed time put on them, some are owner surrenders, or rehabs. We have lost a couple that were too far gone, but as a whole these horses in a better place. We make sure to try and keep them out of sale barns, and maintain contact with their owners who take them home. And try our best to find a good fit for the right families. It’s not always easy, but it is rewarding.

One of my favorite things to do is find a poor bad off horse, whose eyes are filled with sadness, and whose coat is dull, and spend time every day with them reminding them that they are loved. Our sweet Clydesdale this trip is a perfect example of that. Her first day home, she was head shy, and hung her head defeated. She was a dull color and her coat lacked any shine to it. She was sore on her feet, and just bad off. I prayed for her. I put my hand on that sweet horses face and said God, please have mercy on this sweet horse. Whatever problems are causing her pain with her feet, please touch her and help us get her better. Yes, I pray for my horses. I also pray before every sale that God would help us find the right horses to be able to go to the homes they need to.

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This week I have seen the transformation begin. Her dull eyes that she seemingly had retreated into, are now bright and playful. Her dull coat, now is starting to shine. Her weight, although she is thin, is starting to fill out already. You can see less of her ribs. She hears the grain bucket and instantly starts perking up looking for her food. She gets the run of the yard part of the day and enjoys stretching out for naps, and trusts us enough that she doesn’t feel like she has to get up when you approach her. She will let me sit on the ground with her and pet her and speak life into her.. She has an abscess and will allow us to lift that monster foot up into a five gallon bucket of epsom salt water to soak it while she chows down on her beetpulp and feed. Every day I see more life come back into her. She was broken, but someone saw her potential.

Maybe you are broken, and wish someone could see your potential. I have been there. When it seems no one else believes in you, or you have failed, and ended up in a bad place…God sees your potential. God loves you, and you are so much more than what you can even imagine. There is hope, so don’t give up. God can, and He will make a difference if you will allow Him to.

This isn’t an ad for our church. Honestly, I don’t care where you go to church at, but we need each other. People need people and we need God. If you need a place to go, come and see us. Friends become family at Greater Life. You won’t be judged. Come as you are! Broken or whole, happy or sad, heart needing mended, or spirit needing uplifted. You are welcome here. 🙂

Greater Life Pentecostal Church — 201 e 2nd Ave Monmouth, IL

I was looking for ponies on Craiglist because around Christmas time last yer, and at the bottom of an ad I saw a side note that they had a Straight Egyptian Mare for sale. I told my husband that he should check her out. I have ALWAYS been an Arabian lover since I was a child. Arabians are my all around favorite breed. For those of you who don’t know much about Straight Egyptian Arabians, they are a rare breed. Their lineage goes back to a select few Arabians owned in Egypt and bred by the Bedouin tribes of ancient Arabia. Being a straight Egyptian means her blood lines are traceable 100% back to those horses. There are less than 6,000 Straight Egyptian Arabians that exist in the World. Less than 3,000 of those are found in the United States.

Bedda is a unique and amazing horse. Like most Straight Egyptians, Bedda had primarily been used as a broodmare and shown in halter as a yearling and 2 year old. She placed in the top ten as a yearling. But Arabians have to be worked with a different way than the average horse. You can’t just send them off to an average trainer like a quarter horse etc. They are just wired different. A lot of people don’t really know how to train Arabs, so they end up sold as broodmares, or unbroke, or ready to be started.

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Bedda was no exception. She was a nervous horse, and always on edge. Standing tied she would pull back, rear, paw the ground…Or sometimes try and jump over the trailer. I looked at her and saw absolute beauty. I was beside myself with excitement over the prospect of having an amazing horse like her in our farm. Shortly after we brought her home, we had a trainer offer to help train her in dressage and get her started for us. Unfortunately after a couple of months, things with the trainer were not going well and we went and picked her up and our other horse up from his property. Bedda was even more high strung than she had been. Nathaniel rode her a few times, and each time she would flip over with a rider on her. We also heard she had flipped over for the trainer a few times. It was just a rear and move on, it was a dangerous flip all the way over on top of your rider rear.

After a lot of discussion, we decided (I begrudgingly agreed) maybe we should sell her as a broodmare only. I really deep down inside felt that she was full of potential and could work past it, but it was a question of it it was worth the safety of our family with a horse that had dangerous behavior. I did list her for sale, but I felt horrible inside about it. This horse had so much more potential than what she had been used for up until this point. I started taking Bedda out every day and working on simple liberty training. We walked initially with a lead rope loosely in hand and then graduated to no lead rope. She learned to walk in step beside me off of my hand signals, and turn both directions, and walk through obstacles. She learned to back off of a hand signal and would also back simultaneously with me walking next to her when cued. I started working with her on tapping her on the side of her knee to pick up each foot, and she learned at an amazing rapid time frame. At this point, I had pretty much made up my mind that we needed to do something for this mare. She deserved it.

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Destini must have also seen the potential there. She is not an avid Arabian lover, but Bedda won us all over. I told her I thought Bedda would let me ride her, or someone ride her if I could give her the signals she had been learning. So, one day, Destini hopped on this magnificent mare, and I did our routine just like we did every day. We walked and turned both directions, backed, and she picked up her feet, and lowered her head when I asked her to. Never even blinked at the rider sitting on her back. You can imagine the grins on our faces. She rode her like this a couple more times, and Nathaniel and Destini started taking over from there.

Most every day, they would get Bedda out and started tacking her up, and introducing things one by one. Bedda was very motivated by treats and praise! It was winter, so it was basic riding, and limited according to the weather, but Bedda was making progress every day. Destini’s horse at the time was not working out so well with English riding, so one day they decided to tack up Bedda English.

I still remember the first time Destini stretched Bedda out into a canter. She was SO of balance, and it was so fun to watch them. Bedda taught Destini perseverance. She taught her, if at first you don’t succeed you try try again. Or it was the other way around…I’m not really sure which. I watched Destini’s riding improve every day, that she worked with Bedda, and I watched Bedd’a riding improve every day that she worked with Destini. Nathaniel did a lot of training exercises with Bedda, and often is out of the spotlight. But it really was a team effort getting these two to soar to their potential. Neither has reached full potential yet, but they both needed each other. Pure joy would go across Destini’s face every time they rode. It was a beautiful experience.

After a while of English riding, they decided to start her over some cross rails. Destini was new to jumping, and they both had learning to do together. Every day there was some sort of jump set up in the yard. It was a new adventure.

Whether she was trotting poles, or cantering circles, or jumping cross rails, or venturing up to a slightly higher jump…Every day was a new adventure. I watched my daughter living my childhood dream before my eyes. <3

Fast forward to spring, and Bedda and Destini were taking weekly lessons. They took a beginner training level dressage test together, worked on slowing Bedda’s canter down, each learning new skills and becoming more and more refined in their riding. Nathaniel built Destini some jumps so she could practice some real jumping. She had two and managed to set up cross rails with barrels, etc. I remember one day watching her do serpentine and she rarely came off, but for some reason it was an off day. Bedda stood still as soon as she fell and Destini landed on her feet every time. Bedda waited for her to get back on, and off they went again. Bedda learned flying lead changes, and Nathaniel trained her to side pass. She was really doing big things. 🙂

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Bedda and Destini did a few fun shows together and competed in English WT classes and won ribbons. She won riddons in Keyhole, poles, and barrels. And of course hit the trails together! There came point in time, where Destini’s riding was being held back by riding a more green horse, vs if she were to ride something more experienced with jumping. Instead of focusing all of her time on training the horse, she needed to focus on herself. So we found a wonderful OTTB with jumping experience, and Bedda became a family horse. I will be the first to say, I am not as avid a rider as Destini. 🙂 So, she’s had the chance to just chill out some and enjoy some family ride time. She’s taught the boys some lessons, and trail ridden some, and gone to a couple fun shows with the kids. Bedda is amazing all around. From the horse who would flip over, to the horse showing in a WT class with a 9 year old rider. Who would have thought it?

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At this point in Bedda’s life, I feel that she is completely ready for her next adventure. She could go on to be a national level show horse. She could teach a little kid some confidence, or ride Western, or English. Show jump, go to train further in dressage. This amazing mare could literally go anywhere with her life. She has immensely blessed us. I’m so glad we have been a part in helping her get to where she can be the truly amazing horse that she is. No longer is she stuck as just being a brood mare making some truly beautiful show quality babies, but she can have a job and be useful. She has a future of purpose in her life. I am excited to see what the future holds for Alfano Bedda. Her name means beautiful. And truly she is inside and out.

There were two sales this month. At the first sale we were able to rescue four lucky horses..Well, three and one cutie pie pony. We were able to find homes for all of them except one, so we made room in the barn for some more quarantine horses to join him. The first sale, was not huge, and it was somewhat short. I’m sure most people were holding out for the big draft sale coming the next week.

This trip for us began on Monday. We went as a family. If you were at the sale, I hope we provided you with some entertainment bringing along our circus of children. Our kids certainly know how to spark a little joy… or perhaps I should say “trouble” in a scene otherwise seemingly boring. Usually, up until this point I have not brought all the kids with us to a sale. They have all accompanied us to the last two and have thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They LOVE the ice cream there (And yes…sometimes they get two cones… I mean come on! Their ice cream is the best!) And they love the adventure of finding horses to bring home with us. My two oldest boys love to help find ponies. My littlest girl is 2 years old and she about flies out of her seat in the loose auction every time a horse comes out to go tell her Dad to buy that one.

My oldest children understand to some watered down extent, that a lot of these horses don’t have a great future. Since they have been coming along, they also understand that some people just plain don’t take care of their animals. It makes them appreciate what they have even more. I feel that the experience of rescuing and helping save the life of a horse and making a difference is teaching our children huge life lessons that can’t be taught at a school desk. My kids are homeschooled, and we take the day off to learn life lessons about helping someone in need. Whether it be people, or animals, etc. I want my children to be compassionate and help those who need it. Not only will this apply to animals, but also when it comes to showing the love of God to people. I hope that this compassion will spill over into their love and compassion for people as well.

We stayed the night in our trailer. It was COLD! But the kids wanted to watch the draft pull, which was pretty astounding. And we camped out in the trailer. Which consisted of a mattress up top with lots of blankets and a queen sized air mattress wall to wall down below. I apologize to anyone in the neighborhood for the crazy wild animals sounds coming from the trailer. There were no zoo animals on the loose. Just my kids. At one point they were howling like wolves.

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The next morning, I briefly went out to the loose pen with Nathaniel with my coffee and watched him ride a couple horses and petted some horses. And mentally made note of which ones I hoped could come home with us…There were not a ton of loose horses. And then went back to the trailer to switch off with Destini and get the rest of the gang dressed.

After the kids were dressed we went up toward the catalog sale. The sale was long, and prices were not horrible, but still pretty pricey. However…I was pretty tuned in to kill buyer numbers that kept being repeated after a horse was sold. People think that if they sell their horse in the catalog side, it has a better chance. If you think that, just let me inform you, you are wrong. Kill buyers bought so many on that side that it was gut wrenching to me. There were at least five or six horses and ponies that I wished I would have bought had I known what number would have been said after the auctioneer said sold.

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I thought because the sale went on so long on the catalog side, that the buyers would be dwindled down some and the loose side would be going cheaper than usual. So, I was holding out for loose horses. I ended up having to leave before the catalog sale was over because I had to play music at church. So I took the littles and headed out. I gave my fifteen year old Destini our number and said don’t spend over $700 on either of these ones I sent you pics of. (THAT was a leap of faith…trusting a teenager with your bidding number! haha!) I had been holding out for a couple of ponies. They both went higher than I could spend and the ponies were a bit too young for small kids.

I got a text saying that the sale was started. When the loose pens run through..It’s about thirty seconds that each horse is in the ring. The loose pen sale went by pretty quick. There really is not much time to hesitate during the middle of the loose auction. You hesitate, you’re out. They just sell that quick. It is something to experience if you have never been there.

A bidding war erupted in the loose pen auction. A bidding war, not of individual buyers… Not of horse traders.. Not so many rescues… But a bidding war between kill buyers. There were three major kill buyers at the sale yesterday. When I say major, I mean the kind who fill up large semi truck loads and mean business. They write enormous checks every month and some run bail out pages, and some ship direct. As my husband put it…the Kill buyers decided to flex their muscles yesterday, and they succeeded. It was a hard competition between kill buyers and it drove the prices up way higher than we expected. Prices were way higher than they should have been for horses that you really know nothing of their background history. It was kind of the equivalent of when you have a gang on another gang’s turf. I honestly don’t know which kill buyer won out of that round, but hopefully they at least put a bigger dent in their pocket books because of that petty show.

We were only able to bring home three this trip. There were three very blessed horses that came home on our trailer. One is a beautiful black Percheron mare, and a sweet dappled young palomino mare, and we bought a horse directly off the truck following the sale because we had a specific buyer who wanted him, and he is a bay draft cross gelding. He is SO sweet! Our money we raised, including my mini sessions I did, did not cover half of what we spent just at the sale barn alone. Had we not raised money and prepared for this sale, we would have been lucky to bring home one. So, all of you who had me take pictures of your families, and helped raise money for this trip…THANK you! And all who donated via facebook, thank you SO much for supporting us. Not only are we thankful, but the horses are thankful too. Because of you, they have a much brighter future.

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In hind sight, you live and you learn. I learned that so many horses on the catalog leave on kill trucks, that we are changing our strategy some. We will be buying from both sides here on out. The best strategy to combat the slaughter industry in the first place, is to keep horses OUT of the sale barn . If you, or anyone you know has a horse that they feel that the only way they can sell them is to dump them in a sale barn, PLEASE, have them contact us. Allison – 309-368-9152. We do not always have room, and sometimes it’s just not a good fit. BUT, if it’s something we can work with and help get into a good home, we will buy them. We take project horses all the time and work with them, and when we don’t have the time ourselves, we have a wonderful trainer we work with. If you have a horse that needs weight, or are embarrassed about their condition…I understand life happens. Call me. Text us… Message our page. I would hate to see that horse end up standing with their head hung low in a loose pen because it was a free to good home horse and the wrong person picked it up. We will rehab, or we will have a foster home work with us to rehab them. And when they are back to where they should be, find them a fantastic home. If you have a 30 year year old horse that’s not sound or has trouble keeping weight in the winter, or you have a lame horse who is always in pain, consider doing what’s right and putting them down. Don’t dump them off in a loose pen or walk them through a catalog sale saying “At the end of the halter”. It is not a kind or peaceful ending waiting for them. Have compassion on your animals.

We rescued seven this month. Seven beautiful souls got to come home with us. I have new life ambitions…Some day, expect to see us rolling up in a big ol’ semi truck and parking next to the kill rigs… Only our truck will be filled with horses celebrating their freedom ride.

Thanks again for following us, and supporting us in what we do. We hope to continue growing and to be able to start doing more than what we are able to do now. We need you all to help us be able to do that. We appreciate you all! God bless, and please continue to follow us at Aldrich Equine Adventures!

It all started two weeks ago… One of my people that I love dearly lost his job and could not afford to take care of me anymore. Their farm was my home for the last 10 years. He sadly listed me for sale, and the kids were very sad to see me go. A few people came to see me. One said I was too old, one said I was a bit too much horse for their little girl, but the last guy said I’ll take him. He didn’t ride me. He said he liked the way I looked and that I had a kind eye. He didn’t mind I was a little banged up from an old fall and had some occasional swelling in my right knee. Sometimes it ached me a little, but I’d do anything for me human family. If the littles wanted to ride me, I would ride all day long for them anyway.

They exchanged some money and my owner signed a bill of sale, and handed this new man my lead rope. Tears were shed as I walked away. I walked right into his trailer without a fuss, because I knew my family would want me to. It was a long ride to my new home. When we finally got there the sun had set, and I was let out into a small feed lot that had a handful of other horses in it. There was plenty of hay, and lots of company to adjust to. They didn’t look like they were too happy I was there, but I tried to make friends. The first two days were rough. The horses kept running me off from the hay bale and my stomach was aching for the nice green grass in my pasture at home. I missed my little girl who used to bring me my grain bucket out every morning and whisper her plans of adventure for the day…There were a lot of things I missed about home. New horses kept arriving. Sometimes just one on a trailer like me, other times he would drop off four or five at a time. It was starting to get crowded at the round bales. Thankfully, I was not the newest face in the pen anymore, so I usually had the privilege of being able to eat with everyone else.

A week went by and the crowding was even more worse. There were a few old horses that had showed up here. They hung their heads low. One horse had been at the same home his entire life…The other, had been through a few homes because he kept chewing on their wood fences. There was one horse that was really thin and was very tender on one of her front foot. She didn’t do much, but just stand at the fence and stare off into the distance. We were a band of misfits. Some of us old, some young, some scarred, some covered in burrs… We were all different but not the most beautiful herd to behold.

I began to adjust to the idea that this must be my new way of life… No more sweet, hot mashes in the morning. No open pasture with seemingly never ending waves of grass to run on and graze at will. No coming into a warm stall at night and being brushed down and petted. But, I could adjust.

One morning, a truck arrived with a large trailer. And all of us perked up seeing the big trailer wondering what was in store for us, and who would be leaving. I started to get nervous as several men got out of the truck when he was backing up to the chute that led to our pen. They got the truck backed up, and the men got some long whips out. I knew what a whip was.. I was lunged before. It wasn’t a thing to fear unless in the hands of someone mean. I’d never known it to be mean. But a lot of the horses were afraid of the whips. They began waving them around and cracking them and yelling at us. They yelled at us to get moving and get on the truck. Fear was stirring and suddenly everyone started moving and the first horse mad it’s way down the chute toward the truck. More followed and soon the horses were being frantically loaded on to the trailer.

I was not afraid of the whip, so I just stayed where I was munching on the hay. Apparently that made one of the men mad. He walked toward me and started yelling. I didn’t understand why he was so upset waving his whip around. He finally raised it up and smacked me hard with the end of his whip. It stung like fire. I kicked out as a reflex, and he smacked me with it again. Man that whip hurt. This time I went ahead and walked. Another man came on the other side of me and they kept swinging at me with their awful whips. Time after time again, until I loaded on the trailer with the rest.

The ride was a couple hours long. We were crammed into the trailer together. I was very nervous wondering what was coming next. Who would possibly want to buy ALL of us…

We unloaded into a strange place. It smelled of livestock. When the truck pulled in, I peered through the slats to see a sale barn. There were lots of cars and trucks and trailers here I could hear whinnies of horses calling out for their owners or their friends. It smelled of fear, chaos, confusion. They backed us up to a gate and opened the door and the men started yelling at us again to get us moving. They ran us through a walk way and into a couple different holding pens. Then the truck drove away. And we were left behind. After a short while, we were again ran through a walk way and through a chute where someone reached out and slathered glue on our sides and stuck on a number. Is this what I have been reduced to? A number…? My heart ached for home.

Number 932. Big bay gelding with a swollen knee, 18 years old. A vet drew some blood along with the other horses that came along with me. And then were were ran down a long hallway to another larger holding area. There was a small area with hay in it, and a very small water trough, but there were so many other horses in the pen that it was impossible to get to them. My stomach was hungry from all the long trip with no hay. My mouth was dry with thirst. I looked around and saw at least 30 other fearful faces in this pen. If that wasn’t enough, I took a minute to take in my surroundings. We were in a building, but there were three other pens just like the one I was in on the same side as us. They were full to standing room only. Except in the one stall where one horse was down. There was a small commotion trying to get that horse back up on its’ feet…Oh wait, I know that horse. That was the skinny one with the sore front foot. I hoped she would get back up for her sake. She already always looked so sad. What a horrible way to end. Surely some kind person would help her and buy her and bring her home to a nice bedded stall.

It was like a circus that day, or perhaps a zoo. I’m not sure which. A cast sea of people coming through looking at us. Our pen was so full, not many people were brave enough to venture in. There was one mare that was so afraid and kept kicking all the other horses. I got slammed up against the gate a few times when she started getting upset. A few kids stopped by the gate and petted me. I was friendly. The horse next to me pinned his ears and nipped every time someone tried to touch him. People stayed away from that horse. Didn’t he know, people weren’t all that bad? He should just be friendly!

I saw you several times that day. I watched as your family bravely entered in to some of the pens and caught horses. You brought a bridle with you and tried to get them to take a bit, and I watched your daughter ride. She was so brave. Over and over and over again, you guys would catch a horse, then someone would ride that horse bareback to see how it rode, and then you would make a note on a piece of that horses’ number. I waited hoping you would come and try me. Several people passed me by, but my knee was having one of it’s bad days. I hadn’t been allowed to stretch out much being in that small feed lot with the horses. I have to be able to move about to keep my knee feeling good. It was very swollen from not having been able to stretch out and trot and run. And honestly, it was really hurting me today.

Several walked by and shook their heads looking at me with pity. Other people walked by and took one look at me knee and immediately said not that one. Then you came over to me, and started petting me and talking to me. My ears perked up at the kindness. You were brave enough to open up the gate and get me out of that pen. My how good it felt to be out of there. You slipped a bit in my mouth and I took it like a champ. This is old hat. I know the drill. You saw that my knee was swollen, but your daughter lightly rode me anyway. I neck reined…and I walked and backed up down the hallway. I felt accomplished. A few other people saw you guys handling me and wrote my number down. Number 932. Big bay gelding with a swollen knee. You guys put me back.

The circus continued on for the rest of the day. I watched as other horses were ridden, or handled. I watched some brave children go into the pony pen that was full of some crazy little grumpy ponies to try and find a broke one. There was no information written down about us. People had to figure out that stuff on their own. There were donkeys, mules…and I’m pretty sure the lucky ones outside had more space to move around in. And I saw some drafts being ground driven down the walk way at one point. It was very busy throughout the morning. A few other people rode me, but I stumbled with my knee being sore. And the more people that rode me, the more achy I was. I had gotten kicked a few times and had several sore areas on me and was bleeding from a couple places. Another scared horse bit me when I got too close. I was feeling pretty banged up. I noticed later in the afternoon, the crowd of people started to thin down and then some workers in the barn started coming around with long sticks with flags on them and began to move horses around.

We were ran down the walk way again, toward another holding area. I watched as a few at a time were ran toward a door.. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but it didn’t seem great. The time finally came when it was my turn. They yelled at me to get going and slapped my butt with a flag and waved the other flag around, so I went ahead and walked through a door and found myself in a small auction ring. I looked around a little startled. There was a huge crowd of people staring at me and a loud booming voice of an auctioneer. There were two workers who were waving flags to keep me moving, so I trotted back and forth, but I was very scared. My knee hurt. My body ached. My heart ached for home.

I saw you. Briefly in the crowd. You nodded your head at the auctioneer. You were bidding on me. Oh I was relieved to think you were bidding on me. It had to be a better life than this place. Please don’t leave me here. About thirty seconds went by, and I was ran out of the ring. SOLD said the auctioneer. I didn’t hear the number of the buyer but I hoped it was yours. I tried to glance back to see you while I was trotting out, but I saw you put your head down and shake your head. I could only hope for the best.

I was ran back into a pen with some other horses, and we were moved around a few more times and I was moved into a pen with several other horses that I had not been with the whole time. People started coming in the back to get the horses they had bought. I saw you. I was in a pen with about 30 other horses. I couldn’t get to the fence for you to see me. But I saw you. You were walking down the hallway with your family. You had a horse on a lead rope, and a pony following. They were so lucky. I whinnied, and you looked over at me. I saw the sadness in your eyes wishing you had bought me too. You came over to the fence and I pushed my way through and you petted me and softly whispered. “I’m so sorry buddy. I wish you were coming home with us too.” I nuzzled your hand back. I wished I was too.

Soon a large semi truck was backed up to a cattle chute. And men started yelling and waving flags as the gate was open. I secretly wished you would come back in and try and sneak me out with you. I’d be a good boy. I just needed to be out to be able to stretch for my knee. We were chased down the walkway and into the truck. Then more were chased in…And more. At the end of the load, there was about 55 of us on this truck. We were very packed in. There were horses of all kinds, and ponies, and even donkeys. There was a huge draft horse loaded and one last little pony that needed to be loaded on the truck, and the workers ran the little pony up on to the truck and he stood underneath the magnificent draft.

We were all afraid, and I was SO sad. I wanted to go home with you. I wanted your kids to bring me a warm mash, and brush my mane. I just wanted someone to love me, like I loved my home. I missed my home. My heart ached for home.

It was a long ride. Standing squished in a semi truck. My knee ached, and I wondered what had happened to that horse with the bad fat who had been down at the sale. I didn’t see her again after they got her up and moved her. There was a largely pregnant mare next to me. I watched as miles and miles went by. We landed in a state down south and were unloaded into a similar feed lot that we had been in before.

A couple weeks went by, and some of the horses were pulled out and videos made of them. One I heard they used the term got “bailed out.” So she was put into a separate pen and they planned on taking her to another auction if no one would pay her adoption fee and board. The pen got down to a large crowd of us that were looking like misfits. Some had sore legs, some were blind, or missing an eye. I was beat up. We all looked awful. Finally a day came when the semi pulled up again. I was so sad I had not been eating much. I was depressed. I missed home. I missed people being kind to me. I thought all people were kind until now. I realized I had been so blessed to have the family that I had been with for so long. This time, I walked right onto the trailer. It couldn’t get worse than what I’d already been through.

We drove for several hours, and we went into a different country. I had never been out of the United States before. But, somehow I was not excited. When we pulled up to the facility that we were being taken to…It smelled of death. Somehow I knew this was the end of the road for me. I walked out of the trailer with the other horses into a dry feed lot once again. My heart ached for pasture, my heart ached for human kindness, my heart ached for home.

Pen by pen the horses began to disappear. They were ran down chutes toward a building. And after they went to that building, we did not ever see them again. People talked cruelly to us and treated us like we were nothing important to them. I began to just hang my head low like many other horses that were here. Every day I saw more horses go to that building and not return. One day, the workers came to our small feed lot, and I knew my time had come. Some were scared and ran down the walk way. I walked slow…with my head down. Sadness and grief overwhelmed me. I knew I would not come back after this walk. In my heart I wished the horses and pony that went home with you well. I hoped for a better future for them. Me leg ached. I was tired. My heart ached for greener pastures. My heart ached for human kindness. My heart ached for home.

It wasn’t long ago that we added another little friend into our herd. We always have people looking for donkeys, so when we went to pick up our rescue buddy, Richie, and were offered the donkey as well, we were quickly on board. He needed his hooves trimmed pretty badly and needed to lose a few pounds. Our typical rescue animals need to GAIN a few pounds… Not this guy.

The kids’ excitement was through the roof when they first saw the chubby little donkey. At first glance, he looked as if he was striped all over his body like a little “Zonkey” (Zebra/donkey cross). As we approached closer, it was pretty apparent that he was not striped other than on his legs, but rather had lines from fat rolls. All of the kids were excited to meet the cute little guy with long ears, but none as much as our six year old son Malachi.

Malachi came to us at three years old as a foster placement. He was basically a wild little boy who had raised himself and was used to trying to take care of himself without adult intervention. He could watch me undo something or unlock something, and one time is all it took for him to learn how to do it. I had to get creative with door locks, and hide things that most kids would not think to play with. He only spoke baby talk when he came to us and was not potty trained as of yet. We took Malachi on a temporary placement, because he had been too much to handle and had blown through three foster homes within a couple of months. We initially were to have him for a week until his next home was ready for him, but in less than one week were all attached to my little Tarzan buddy. He was a little rough around the edges, but we were excited to make room for him in our family and try and help him the best we could. 🙂 Two years later we adopted him into our family as our own. He has come a looooong way!

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Much like Malachi, we took Señor Carrots on temporarily…We planned on getting his feet done, and cutting back on his food and finding him a permanent home where he would be loved and happy. After all, we are good at that, right? It became apparent right away that Señor Carrots was no ordinary donkey. He is gentle and kind, and patient with children, and Malachi quickly took to him. It started out with Malachi sneaking him treats, him getting a brush and brushing him down. The first day we had him, Malachi sat on his back and that sealed the deal. They were destined to be best friends.

Malachi started telling everyone that he had a donkey and his name is Señor Carrots and he is his new best friend. Every time I would turn around, I would find Malachi wrangling a pony sized rope halter onto the sweet donkey… He would lead him around, and sit on him, and try and get him to ride. At one point, we were calling the horses in for their feed, and Malachi was on Señor Carrots, and stood up on his back and decided to hop up on his Thoroughbred buddy’s back from where he was. Señor Carrots just calmly stood and waited on him to finish his business.

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After a few days, we decided that maybe this donkey should stick around. Malachi is always full of energy and getting himself into trouble. He LOVES playing in the dirt, and is often off in his own world of imagination. If there’s something to get into, he will. He has an amazing bright curious mind, but sometimes it really gets him into precarious situations. Señor Carrots was helping some with that. If it is quiet and I can’t find Malachi, all I have to do is look for the donkey, and he will be near by.

I watched out the window of the barn one day. Malachi was on the Señor Carrots and slid down his neck over his head to get off of him.. Rubbed all over between his ears, and then went and picked up one hoof and cleaned it off some with his hands… Then he laid down on the ground underneath Señor Carrots and was checking him out down there, then he went back and picked up his tail and messed with it, then he went back up and picked up Señor Carrots’ head and talked to him and then waited until he put his head down and had him help lift him back up on his back. Would I let him do this with any animal? No… But this precious donkey is the perfect therapy buddy for my little man. He would never do a thing to hurt him. There’s nothing Malachi can do that will put this guy in a bad mood.

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Sometimes you choose an animal…And other times an animal chooses you. In this case, they chose each other. Any time you come and visit, you are sure to see this dynamic duo together. Señor Carrots is here to stay. Most recently, Malachi and Señor Carrots have been trying to prepare for a fun show. 🙂 You never know what you might see around here.

So, if you’re like me and you think…Why would we ever get a donkey? Consider Señor Carrots. When a donkey loves you, you know it! They are loyal and sweet animals. Donkeys are at risk of slaughter just as horses are, and their population is drastically decreasing. We see lots of donkeys every month at the sale barn, and would be more than happy to help find your family’s own personal Señor Carrots.

Today, I’d like to officially introduce us and our team. I have spent a lot of time talking about what we do, but not much about who we are! Let me start by saying Aldrich Equine Adventures is a complete family team. The youngest to the oldest are involved in taking care of the horses, and riding, and have gone along to auctions, etc. Sometimes even our extended family gets in on the fun. Our adventures have gone from our back yard, clear down to Florida delivering Lucky Lola. 🙂 We are SO excited and happy to be doing what we do. For a lot of people, 2020 has been a hard year. For us at Aldrich Equine, it has been a year full of Adventures!

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The first two members of the team are Nathaniel and myself, Allison Aldrich. Nathaniel and I have been married for fourteen years this September. We fell in love and got married at 18 and 17 years old…For those of you wondering, I’m the older one. God brought us together with a purpose, a calling to pastor a work in Monmouth. Nathaniel is the founding pastor of Greater Life Pentecostal Church in Monmouth, IL, and I am the worship leader. I play the piano and sing during services. Our church is not the typical every day church you would walk into. We live in a very cultural diverse community, despite it’s small size. Because of this, we have services in English and French, or English and Spanish, or sometimes all three as needed. We do multilingual music every service. When we started out, Nathaniel opened the church as bilingual even though neither of us spoke Spanish. I thought he was slightly crazy, but here we are today! God has immensely blessed our work. Nathaniel and I have had lots of fun adventures from flipping houses, to working with project horses. God really has blessed me with a fantastic husband.

Nathaniel and I have seven kids. We’ve heard lots of big family jokes, etc…and no we aren’t going for 19 and counting. We are complete with seven. There are five boys and two girls. Two are adopted and five are biological. The oldest of which is our daughter Destini. Destini was adopted from foster care. We got her as a placement when she was seven years old and we adopted her at 10 years old after three long years in foster care. Destini is now fifteen years old and is an amazing rider! She has some very admiral dedication working toward her life goals, and spends several hours a day riding between her own horse, and working with project or rescue horses. Destini prefers to ride English and is working toward a goal of show jumping. She has the potential to do big things. If you ever drive by our place while we are out and about you sure to see Destini riding. In her spare time, Destini does a lot of research to better herself, and to increase her knowledge about horse care, shows, jumping etc. Destini helps around the barn and helps feed everyone, and is always along for the ride for the auction at Kalona. She hops on the horses at Kalona bareback to see if they are broke and helps make a good comprehensive list of horses that would be good potential for a match for someone should we bring them home.

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The next oldest buddy on the team is Hezekiah. Hezekiah is nine years old, and Spark is his best friend. Spark was a kill pen rescue in September 2019 when we got started. Hezekiah is a huge help around the farm. He always makes sure to help feed and water, helps take the grain buckets out to everyone. He gives pony rides to kiddos and helps maintain grandma’s garden. Hezekiah really loves animals, and when he loves an animal it is wholeheartedly. At the last sale, we let Hezekiah pick out a pony to rescue. He picked out a sweetheart named Donut. And let me tell you, Donut is a fantastic little pony. He has moved on to his new home, but while he was with us, Hezekiah went daily to let him out for his turn out time, which consisted of spending the afternoon in the yard with the kids getting brushed down, pony rides, playing with him, and getting desensitized to kiddos so he would be ready for his next home. Hezekiah now has a job as a designated small pony picker. 🙂 He goes along for every auction, even if his brothers decide not to go. He wants to make a difference in the life of another pony that could be someone’s best bud like their pony, Spark.

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Elijah is the next oldest. He is seven years old and full of energy. Elijah was born a climber. At 9 months old he was walking and climbing up slides and stairs. Before he was a year old he tried to scale the staircase on the outside of the spindles. The kid is a ninja. He climbs door jams, he hangs upside down backward, he flips around on things, and climbs trees. He is always pushing his limits. Elijah has ridden several bucking ponies. If he thinks they might buck, he wants a try on them. And he is good at staying on! 🙂 Elijah is always looking for an adventure and LOVES trail rides! He also loves helping do what we call Pony Boot Camp. When we bring home ponies, the kids put training time on them and desensitize them. Elijah is always excited to help with the ponies!

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Malachi is the next oldest in the lineup. He is six years old and he is the friendliest kid on the planet. Malachi came to us as a temporary foster placement at 3 years old. He was wild, pretty much feral, not potty trained, and nonverbal except for baby talk. Malachi had burned through a handful of foster homes within 3 months and initially I had turned down taking him because we really wanted to just adopt a girl and be done having children, but after a week of this little spunky firecracker staying with us, we were ALL attached to him and I called the caseworker and we decided he would stay. We adopted Malachi at 5 years old. He is a long way from the wild Tarzan boy he once was, but he is still a ball of energy. He LOVES dirt…He LOVES mud…He LOVES making friends…and He LOVES his donkey Señor Carrots. More importantly, he LOVES his family, and we sure love him. Malachi will ride anything and brag about having his cowboy status. He has been bucked off a pony or two. And He gets back on and enjoys every minute of it. Malachi brags about being a “horse whisperer”. Malachi’s best friend is a mini donkey we brought home named Señor Carrots. If we ever can’t find him, he is either up to no good experimenting with dirt and a tool or two, or sitting on Señor Carrot’s back. 🙂

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Isaac just turned 6 years old. Isaac and Malachi are six months apart, so for six months we have twins on our hands. Isaac was born wanting to be bigger. From the time he was born he was enjoying tummy time and quickly doing baby planks and scooting himself across the church pews before he could roll over. Isaac is the fastest of all the kids and prides himself on being able to keep up with the big kids. Isaac loves riding Bedda and eventually wants to start jumping. Isaac helps ride the ponies and safe horses. He enjoys making obstacles courses for the horses to go through and walking them through them. He has walked Bedda over cross rails, and weaved throughout cones and poles and been walking the barrel pattern. Recently Isaac has been brave enough to trot on his own on Bedda. Bedda is such a good horse, she knows to take good care of her kiddos.

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Jonathan is 4 years old. JJ was born with a few congenital heart defects, and initially his prognosis was not very good at all. God has worked in miraculous ways for JJ. Because of his heart defects (an XL ASD and a VSD and one side of his heart is a little weaker than the other),he gets short of breath sooner than the other kids and typically runs sats in the 80s. Jonathan does not let CHD hold him back. He runs and climbs, and does everything the normal kiddo would do. JJ LOVES riding Spark and begs to ride her all the time. If I would ask him to do anything for me, he would do it. He likes brushing and grooming the horses, and feeding them alfalfa cubes. He is always sneaking into the barn to give the stalled horses treats. JJ’s heart is not able to be repaired, so he will deal with his congenital heart defects his entire life, but he hasn’t let it slow him down yet. 🙂

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And last but not least… Is little Danielle. She is two years old and FULL of sass! Danielle is also a heart warrior. She was born with one side of her heart undersized, an XL VSD (about the same size as JJ’s ASD) and a decent sized ASD, which turned out to be multiple holes in the atrial septal wall. Danielle underwent a surgery for a PA band when she was a tiny peanut, and then had to go back for an emergency surgery after a complication from surgery 5 weeks later, and the PA band surgery was repeated to tighten the band. She recently started showing signs that she was outgrowing the band, having lower sats, and her fingers and toes getting cyanotic when she cried, etc. Danielle had open heart surgery to fully repair her heart at CHOI in Peoria IL two months ago. Her team has been amazing taking care of her, and now her sats are 100% and she is pink all the time, and doing well. She recently had her post op echo done, and everything is functioning as it should. Danielle LOVES ponies, and unicorns! She is all about riding ponies and riding along with Mommy. She got to go on a trail ride with us a few weeks back and she was enjoying the whole trip. Danielle is an all out farm girl. She likes to run barefoot, and loves to swing, and can often be caught digging in the dirt with Malachi. She is a sweet little farm girl Princess.

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Over all, we have a fantastic bunch of kiddos. Horses have greatly impacted their lives as well as ours. Horses, ponies, donkeys, rescues, they all touch our hearts, and we are so glad to be a part of touching theirs. The nuzzle of a horse, or the joy of riding, makes such a huge difference in a child’s day. For Malachi and Destini, it is a wonderful escape from trauma they have experienced in their lives. For the adhd child, they come out of their shell and are able to focus on something they love. Horses are therapeutic for anyone. We enjoy all of our adventures as a family and hope you enjoy following along with them on Facebook!

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I know it has been a while since I have posted. We have had a whirlwind of horses through, and it has been amazing being able to work with, and rehome some amazing horses! I wish I had the time to write a story about each one! This article, has been very long thought over, prayed about, and carefully considered. It’s not all feel good and going to give people a warm fuzzy feeling inside. It’s not about a success story, although the horses involved did end up recovering! This article will make some people very uncomfortable, and some will squirm in their seats. If it has that effect on you, maybe you should reconsider some life choices in your future.

I’m going to talk about my sweet rescue mares, Sugar and Jewel. Sugar came to us a few months back and was emaciated. I was afraid Sugar would not bounce back. She appeared to be in her early 20s. With her age, and her body condition, I was concerned I had bought myself a horse who I would have to put down. I got a phone call asking if I would be interested in her and two other horses. At the time I only had cash for Sugar and she needed me the most. So I agreed to buy her.

There’s a story behind every rescue. Sometimes we know how they ended up in the shape that they were in… Sometimes we don’t. I publicly state on Facebook that I will take skinny horses with no judgement. Knowing that life happens, and sometimes we just get in over our heads. Sugar was part of a group of three horses that were involved in a neglect case. I was told the Sheriff had been out to the property and ordered the animals be removed. The owners then found a lady who volunteered to take them as a rescue to rehab them. It sounds great right?

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I was sent a few videos of the horses with the person talking about them. Sugar had papers but they were lost at one point, the bay mare was grade. Sire was papered but dam was grade so she was a grade horse…etc. These screen shots are the horses about a month prior to when I was getting involved with getting the horses. A mutual friend helped get the horses and they stayed in her barn for a couple of days. They kept Sugar for me until I got her picked up a few days later and fed her and took care of her.

Now, I have seen the pictures of these “neglected” horses as above. The bay mare is obviously at a decent weight but her feet need attention. If you look close you can see her feet are in desperate need of a trim. And Sugar, as you can see…needs to finish shedding out, and needs some weight on her. My husband went to pick up Sugar. Tthe other two she wanted a crazy amount of money for and we had just spent our life savings at the Kalona sales barn on rescues!) And he brought her back to her foster mama’s house which is my wonderful, amazing neighbor Tracy. I LOVE Tracy and her husband her their adorable little aussie, Molly! They hold a special place in my heart. Tracy agreed to help rehab Sugar and was excited and super nervous to take on a project.

To say this mare was thin was the understatement of a year…Now. Let’s recap…This horse was taken in by a rescue…But she looked like a wooly mammoth. She was dewormed at least twice. But her belly was so distended she was either wormy or pregnant. She had some milk, which was disturbing, her feet needed a trim, and she was emaciated. We were told this mare was being fed three times a day as well as having a constant round bale. Something didn’t add up. We had her pregnancy checked the first week. Sugar was thankfully NOT in foal. Which made me nervous that her health was too far gone and I was praying that God would help this sweet mare recover.

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You can see the comparison above in these pictures…Of when the lady took her, verses the day the “rescuer” sent me the videos. There’s a pretty huge weight difference. I got a message about 6 weeks ago that Jewel had been rehabbing with her, and I could buy her at a reasonable price and finish out her recovery. Being as she came from the same place as Sugar, I immediately said that would be great! So Nathaniel picked her up! When he brought Jewel home, she still had the same really awful feet needing done. We were hoping she was not foundered. They were long over grown and chipped and splitting. The first thing we did was call our farrier, Rick Flacco down. He always does a fantastic job for us. He trimmed he right up and she stood for him like an old pro. Her feet were not foundered, but would likely take a few trims to look like the typical normal hooves again.

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After we got Jewel, we assessed her riding. She was very much so a calm and nice gentle horse, but didn’t know a lot. She loves kids SO much! And She loves attention. We have really loved on Jewel during her time with us. Sugar was an amazing, sweet, Western pleasure broke former show horse. She had been shown until she was 20 years old with all ages of riders on her. The first ride on Sugar when her weight was up, was amazing. She picked right up where she left off. One hand neck rein, Walk, Trot, and Lope. She is an amazing mare and Sugar has gone on with a fantastic family and is ridden by her adults lightly as well as instilling confidence in a 12 year old boy. Jewel, has bounced back amazingly well and she is still looking for her forever family.

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Why bring up all the dirt, you may ask? Here’s the thing…sometimes things happen and life gets ahead of us..like the original people who had a neglect case. The owner fell on hard times and had back surgery and didn’t get out to take care of his horses. Did he do the best by them…? No. But he did reach out to someone in good faith that she would “Rehab” those horses of his. That person who took these horses to “rehab”… Turned around and left them worse off than they were from the neglect case. I have been amazingly blessed to be a part of making these girls’ futures bright again.

If you’re going to “rescue” a horse…Keep in mind that it involves emotional work, daily hard elbow grease, and a commitment to give these animals a better outcome than what they are in. It involves possible emergency vet visits, antibiotic rounds, grooming, feeding sometimes multiple feeds a day, and taking them out separate as needed to make sure they are getting the calorie intake they need. They need someone to love them and care of them and remind them, they are a worthwhile horse.

The light comes back into a rescue horse’s eyes when they learn that you are there to help them. It is a beautiful process to watch an emaciated or neglected horse come back to life.

Any horse owner can rescue a horse. It doesn’t take a special trained person. It takes a willing person. Youtube can teach a lot, and rescue rehab groups are an excellent resource. Your vet can help you along the way. It’s not brain surgery to feed a horse and love an animal. Saying goodbye is the hardest part to rehabbing. I spend a lot of time with my family trying to keep horses out of sale barns. We do rehabs as needed because I enjoy helping animals who need it. And I love seeing the success story of a rescue going on to a perfect home to spoil a person and return the gift of love and grace that had been given to them.

If you CAN’T do those things…Or are not willing, PLEASE, don’t take on a rescue horse. Call someone who is willing to do it right. Don’t post pictures of yourself on your fat and happy, healthy horse on facebook, knowing you have a starving horse hiding out in a back field that you have neglected. If you have the knowledge to adequately care for your own animals, you have the ability to do it for your rescue animal. If this blog post hits you a little close to home… I’d like to tell you sorry…But I can’t. These two beautiful mares speak for themselves. Feed and love brought them back from from a place in life they should not have ended up with in the first place. When they left a neglect situation, they should have been properly cared for…Not further gone to waste. I don’t know what happened to the third mare. But I hope she had as good of an outcome as the two who came to me.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. We appreciate all who follow us and support what we do and we are SO excited to keep on doing it!

It is said that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. When we arrive at auction day and head around back to the loose pens, we see chaos, and horses that are crammed in with no information about them. A lot of people would look at that mess and just write them off as problems horses, or “junk” horses that no one wanted.

It is true, that there is always a reason that a horse ends up at auction. It may be a health issue, or it may be a riding quirk, or bad behavior standing tied, or maybe bad ground manners. They may not like the farrier, or may paw at the ground.. They may buck or rear, or randomly bite, or snatch your sandwich from your hand when you’re not paying attention. They may think fly spray is the spray of death, or be afraid of the hose. They may not trust people because people have always failed them.

We have found that the majority of the problems that land horses in the auction barn in the kill pen can be fixed with time and consistency. Health problems, a lot of time can be mended. A Chiropractor adjustment will do wonders for a horse’s back…The dentist can file down those sharp teeth when needed…The vet can recommend rehabilitation suggestions, and help set an action plan to get their health on track.

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So they may look like junk at a quick glance, but in reality, what horse ever started off as perfect? Horses need training, and time and consistency. Why not take a “problem horse” and turn them into an AMAZING horse? Perhaps a horse that could potentially be your new best friend or life long riding partner? Why not look a little past the initial “junk” view and see the hope and possibilities these horses are capable of? So many horses get thrown away and SO many end up either bounced through auction after auction, or shipped off to slaughter, when someone could have invested a little time into them and helped shape them into something amazing.

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We make it our goal to help good horses find good people. Horses like Cane, pictured above, are thrown away in sales like these. A lot of drafts leave on kill trucks packed in with all other sized horses and ponies headed for the same destination. Cane is a gentle, sweet soul. He loves kids and came to life any time the kids wanted to talk to him or pet him.

A rescue horse develops the most wonderful bond with the people who rescue them. They know they truly care about them and will go to great lengths to get them into the shape they know they should be in. They know that when someone else threw them away, their rescuer stepped in and saw potential when they looked them in the eye. A rescue horse, may have issues along the way that need worked through, but their bond is priceless.

We have been very busy with horses outside of the sale barn over the past few months. We LOVE our trips to the auction and bringing them home with us. It is a very exciting time and we all have trouble sleeping the night before with anticipation. We have also come to realize that the best way to impact the horse slaughter business, is to keep horses out of the sale barns to begin with. We have taken on a lot of project horses lately, and have been working on training and working out kinks and rehoming to individuals with whom we maintain contact with. We have had a couple of rehabilitation horses in progress this month, and it has been so rewarding to see the life just come back into their eyes as their body condition improves with good care and feed.

Tomorrow, we have an adventure again…I am stuck in hospital land with my sweet baby girl while she is recovering from her heart surgery, but Nathaniel and Destini will be at Kalona looking for the lucky few to be able to bring home with us and give them the experience of HOPE. The potential is there. It just needs a person to help turn the potential into reality. Make sure you continue to follow along with all of our crazy adventures! 🙂