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?
Sugar at her ‘rescuer’s place 
Jewel at her rescuer’s place when she first arrived 
Also Jewel 
Sugar, in a screen shot of the video I was sent of when she was first picked up by her “rescuer”
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.
Sugar at a rescuers place 
Sugar when she arrived here 
Skipping ahead to Jewel… Jewel, we did not purchase at the time, because the rescue lady wanted around $1500 for her. Jewel was an older mare around 18-19 years old. She was a bay, grade mare that didn’t know much. Jewel ended up going to a different person’s place. I happened to get a picture of the day they got her.
Jewel, after she was dropped off with Sugar after being left for a month 
Jewel when the “rescuer” took her in
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.
Jewel her first day at our house 
Jewel’s feet On Day 1
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.
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!
Thank you for helping all of the horses. I’ve considered rescue. I can care for them but at nearly 73 years old, I can’t provide the riding that Destiny does. She’s an awesome rider!