My name is Chief.  I am an appaloosa gelding born in 1988.  I grew up in the country with my mom and some other horses.  In 2006 the couple that raised me decided to retire to the city and needed a home for us.  My mom and a couple other horses went somewhere else .Calamity, Pocahontas and I came to Save a Horse.  Calamity went to a good home with a nice boy that was taking lessons here.  They kept her even when they moved to another state.  Just like part of the family, she moved too.  Pocahontas went to a good home for a pasture mate for several years and she got very sick and died there.  Darlene went to the place where she was to help with her until the vet could be reached.  As for me, I am still here.  I worked trails for several years until something happened and I started having problems in my back legs.  So then, I was only used occasionally.  I missed the treats and attention, but not the work.        Now we are all retired.  I am one of the older horses who came to the barn for my first time to stay for the winter in 2015.  I was not keeping on enough weight from eating just hay.  So I got one of the new stalls.  At first, I didn’t like being shut in.  I have always been an outside horse.  But I found that being out of the cold, eating grain and square bales wasn’t such a bad idea for me after all.  I think I can get use to this.  Yeah.  I know I can.  On the other hand, my stall manners, as far as neatness counts, are said to be very messy.  I think that I am still in the wild and go wherever I want, which makes more work to be done.  But that’s okay, it’s not me working.     I am just eating and enjoying life.  But, I guess it would be nice if I asked for some donations to help buy bedding for my stall and my care expenses.  If you could help, that would be great!

Thanks,   

Chief

I am a sorrel mare born in 1993, with a white blaze, my breeding is Belgium & quarter horse cross. I was raised with my mom and then sold to a woman who kept me for a while, she worked on training me to ride, she decided I was too tall for her. She in turn sold me to Save A Horse Stable(1997) they finished my training there. At first I was stubborn & unsure of what I was supposed to do, also had a fear of the saddle when it was coming off my back I had no problem putting it on I just panicked when they took it off, they patiently worked with me on this after a few times I realized it wasn’t a monster, I enjoyed the praise that I was a good girl. After a few times out on the trails I figured it out, just follow the other horses no kicking or biting & at the barn I would get cooled (sponge bathed) & a nice bucket of feed. Sometimes being the biggest horse was hard cause I always got the heavier people, but it was always okay cause when I wanted to stop & rest we did. I got a lot of I’m sorry girl when I carried the heavy people & the ones who   didn’t know how to ride. I am not only big in size I have a big heart, & sweet temperament. All my work at the farm has been great except the one trail ride when I was carrying a heavy guy, he wanted to ride with his friends but he had never rode before. All was going well until something jumped out of the woods & scared me. I thought it was a tiger but low & behold it was the dog that decided to get loose & join us on the ride. When I jumped the man fell off & twisted the saddle down under me I started to panic but when I turned around all I saw was my mom’s face (DARLENE) & I heard her voice telling me easy Lacey which is what reassures us when things are scary. The look I gave mom (Darlene) was what do I do now & was I   bad? She jumped off her horse & came to me & fixed everything along with more reassurance and I knew everything would be okay. They put the man back on & I finished the trail & everything was fine.  In 2007 I got lame in my front foot, the blacksmith would trim it at a different angle & it would feel better for a while, I worked as long as it was comfortable.In 2009 it got worse & it was just to painful to do the trail rides. I was   loaded on the trailer & rode for several hours to a hospital, there I was x-rayed & had my leg injected. The x-rays showed I have severe ring bone. Then I heard them say she needs to be put down. Lucky for me Darlene doesn’t give up  so easy. I was on pain medicine & rested for the rest of the yr. After the bone made its changes it wasn’t as painful & I became pasture sound. I was even ridden a few more times. Very light work but I was doing something. Then later  I was put  in retirement and when my friends go to the barn to work I still followed.Since 2016 I have a stall for the winter and   I would like to ask for sponsors to help because everything is so expensive  .I hope to spend a few more years here with my friends.

Thanks,

Lacey

I am Astro I was born at the stable April 28 2002 my mother was Kizzy a thoroughbred and my dad was Sonny Dee Bar a registered Quarter horse.. In May 2002 I was lame on my right leg. A vet looked at me and said I should be put to sleep didn’t know of anything to do for me. So Darlene called another vet and put my mom and me on the trailer and hauled us away, my first trailer experience. This vet said I had a septic infection in my right stifle she injected it and I took antibiotics at home for several days. Had to go back in couple weeks for another injection. I turned out to be fine and sound. In May 2003 I was gelded so I could be turned out with the other horses to grow. Darlene had plans for me to be her next barrel racing horse, so she named me” Kiss My Astro”as my registered name. While being turned out with the other horses that didn’t work the stable in  the summer some kids with four wheelers were on the farm chasing us. They got caught by a neighbor  that was hunting and were told on. [Probably didn’t do any good because on July 03, 2006 I found him in a meadow all by himself and he couldn’t walk. Took trailer on hill and brought him home. Checked to see how he got there and didn’t find anything wrong with the fence. So I figured something chased him and he fell going over it. He was very thin from pain and lame in back end.]              This time I saw our regular vet she left pain medicine, recommended TLC and flat ground and take me to Ohio State University for horses,[OSU]. July 12 2006 I was loaded again and hauled on the highway for hours to a big building where I had x-rays/ blood work/ all kinds of testing they weren’t sure what was wrong maybe a fractured pelvis or stifle, recommended stall rest. I spent a lot of time lying around and resting, seemed better so I was put back with some of the other horses. In the fall I went downhill again getting thin and depressed again. [So by this time I was so upset with   not being able to help Astro that I decided to put him to sleep. Then an article in Equus magazine about (PSSM) muscle problem called polysaccharide storage myopathy came out and the horse looked like Astro and the story sounded like him. So again I tried. He was put in field with a mare and foal (Koltn, his forever friend) and I changed his feed to high fat and   low protein. For the next year he gained weight was sound and seemed healthy.              In the fall of 2008 my blacksmith could not believe the change in him thought I would be able to start riding him. Then January 1 2009 everything changed for the worse, a bump came on his butt it was just sore and hair roughed up but overnight it swelled a large and painful abscess. Our vet said with his history take him back to OSU. So on January 8, 2009 we went back to Ohio with him. They lanced and drained the abscess they was amazed at the size of it, they tried to tell me it was a bite wound , but I knew this had been brewing for a very long time. After checking further the hole was deeper than they expected so he went to exploratory surgery they flushed the wound and put a drain in it. At this time they agreed with me that it was going on for a while and was no end to the hole of drainage. He was sent home and we flushed and cleaned area and kept in the stall for weeks. It never stopped draining very thick yellow pus. I had come too far now to stop trying so I consulted different vets and tried all kinds of solutions, flushed and treated every day with something.               In June 2009 we went back to OSU again they done exploratory surgery and flushed wound and they said the bone felt healthy and   the hole didn’t seem as deep this time. They put some kind of PMMA beads in the wound to try and packed it with gauze, more antibiotics, flushing and packing at home care. I am still not giving up on him I will beat this with determination   and lots of prayers. For the rest of 2009 I was still caring for him.                 In April 2010 I asked a couple of vets that was staying up to date with me on him should I give up and everybody that knows Astro said no take him back to OSU one more time don’t stop now. So here we go again credit card in hand one more time. Thank God my husband is an understanding horse caring person. We get there by this time everybody knows Astro and his bizarre case. I told them do whatever it takes I am not coming back, this is his last chance I can’t do this anymore the expense and my time treating him every day is too much. They told me they would be more aggressive and that he may die on the operating table so as I watched thru the glass window as always but this time I was crying and praying he would be okay. They x-rayed /explored/flushed all over again. Sent him home with very expensive and strong antibiotic Rx from a compounding pharmacy. Again we have a drain to deal with and a larger hole to keep covered and clean. The drug was a paste he was to have three times a day I did it when I could but most of the time it was only two times, sometimes my girlfriend wound stop and give him his midday dose. Finally it was slowing down on the drainage. He was so good to take the paste. We kept him on this drug for a month and a half. Then my vet put him on a cheaper drug and one to put in the wound. Finally the end of July 2010 the hole was getting smaller and closing in from bottom up. YEH!!!! Kept after it till October 2010 the vet said it looked good. Just keep the hole wiped out and clean and hope it doesn’t open back up. It was looking good then January 2011 it was matted around the scar and smelled bad. The vet said possible staph infection from all the wet weather. I cleaned and sprayed it with Vetericyn a new treatment out which is great.                                                   It is June 2011 and all is well so far with him, just have to keep the dent that is left in his but wiped out once in a while to be safe from causing any problems. One of the vets said she would do cosmetic surgery to fill the hole in so I won’t have to worry about it so much. Maybe if he stays well a while I will consider it but I think I will leave it alone  scared to mess with it after all we have been thru. He is also ready for training if he stays sound. If I never get him broke I will be happy to have a sweet, healthy, expensive, lovable lawn ornament. He has always been sweet and affectionate all the time that I have been treating him, he has never offered to kick or bite. Don’t even have to put a halter on him to do anything with him he is so sweet and that is why I could not give up on him. When I am in the barn working he continually watches me while the other horses just want to eat hay and ignore me. Some people say I am stupid for putting so much time and money in him and that nobody else would have been that dedicated to him, but they don’t know him. He is not the first one I have tryed to save but his problem was the longest one.

Thanks,

Astro

I am a palomino gelding that was born in 1984.  I was kept in a small pasture with my friend, Chance, who was a bay gelding.  Our owner didn’t want to keep us there anymore because it was a weekend place for them to come to.  Since the kids had lost interest in riding us, it was better for us to find a new home.     That is where Save a Horse and Darlene came into my life in 1994.  We were bought and moved to the farm where we had lots of pasture and other horses to be with.  Darlene rode me a lot at first.  She rode me in parades and on trail rides at other places with other horses.  I was also used as a lead horse.  I was so well-behaved that you could lead another horse right behind me and I was okay with that.  I was even safe enough to put a child in the saddle in front of one of the trail guides and not worry the whole trail ride about me misbehaving.   One of the things that I remember was helping to train Lacey, the mare I became friends with at the stable.  Lacey was being trained for trails and she was stubborn and didn’t really know what was expected of her.  Darlene’s friend, Veronica, would ride Lacey, but she would stop and wouldn’t go.  So Darlene rode me back behind Lacey to try to convince her to move.  When I realized what was needed, I would lightly push her and nip her on the butt to make her go.  This worked so well that sometimes I did it just for fun.  They would tell me that it wasn’t necessary, but I thought it was. (Hee, hee)   Now we have all retired and just hang out with our friends and eat and play.  In July of 2014, I became very ill.  Our regular vet was out of town so another vet came and checked me out and gave me some medicine.  He said that it doesn’t look good for me, but try this until your vet gets back.  I had a lump in my throat that shouldn’t be there.  A couple of days later Darlene drew blood and took it to the vet for testing.  The test showed that I was anemic and had an infection.  I was continued on medication.  Then when our regular vet came back, she did a biopsy of my lump.  It came back showing abnormal cells which could be cancer or maybe something else.  I have come to the barn every winter since to be fed and pampered.  I get to go to the pasture with the herd for the summer months.  In 2015 I had penicillin shots a couple of times when I didn’t feel well and it made me perk up.  But in February 2016, I got really sick and stopped eating.  Oh course, just my luck, the vet was gone again.  But she called and they decided it might be a bad tooth or something wrong with my mouth.  The dentist came right out to check me.  He said that there was nothing to do with my teeth because most of them were gone and maybe it was just my time since I am so old.  Darlene treated me with the same medicine she used when I was sick before.  When the vet came back she came to the farm and checked me out and thought that maybe I had a stomach ulcer.  So I was drenched with Pepto stuff and paste two and three times a day for a week.  I made sure that Darlene got some, too.  I like to share!  I was kept by myself in a stall and in the ring to eat grass and pampered every day so that the other horses didn’t stress me.  I now eat senior feed two times a day and am out with the other horses.   I just hang around close to the barn in case somebody wants to brush me or pet me.  So my lump is still here but so am I and all is well so far.  If you could sponsor me, it would help with my feed and just in case I need the vet again.   

Thanks,

Storm

Siamon is an Appaloosa gelding He was born in 1997 and was a show horse for his previous owner and traveled to shows near and far, in which he helped her place in. Now that she is no longer riding she is done with him.  She called in 2013 to see if I would take him and I told her I had no use for him we are no longer doing trail rides (I figured he had a home and was okay).         Then in 2014 she called again begging me to take him, they had lost their home to the coal mine and had no place for him to stay. So I agreed to get him. When we arrived to pick him up they brought him out to us he was thinner than I like and the side of his face was was sunken in. She said it was from being kicked or something when he was a baby .         After a few weeks here he still had not put on weight and was breathing heavy.  So I called the vet I had already wormed and vaccinated and had his shoes pulled and feet trimmed. She recognized him, which happens often when I bring in a new horse. She said his teeth needed dental work and she had told previous owner that the last time she saw him. The breathing was an allergic reaction to something. I treated him for it and he recovered fine.          I called the horse dentist that my vet recommended and he came right out as soon as he could. He showed me in Siamon’s mouth and it was a mess he had uneven and sharp edges on one side and straight on the other side. His tongue had calluses from teeth cutting into it in the past. His mouth would not open wide enough to work on his teeth like he wanted. Because of his past history, his jaw is locked up from muscle loss to side of his face.  He did manage to grind the sharp edges off and get his teeth the best condition possible for his first visit.  Many more dental visits came to get him eating better.  And regular visits to follow to keep him that way.          He ate and is still eating special feed and extra additives to get his weight back on and hopefully keep it that way.  He was all alone before and now he has new friends (like Hank the old gelding and Patches the very old, little pony.)  Every time I put a new horse in the field he is the welcoming committee to greet and be their friend after he picks on them and irritates them they finally try to like him even with his annoying personality.   He seems happy with his new home and I hope to be able to keep him that way.          We could use some financial help for his feed and dental care if someone would be kind enough to donate and sponsor him.     

Thank you, 

Darlene

I am an appaloosa mare named Shilo.  I was born in 1989 and I came to Save A Horse in 2004.  I came from a place where I had my own little field with my own barn and stall.  I was well cared for by a nice man.  He decided he wasn’t riding me and I needed to be with other horses where he knew that I would be cared for when he no longer could.  So I came to Save A Horse stable to work and do trail rides when needed.  I have always behaved and done what I was asked to do.  I made new friends.  Sugar was my companion most of the time.  We hung out together and were ridden together when we were needed.  Unfortunately, Sugar got very sick and had to cross over that rainbow bridge to wait for me.  I will see her again, but not too soon, I hope.  A lot of us older horses are in retirement and only get ridden when Darlene decides to ride.  This doesn’t happen very often.  There are so many of us that she will probably never ride some of us again.  As long as we are fed and loved, we don’t really care if we work.  Every winter now, I come to the barn to eat grain two times a day to keep me healthy and fat.  Along with my regular maintenance and dental checks, I am doing okay for now.  I also get one of the new stalls that were built so more of my older friends can be pampered during the winter months.  It still confuses me though.  I keep trying to go back to my old stall but somebody else has been sleeping in my stall and eating my food.  So I got moved to the other side of the barn.  Maybe next year I can switch back if I can remember to go right instead of left.  My story is short and sweet just like me.  

Thanks, 

Shiloh

One of our most recent rescues is a fourteen year old black mare my granddaughter named Black Beauty (after the story when the horse had the cruel owner and looked like it was going to die.) She remembered it after all these years. She had a stupid name so we changed it. I was called about the condition of this horse before but I am not a Humane officer so I can’t do anything only report it like everyone else.  I tried to find it but never saw it. Finally now a year later someone who got involved pushed to have it removed and I agreed to take it and try to save her. We went to a hearing and she is now a Save A Horse Stable resident for as long as we can get her well and keep her comfortable.      When we got her we had to help balance her to get on the trailer. I thought she would die before I could get her the help she needed. She was covered with lice; coat was shaggy and dull, thinner than ever, probably full of worms and most of all in need of food and TLC. Next to the worst case I have been on. She also has Heaves which is COPD in human terms. She could not breath her whole body moved, nostrils flared she looked like she had just run a race. With my experience with medical care I treated her lightly till I could get her to a veterinary.  I didn’t want to knock her off her feet.       Within a few days I hauled her to a vet and had a complete evaluation. She said same as I did and sold me medicine for the COPD to see if it will help her and how to care for her. If this works she will have to continue on it at the cost of $165.00 for a month. I give it 2 times a day plus special care to avoid any dust around her. She is not supposed to have hay but I don’t have enough grass for her and keep her where I can doctor her so we have to have good hay and soak it in water before she can eat it. I am also doing hay cubes plus special feed to gain weight back.      “This is where you can help to save me by donating for my future care. I lived long enough to be rescued so I have a will to live. I am doing my part in this life and I am being well taken care of here but not only the extra time and care I get the financial support would make it a lot easier for me to have everything I need to survive.” See photo gallery for pictures of progress.

I am a registered quarter horse mare with a white blaze.  I was born in 1998 and had a home with a couple of other horses.  In 2009, the decision was made by my owners that they had no place for me to go.  Their dad couldn’t care for us any longer.  So they called Save a Horse and Darlene came to look at us.  My older buddy, Champ, and I were offered for free to a good home.  My other buddy, Reno, was for sale by the dad, but he wanted too much money.  So on a Thursday morning, we were all loaded onto the trailer and headed to our new home.  Unfortunately, Reno was dropped off at the auction barn on the way. Champ and I were turned into a field with a run-in barn to get adjusted to our new home.  Later, to our surprise, here came the horse trailer again and out jumps Reno.  He was bought at the auction for even less money and came with the saddle that was on him.  So we are back together. A few days later I got really sick with colic (stomach ache in horses).  I was treated and they kept me walking and all I wanted to do was lay down and roll.  But my people knew better and even called in some friends to help so they could keep me up.  I thought this was very mean, but I didn’t realize that is what saved my life. One day the girls were going to ride us.  Champ was very well-mannered.  But for some reason that only I know, when the saddle was put on me, I turned into a bucking rodeo horse.  I wasn’t ridden that day anyway. We were all turned out with the herd.  After being chased a little bit we were accepted and have been there since. One winter night when it was dark and cold, the son came to feed when usually it was the husband, Kevin.  I somehow ran into the bale spear on the tractor trying to pig my way in before the others got there.  I got a good puncture wound to my shoulder and was really lucky that it wasn’t my heart or I wouldn’t be telling my story.  I was taken to the barn and doctored for the rest of the winter. The summer was here again and they tried riding me, but this time I was well-behaved and even neck reined and did what I was asked to do.  I even chased a calf back into the field that had gotten out.  I have a future here.  Then I did something out in the pasture and broke my knee. (Possibly the injury was from falling into a ground hog hole or kicked by another horse.  Only Daisy knows.)  The vet said it would heel with time to be pasture sound, but some days it is painful.  But also I forgot to tell you that I am one those that is a big baby for pain.  That is why I acted like I was dying when I had coliced, and why I had to be brought to the barn more than once because I was so stressed and stretched out in the field over a gravel (sore foot).  I got to stay in a stall the winter of 2015 because of an abscess in my foot.  I am a slow healer when grain and attention are available.  I will be hobbling along for now.  Thanks for reading my tale.  Daisy

In 2007 I was a lonely pony ripped from my mother’s side with a halter put on me and not a promising future.  I was dropped off at an auction and separated from my mother.  A family bought me not realizing I had not been weaned from my mother.  They took me home and turned me out in a field with no mommy.  I was so missing my home that I escaped and was running free for months.  I still had my halter on which at this point had started growing into my face.  Of course people tried to catch me with ATVs and of course I ran.  How could I trust people?  They took my mom from me and the home where I was born.  Who knew what else they could do. Finally a very nice couple started giving me some grain, but I would only come eat when there were not close enough to catch or touch me.  With winter and deer season coming, the couple was afraid that I would get shot or hit by a car so they call Save a Horse Stable to see if there was any hope for me. Save a Horse came with their trailer and a few gates.  Within a half hour they were set up with grain in the very spot the couple had been feeding me.  While Angie from the stable knelt beside the fence, I thought I could sneak in to eat the grain because I didn’t think she could get close to me.  Then it happened before I knew it.  She shut the gate and had a hold of me.  As soon as she touched me I knew that they would love me.  She loosened my halter and nuzzled with me just as I remembered my mom doing.  I instantly calmed down and let them take me to their home where they spoiled me.  I got a new stall mate named Desire who I loved.  We were both young and we loved to play.  She has a story of her own which will follow.   I got my name, Flynn, from the wonderful couple with took the time to help save me.  Mike and Margaret Flynn, THANK YOU for my new start in life and my new home as SAVE A HORSE. I have been here at Save a Horse for several years and had been healthy.  While out in the pasture, I have foundered for some unknown reason.  Because of the founder, I have lots of foot problems and need pain medicine.  I need frequent blacksmith visits and have been kept in a small lot and stall during the winter with a pony friend named Shilo.  So now I am a problem child and need extra care.  So could you please help a sweet pony down on his hooves? Thank you. Flynn

I am a bay quarter horse gelding.  Bay is brown body with black mane and tail.  I was born on June 10, 1983.  I have been at Save a Horse since January 1992.  I have been a trail horse on every trail that ever went out.  I was buddies with a beautiful mare named Keepsake.  We worked together all the time and got along great.  We spent all of our time together whether it was working or standing in the shade swishing flies.  A few years ago, she was taken away from me.  It was either a heart attack or she was hit by lightning.  Darlene found her dead in the field.  I know what happened but I can’t talk so I can’t tell anyone.  I have been so lost without her. I get along with all the horse here but don’t care if I am with any certain one.  I just go with the flow now. Before I came here I was a reining horse and was worth a lot of money.  I was on a farm where they had paddocks with board fences.  Being the mellow, timid horse I am, I was chased by bullies and my only choice to get away was through the fence.  The first time wasn’t too bad, but being in the same situation the second time wasn’t so good.  I severely cut my hind leg.  The vet was called and they wanted to put me down.  When she got there, she saw a chance for me somewhere else.  So she called Save a Horse and said she would help with the medical part if they would care for me and nurse me back to health.  Good choice I thought.  Whoa, that was a close call.  Must have been angels watching over me that day. With time, I was sound enough to ride but I have a big scar.  Here it doesn’t matter what we look like to be a trail horse.  We just have to have a good attitude and be willing to put up with all kinds of people and kids.  Thankfully, it was always a guided trail ride so that Darlene and Angie (her daughter) could watch the riders and make sure we were treated right.  Darlene says, “It’s not the horse you need to watch.  They know what to do.  It’s the riders that cause you work.” My only problem was that I was trained to go backwards as fast as forwards.  So, when riders would get on me and be scared, they would always pull the reins tight and squeeze their legs and off I go backwards, making them more afraid.  Mostly, I was not meaning to scare them.  (Well maybe sometimes, I enjoyed it.)  You know that horses play games with humans and get points for it. The trail rides have stopped the last couple of years.  This seems good for us horses, but really it is bad for Darlene’s expenses.  We use to help earn some of our keep for ourselves and our pasture mates that couldn’t work.    In the last couple of years I have had my teeth checked and floated.  A couple of my teeth had to be pulled because there was not much that could be done for them.  I can still eat grass when it is available.  So I have been at the barn eating my senior feed and supplements.  I try to eat hay but all I can do is chew it into balls and spit it out.  So, I don’t get to eat much of it, but I try.  Luckily, I have earned my retirement, but if anyone would like to help out, that would be great.  Maybe I could have an extra scoop of feed.  Thank you. Hank

I am a little brown and white paint pony. In the summer of 2015 I was a weanling running loose for weeks all around Ryerson Park in Greene County. I was chased by people trying to catch me almost hit by cars and finally I ended up out in the drained lake on an island with swamp and high grass around me. Lucky to still be here to tell you my story. The park ranger was worried about me so they called Save A Horse to see if they could help. The park rangers got me out and onto dry ground put an orange plastic fence around me. I had grass and a bucket of water so I was happy for now.      Then a big noisy metal thing backed up to my pen and people surrounded me and wanted me to go onto this thing. So I ran and tried to go under the fence that is probably how I got here in the first place. They wouldn’t let me, so now I am moving down the road farther away and to my new home. When we stopped two people got on the trailer and put a rope on me. I reared and acted mean but it didn’t work I got a thing on my face called a halter and was wormed and powdered for cooties. I thought I was a cutie but I am still here so the powder didn’t hurt me none. I was kept in a stall for a few days then I was allowed out into a lot to see the other horses.  Even the small pony was bigger than I am.      Then Darlene decided to let me go with the other horses and two donkeys.  She was afraid I would get hurt, and so was I. So I entered the field and when everyone started to come over to smell me I chased them and they actually ran from me not sure what I was, especially the donkeys. I had so much fun acting mean and big. I even kicked at them if they got to close .Not worrying they could just step on me. Now I like attention and am halter broke to lead. I have made up with the horses and my best friend is a little old pony mare named Patches who is going blind so I take care of her and protect her from any new horses that come to our field. Everyone says I am so cute but I already know that. This is my story and how I got my forever home. PLEASE DONATE  I don’t eat much but my friends all do.

My name is patches. I am a spotted mare pony born in 1983. In 2011 my life was about to change.  My previous owners had a death in the family and no one was able to continue to care for me and my pasture mates. They decided, instead of leaving us to starve like a lot of people do, they would call the Humane Society to try and find us new homes. One morning a Save A Horse trailer backed in our lane and people came over to catch us and put us on the trailer.  They were planning to take us to a temporary home until we could hopefully find a forever home.  One of my mates was a younger mare and she kicked the humane officer when he was leading her to the trailer.  Not a good idea when you are looking for a new home.      After we were loaded on the trailer Darlene asked the officer if we could just go to her place now and keep us together. (Hauling for the Humane Society regularly I know these horses are sometimes moved two or three times to temporary foster homes and possibly being split up before finding a permanent home. They are just like foster children. The Human Society is like child services for animals trying to make a difference in their lives and finding a home with a chance for a new life.)      At the stable we were kept at the barn and had our routine of vaccines, wormer, lice powder and feet trimmed. After a week or so my buddy, Ruby, and I were turned out with the herd in a big pasture with the other horses. Ruby did fine but with my lameness in my back legs and arthritis it was too much for me. So I was returned back to the field by the barn with the other older horses with problems.  Here we have a pasture field on top of a hill behind the barn so we have to walk up and down it to get grass. This keeps us in shape and we can take our good old time doing it. Tim the big Belgium rescue became my friend. He was so big and me being so little we made a good match. Over the years I have made other friends and sometimes would just rather hang by myself.      I have a pretty easy life here just eat and be cute, did I mention eat. I love that feed. By the way my cuteness is what got us here.       Now in 2016 I have cataracts in both eyes and eat senior feed two times a day and pain medicine every day to keep me going. I am still feisty and full of spunk so hopefully I will be pampered for more years to come.  But we could use financial support for our care. Thanks so much for letting me tell you my story. Patches

I am a big sorrel, quarter horse born in 2005.  I was living at a place where I had been since I was young.  The guy that owned me let me run loose around the land.  When he was there, I followed him around.  In 2012 I started getting out and going to the neighbor’s farm and eating her grass and visiting her horses.  I didn’t realize that this was a big deal because it was fun for me.  The last time I got out and went to visit was my last time I was ever there.  The humane society was called and Save a Horse trailer loaded me up and took me to their barn.  My owner was contacted and he said that he would board me here until he could get better arrangements at his farm.  The humane society told him that they would not fine him as long as he paid the board bill.  He paid the board and visited me a couple times and brought me apples.  After 2015 I never saw him again.  I have been abandoned by him.  At least I have my new friends here and am loved like all the others and not in a bad place.  Now I am another mouth to feed and care for.  I have been told that I am a pain because I want to follow everybody around and steal all the attention when anybody comes to our pasture to do anything with us.

I am a black and white paint gelding with black on top of head which Darlene says  makes me look like Mickey Mouse ears. They call this a medicine hat paint which is some kind of Indian name for me. The vet guessed me to be 15 years old last October 30 2016. That is when I came to Save A Horse with my friends Bella and Laddie.      My previous owner got me and had me for a while then all of a sudden she no longer came to care for us (She passed away from a heart attack at age 50). Her mother tried to take care of us but with winter coming she knew she wouldn’t be able to carry hay and feed to us. So she wanted us to stay together as her daughter had planned to do. The only place that would consider all three of us was here at Save a Horse.      She called a couple of times to see if it was possible for the Stable to take us. Finally one day someone came and looked at us and agreed to take all three of us. The mother said Thank you God.  A few weeks later a big trailer came and loaded us up, which I fought the loading part. But they insisted and I had to go on and that is how we came to belong at Save A Horse for as long as they can keep caring for us.      I have new friends here plus Laddie still comes around sometimes. Bella made friends with a couple of mares so she stays with them. We are usually not to far away from each other.      I am at the barn now because I am lame on left front  foot. I have been soaked and given pain medicine. Blacksmith trimmed me the other day and I still need some more soaking and packing of the hoof. When I get better I can go back to the big pasture field with all the other horses.

I am a registered Saddlebred gelding born here at Save A Horse farm in               My parents were bought at an auction to keep them from going to slaughter. I was the last colt from them before Save A Horse stopped breeding horses. They are both over the rainbow bridge now. I have been a problem horse health wise all my life. I was very sick as a yearling with colic and stomach problems caused by molasses on the sweet feed. So I was raised on pelleted feed. I can eat regular horse feed now. I have always had bad feet and now I have been at the barn since June fighting an abscess in my front foot. I have been soaked and wrapped and all kinds of antibiotics, pain meds and checked by our vet. Trimmed by blacksmith and am finally able to put weight on it. I take extra feed to keep weight on me because of my breed. But I behave most of the time. Except I am annoyingly getting into stuff when I can and curious about everything. I love to torment the dog Pebbles and make her bark then we both get yelled at to stop it. I don’t listen very long till I am right back pawing the door to make her bark and get myself yelled at again but I don’t care I am having fun.      I hope to be here with my friends for the rest of my life. Which I am told may be soon if I don’t start behaving but I know better. And I won’t stop.

I am an older Belgian gelding who lived at a place where I watched my best friend lay suffering for days in our field till someone finally came to our rescue.  My friend was put to sleep and I was very upset.  In the winter of 2008 I was not doing very well and neighbors and other people started sneaking me food and water over the fence and tried to get me some help.  Finally after newspaper articles and the persistence of some pushy women, one day at the end of December 2008 I was hauled away to another farm to hang out until I got a chance for someone to tell my story to the court. Luckily for me I won.  I now live at the stable with all my new friends.  Everybody likes me here, the people and horses.  When I lived in the barn, Kolton and Astro were my buddies.   For months we ate and played together.  I required a lot of care and time to get my health back.  My hind leg was cut up and both legs had problems. My legs had to be clipped, scrubbed, and have ointments put on them everyday.  They are doing pretty good now.   In May 2009 I was diagnosed with eye cancer. It was treated and still has to be treated when it flares up .The Greene County Humane Society paid for most of my care up till July 2009. Then the case was settled I won and was free to stay here with my new friends where I will be loved and cared for the rest of my life.  (After caring for Tim every day and bringing him back to health I couldn’t let him go not knowing if he might end up the same way again.  So now I am supporting Tim and boy can he eat?)    In the summer I go out to pasture with the herd where I found a new friend Kissy, she is a thoroughbred mare who doesn’t work very often, so we hang out together under the shade trees.  In winter months we come to the barn to eat grain and hay twice a day and hang out.  I am enjoying my life and hope the stable gets enough sponsors for us to remain here for our ending days. { Tim finished out his days with Save A Horse with his girlfriend, and other pasture mates remained fat and the big sweet lovable doll he was when he came to us unfortunately he ended up with cancer but never had to be hungry again and he new what it meant to finally be loved...............}

I am a black gelding with  white blaze & socks, Percheron cross. I would like to tell you my story, as   a colt I was stuck in a barn full of horses with my fate unknown because I had been purchased by a horse dealer. One day some people came just to look & they saw me in a stall with lots of other horses the dealer thought I was a saddle bred but as you can see by my picture I’m a little stocker than one. As the people made their way through the barn I happened to catch their eye, they bought me & took me to a wonderful farm with other horses in which I made friends & got to be turned out & enjoy being a horse. As I got older I was moved again to a nice trainer who gently taught me how to wear my saddle & let people ride upon my back. They then brought me back to my happy place with my friends & people who loved me. I have never been a problem I always enjoyed carrying the different people who came to ride me, I enjoyed the attention the people gave me & always a delight to ride. I have also been   hauled to different trail rides where I always had such a funny attitude & size everyone loved me. Now due to my age & size lameness has set in I have a problem with my leg that makes me unable to be ridden but, thank goodness for my wonderful home they just let me retire with my friends. Other than my lameness& some tolerable pain I am   content with retirement. At the beginning of my pain I had lost weight & they was considering putting me down, after being turned out for the summer in green pastures I put my weight back on & got pasture sound (still unable to   ride but comfortable). So I am still at Save A Horse on retirement but could really use your financial contributions to feed,& care for me since I no longer am able to work & provide for myself {.Blaze crossed the Rainbow Bridge peacefully and very much missed.}

My name is Jerry I am an aged sorrel pony with flaxen mane and tail. I lived several years with a gentleman who cared for me  every day. I had my own little shed he put me in at night and tied me out in a huge meadow during the day carried water and hay to me and most of all always had peppermint candies in his pockets for me. Being unable to care for me anymore, one day he met Kevin at a doctor’s office and saw his Save a horse stable hat and asked him if he would be interested in me. Kevin gave him the phone number and said to call and see. Then one day a trailer came to my field to get me I wondered why and where I was going my owner was upset and so was I. That is how I got my new home here on August 18, 2008. I was kept in stall a few days to get used to new surroundings. When I was let out I realized there was no rope tied to me and I ran and bucked and had a new taste of freedom and made friends and it was nice to have companions. I mostly hang out with the other horses   but occasionally I have to work along with the other ponies to do pony rides this is how we do our part to keep our happy home .{Jerry had a severe colic on 4-24-2017 and had to be put to sleep at Bronws Equine Hospital. Very much missed and thought of.}