2023 Ranch Tour

2021 Rescue Foals - Ulysses and Flori!

On Easter, we got a call from a neighbor on the Southside of Lake Hattie that there was what looked like a dead foal lying in the field near the road. When Alex (WHPS) got there, he saw ears twitching. This little girl was only about 3 days old and had some serious wounds on her neck and shoulder, but Flori is a fighter. She was so weak she couldn't stand up, but she had survived so far and wasn't about to give up now. She endured extensive medical treatment for her wounds for over 2 months, but now has turned into a good-looking lively foal.  

The second call came in on Memorial Day. Ulysses was only a couple of days old and suffered from wounds on his neck and sides. When our neighbors Jimmy and Sonny stopped to check on him because he was all by himself, Uly walked right up to their truck and didn't move until we could give him a ride to the rescue barn. He was so tired, he fell asleep in the back of the truck.

Both foals are alive and will be going to a good home together because of the quick actions by our neighbors who called these foals in.

Annie was dropped off on the ranch by unknown individuals around June 2020.  At the time, we thought she would not survive the month as she was a walking skeleton. Annie surprised us all by joining up with a group of horses and putting on weight. By December 2020, her severe arthritis made it hard for Annie to keep up with her group. We decided to find her a warm stall. One of our neighbors fostered her  in their lovely barn until she was ready to go a few months later.   Our veterinarian estimated that she was over 20 years old. 

Cream was born to Peaches on June 21, 2020. Unfortunately, he had windswept hind hooves and required stall rest so that the issue could self-correct. Lucky for us, Peaches had grown up around the rescue barn and had no issues moving in. Both mom and foal are doing great. Little Cream straightened out his hooves and now is the terror of the barn, even pushing around older horses! We tried to let them rejoin their original family several times, but both Momma Peaches and Cream decided they would like to remain at the barn and join our equine rescue team. Cream has now been gelded and is getting ready to be trained as a saddle horse.

Birthday April 2, 2020 

Cilly was our first rescue of 2020. His mom seems to have abandoned him at the tender age of 3 days. Mrs. Patty Jackson, one of our neighbors, noticed him lying in a field off ranch roads Stallion and Trailblazer on April 8, 2020, at around 6:30 pm, with no other horses in the vicinity. She stopped her truck to check on the baby, fearing the worst. As soon as she got out of the truck, the little guy popped up and ran right over to her, wanting to make friends. She called her husband James (our HOA president) who notified us. Patty and Cilly hung out and bonded for 30 minutes until Alex, one of our team members, got there. They then helped Alex load the foal into the back of our pickup. Alex held the foal wrapped in a blanket while James drove the truck back to the rescue barn, followed by Patty. 

Cilly was extremely dehydrated. Luckily, he took to the bottle of Mare's Match milk immediately. During the first 24 hours, he sipped a healthy pint every two hours. Now he's up to about 3 cups of milk every two to three hours. 

An examination by our veterinarian, Dr. Jessica with Animal Health Center, showed his lungs were clear and temperature normal. He also had started to pee and poop. Age was estimated to be about a week because he already had one baby tooth coming in and based on his size. We're going with April 2 as his birthday. He was probably on his own for at least a couple of days. If Patty had not cared enough to stop and check on him, he would most likely not have survived the night when temperatures dropped into the 20s. 

Because he's so little and needs to be fed every two hours, Alex is staying in the barn with him the first few nights. The first night he was shivering so badly, we had to wrap in a blanket so he could get some sleep. 

He's now a feisty little colt with lots of energy and already trying to make friends with our four horses, which we call our equine rescue support team. Having other horses around always helps because it makes the foals feel safe. 

Patty's action made all the difference to Cilly. Patty is definitely our hero and the little guy adores her. If anyone sees a foal all by itself with no other horses in sight on the ranch, please let us know. Mares will not return for abandoned foals. Dehydration is the biggest enemy and time is of the essence. If we can get milk into them fast, they have a good chance of survival.

Thunder was one of the first rescues on the ranch. He was found by the side of the road near death during a severe winter storm. He was brought in and bottle-fed every 4 hours until he regained his strength. The veterinarian advised that if he could make it past a week, he had a chance. Once he felt better, he learned how to play with a horse ball. His favorite activity is to kick the ball over the corral fence, keeping his human "mom" busy retrieving the ball for him. These days, a 5-year old Thunder enjoys hanging out with three other horses (who are also rescues), three dogs, a cat and 8 chickens.

In Memory of 66!

66 was one of the original BLM mares. She slipped away peacefully sometime during the night of March 3, 2020. Based on her BLM tattoo, she was over 30 years old. We found her tucked into a stand of willows, guarded by her mate Grey and her one-year old foal T-Boo. It looked like she had layed down to take a nap and gone to sleep. When she had stopped by earlier in the day for oats, she looked tired, but didn't show any other signs of distress. 66 was a gentle mare that had beautiful foals for whom she was a devoted mom, even kicking her mate or standing up to much bigger horses, if necessary, to make sure her foal got all the oats it wanted. We had the privilege of knowing her for over 5 years. T-Boo has been crying for her and some of the geldings have stepped up as babysitters. It also seems her two stepmoms will let her stay in their group if she so chooses. We'll keep a close watch on her to make sure she'll be okay.

Vixen was abandoned by her mother and rescued when she was barely 4 weeks old, weighing only about 50 lbs and severely dehydrated. She had survived by nibbling on grass, growing teeth early to make that possible. Once she was relocated to one of the rescue barns, she reluctantly took a milk replacement mixture from a bottle and quickly transitioned to drinking from a bowl. Because she was so young, she also had to be taught how to lie down to sleep (her human buddy spent several days and nights in the barn to make sure she could get a good night's sleep). Two older rescue horses (5 and 6 months) kept her company and are now her best buddies. Vixen has turned into a beautiful and feisty filly.

Baby was only a day old when she was found. She had been caught in barbwire fencing and couldn't free herself. So, her mom abandoned her. Once she was rescued and taken to a barn, she was fed Mare's Match milk every 2 hours. Her extremities were extremely cold and she suffered from hypothermia. She was kept wrapped in a blanket until she stabilized. Today, Baby is a pretty 3-year old filly who loves hanging out with her three older brothers, who are not always sure that's such a good idea.

Comet self-rescued at about 4 weeks of age. She found a neighboring rancher's house and collapsed at the front gate. She was very dehydrated and malnourished, to the point that the veterinarian thought she may not make it. However, Comet proved to be a survivor. She immediately drank her milk replacement from a bowl and started chowing down on hay. These days, this blue-eyed Cremello beauty enjoys galloping around her pasture with her friends and having her daily treats of oats and sweets. 

Twist appeared about three years ago and quickly tried to bond with one of the bands of geldings. He appears to be a "drop-off" as he is gelded (not through our program), so we assume he was abandoned by his owners. Twist is a very sweet horse who likes his daily oats and grooming and tries to find a way to get into the rescue barn whenever possible. His special skill set includes opening doors and knocking to let you know he's there for his daily treat of oats. Since Twist would like to be back in a barn, one of the rescue sites is working to make a stall available for him in the near future.