Horse Shepherd Equine Sanctuary

27/01/2025

Introducing beautiful mother daughter combination HSES Sarah and HSES Isabella - while Sarah is handled, her very bonded daughter has not been although curious and very sweet. We would love to find them an experienced home where their education can be continued ....please PM for further details.

26/01/2025

This is how an ex Echuca sales horse looks - given half a chance with lots of love and care - congratulations Debbie and HSES Thirty- three (now HSES Maple) awesome job.

25/01/2025

A day of grace and kindness, of new connections and friendships.

23/01/2025

Little HSES Teddy talking to HSES Shorty last night reminded us we have had lots of requests for pony companions. We have several ponies suitable and will load on facebook and our website this weekend.
These ponies are late-teens, healthy, various levels of handling however they are not suitable to retrain as riding ponies. They have largely lived on the same property since birth, prior to surrender.

18/01/2025

One our favourite little ponies - arriving as an unhandled, middle-aged stallion! When Jen asked for the toughest one to help us out we wanted to hug her, as most requests are for the perfect pony not the flawed, challenging, naughty ones although they often have the best stories! What an amazing outcome for HSES Wallace the defiant brave heart.

16/01/2025

Following today's Herald Sun article - HSES Aussie, HSES Brulee, HSES Kaique, HSES Holly, HSES Apollo, and more recently HSES Roh and HSES Henry are just some of the sanctuary horses that had suffered in the hands of this woman and the Victorian Governments inability to stop her hoarding of both cats and horses.

👩‍⚖️ Don't blame the RSPCA - they have to clean up while negotiating the legal system.
🫵 Seek accountability from those that sell or give her horses without adequate due diligence.
🔑 Support the horse traceability system introduction https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/livestock-and-animals/horses/horse-traceability/horse-traceability-frequently-asked-questions

16/01/2025

This week we took a photo of HSES Shorty in the late evening light following a shower of rain and obviously a roll in the mud! So for our new followers a little HSES Shorty history.........

In July 2019, a freezing wet winter here in Gordon Victoria 3345 we took on a very sick skinny horse - HSES Shorty was under Vet care combined with inexperienced owners.
We provided Shorty a warm stable and when their vet recommended the big fella be Euthanised with only a 10% chance of survival - we didn't agree. We knew he was malnourished and fighting a leg infection, when we first saw him on property he was in a round yard laying in mud. Their vet had diagnosed Rye grass staggers. The family agreed to surrender HSES Shorty, and the fight to save him was on! After 10 litres of intravenous fluids, he stood up and has never looked back. Lots of care by Amber, especially bandaging, small feeds and short walks for months.
HSES Shorty was only 6 years old AND importantly he was super easy to handle and work on - especially as at 17.3hh he's a big boy!

13/01/2025

New girl HSES Carmella has fitted into the camel herd like a long lost friend, and with a relatively small camel population in Victoria that could be the case. HSES Bella on the right highlights the expected healthy camel hump in comparison to poor skinny HSES Carmella.

09/01/2025

During the wet winter last year we took in HSES Lorraine and HSES Fleur. Poor Fleur was lame with severe seedy toe, losing the entire front capsule on one front hoof and with all four compromised requiring immediate rehabilitation. (All complicated by Fleur being unhandled and unwilling). Fortunately they were surrendered together, making boxing in sand and management easier for all, particularly Fleur.
We are thrilled to share an update from yesterday post her most recent farrier appointment. One of the few upsides of our hot dry summer!
Thank you to Julie for her ongoing sponsorship of the girls.

08/01/2025

We were aware of a very special girl locked in a rural pound over Christmas - no wise men involved - just some clown that abandoned her! Abandoned with a rope round her front leg and another dangling from her neck. Malnourished and lonely.
With the support of our kind friend Pam from Edgar's Mission - HSES Carmella was checked out, luggage loaded and safely on her way to Horse Shepherd. We made careful consideration of accepting another animal at this time, however pound animals truly are rescues - they have no one 💔 and limited time frames. We also have a large dedicated camel and donkey paddock, with them having very similar feed requirements so we said YES we could squeeze just one more in!

Welcome HSES Carmella.

06/01/2025

Welcome home dear little HSES Danny - looking as fantastic as this Xmas photo taken in 2013! Horse Shepherd's first Echuca sales pony, a little aged stallion with a blemished eye .... after perfect care in a loving home - circumstances have led to his return, now minus an eye and with partial sight in the other - HSES Danny will live his remaining years at the Sanctuary. Thank you Kylie and family for all your love and care of Danny.

Horse Shepherd's 'Right to Return' in action.

04/01/2025

A huge thank you to Horse Deals for featuring our work. A little known background is HSES started its origins in our work as At Auction Preview - led by our Board member Belinda, past Board Member Sherel, and Anne. Each week horses at the Echuca sales would be photographed, bid on behalf and transport organised to get them homes. Over 900 horses, ponies and donkeys found homes - and a second chance of life. And while we celebrate the end of the Echuca sales and the associated stress for horses, we are seeing an unprecedented level of requests for help, driven by financial stress and the drought. There are just too many horses and ponies in need and very few active rescues assisting.

The magazine is now available at all good newsagents and saddlery stores and as a digital version here- https://www.zinio.com/au/publications/horse-deals/42930

Thank you to friend Scott McLoughlin for the introduction to editor Kerri C**k and journalist Rachael Houlihan.

Beyond Bulla - Horse Shepherd Equine Sanctuary

In the heart of Victoria, Horse Shepherd Equine Sanctuary stands as a beacon of hope for horses in crisis, but for how long? Beyond the Bulla rescue, the sanctuary has rescued around 900 horses with over 100 rescued horses and ponies currently under care. Founder Anne Young has transformed her passion into a life-saving mission. Every horse at the sanctuary has a story of survival, a testament to Anne's tireless dedication and compassion. But the challenges are real, rising feed costs, economic pressures, and the looming threat of drought make support more critical than ever. Horse Deals spoke to Anne to find out more.

Read this article now: https://hubs.la/Q030h6y30
Buy a print subscription: https://hubs.la/Q030g-Yl0

03/01/2025

Apologies for any inconvenience as our walking tour today is cancelled. We have sent emails to those that booked yesterday prior to our decision, please check your spam folder. The only animals out are hot and grumpy camels and donkeys and as soon as they've eaten they too will seek shelter from the heat.
Today's Western Victorian’s (including Ballarat) severe heat wave conditions declared is not safe for walkers, we have also taken into consideration the increased fire risk. Our beautiful Sanctuary is now tinder dry with the various dams drying up! This is our worse summer start ever.

02/01/2025

Greetings and salutations, here I am, Mr January! I’m going to start by saying I’m pretty sure I’ll be the only resident here who writes his own calendar introduction. Someone has to be the brains of this operation and I tell you, the rest are too focussed on food and playing to be bothered doing something actually useful with their time!

I arrived here in March 2021. My mode of transport was quite unbecoming to a pony of my level of importance. It was…wait for it…a box trailer. I was secured there with some chains. The story goes that some people had purchased me who weren’t experienced handling a little pony stallion of my intellect and I’d become something of a liability for them. Anyway, I figure it was all for a reason because I was clearly meant to run this place. There were some losses along the way. After a nap one day I discovered I was less of a ‘man’ which was a little concerning but hasn’t seemed to leave an ongoing dent to my personality.

In four short years I’ve basically gained control of this joint but they also tell me I’ve gained other important things like a balanced diet (too balanced if you ask me), regular worming, farriery and dental work and whilst I don’t enjoy all of those thing they sure make me look like a cracking Mr January!

If you missed out on purchasing a calendar and would like Mr January in your life, - I’m also available as a tea towel in the store - https://horseshepherd.org.au/store/HSES-Sir-Ed-Tea-Towel-p717489509

30/12/2024

Happy New Year salutations one and all! Two words...I'M BACK!!
I've always wondered how my return to social media stardom should be recognised and indeed there has been a commemorative item created in my honour. I'm not going to lie, I was expecting something a little 'impressive' however I'm told this is an item that's in every household which means every single one of you can have a small piece of my magnificence in your own homes!
Drum roll please...it's a tea towel! I'm told these things hang out in kitchens which is where food is prepared. I'm very much in favour of food. Perhaps some of you could forward me some? There have been mutterings about my current weight which have been less than complimentary and a pony of my reputation surely should not be denied anything I desire?

Going to Kryal Castle was one of my favourite excursions. Sir Phillip looks almost as dashing as I do in this photo! Stay tuned, in the New Year I'm venturing out to more local fun places to give them the Sir Ed tick of approval.

In the meantime, head to the shop https://horseshepherd.org.au/ to purchase ME! What should I be on next? Air fresheners? Socks?

Thank you to everyone that brought the HSES 2025 calendar - how thrilled were you to see I was the main star! As the January Star my story will feature tomorrow.

30/12/2024

It's started out our driest December ever, and the paddocks are scorched and dams are very low. The forecast for January is looking equally hot and dry. We have re-started our walking tours in January however we will review any tours on High/Extreme fire risk days - hopefully not too many.