Hoof & Heart of Southern Michigan

Hoof & Heart of Southern Michigan We are an all breed equine rescue with tax exempt status under IRC Section 501(c)(3). Our rescue and sanctuary is located in Jackson County, Michigan.
(27)

We are actively seeking foster and adoptive homes for the rescue and sanctuary horses in our care. We rescue unwanted, owner surrendered, abused, neglected or slaughter-bound horses and try to find them forever homes. Many of our intakes will end up remaining with us forever as sanctuary horses due to medical or soundness issues that make it difficult to find adopters. However, we are always looki

ng for good homes for healthy companion horses who may have soundness issues that make them unsuitable for riding or driving. In most cases, there is no fee for such horses to approved homes. What are the requirements for foster and adoptive homes? You can message the page or email us at [email protected] to get a copy of our foster/adopter application. You need not have fancy barns or facilities to qualify as a foster or adoptive home. Basically safe, with no barbed wire fencing and adequate fencing to contain the horse you adopt--and sometimes a facilities assessment can be "horse specific" so that a facility might be approved for an older well mannered horse, but be considered to have inadequate fencing for a young green, "hotter" horse. (We will always tell you about any facilities related concern and see if you are willing or able to make the desired changes.) We do check vet, farrier and personal references (please include a trainer if you have one) for their perception about your suitability to provide a good forever home for the specific type of horse you are interested in adopting. Our policies preclude us from adopting horses to people who are in the business of selling or brokering horses. We have no criticism or disputes with such professions; however, all of our horses were at one time unwanted and/or ended up in the slaughter pipeline, so we are very stringent about retaining a partial interest in the animal, prohibiting the sale or transfer of the animal, and requiring it be returned to the rescue if the adopter can longer keep it, or no longer wishes to keep it. We are looking for people offering "forever homes" and who have a history of caring for their horses when they become old or unsuited for riding or driving. Our placements are limited to locations within 5 hours of the rescue in order to effect return of an adopted animal, where necessary. We offer foster opportunities which are essentially a free lease of the horse with the added benefit of being able to deduct your reasonable expenses for tax purposes in the same manner as if you actually donated the feed, supplies, etc., to the rescue. Foster homes must meet the same standards and are subject to the same stringent terms and must also be willing to let potential adopters visit the horse, or be willing to return the horse (at least temporarily) to the rescue for visits with prospective adopters. it is best to contact us by PMing this page, or sending an email to [email protected] While we have an excellent group of volunteers and supporters, the rescue is run primarily as a "mom and pop" outfit, and we work full time outside the rescue in order to be able to help support so many horses. During the weekdays especially, there are volunteers or employees working outside only and you will often not get a response on the phone (517)304-0837, which is Robin's cell phone. However, if you text the number, we are able to check it at lunch time and breaks and it is generally easier to reach us by text, at least initially. We have many volunteer opportunities for people interested in fundraising, helping handle horses--such as exercising, riding, training, or just helping manage horses for farrier and vet work. We also are looking for a few individuals located nearby who are interested in being part of our medical support team. In addition to being comfortable handling horses, these volunteers can handle feet and provide hoof/foot treatments and wraps, do initial medical assessments (i.e., temp, pulse, assess general health), provide initial wound treatment/dressing, assist in vet visits and treatments, and give vaccinations and wormer. (We provide additional training beyond the basic volunteer training to medical support volunteers). We also have a great need for volunteers to help with grounds keeping such as mucking stalls, cleaning the common areas, dragging the pasture, repairing fences, latches and other minor repairs to shelters. We are also always in need of, and very grateful for any donations of feed, hay, new or used tack, new or used lumber, sheet metal, or materials for shelters and stalls. Most of our shelter projects rely heavily on the use of donated or recycled materia

Thank you for your interest in supporting your local horse rescues.

FIVE DOLLAR FRIDAY--WNV and EEE vaccinesAs we approach the Labor Day holiday and celebrate the American worker, we  wish...
08/30/2024

FIVE DOLLAR FRIDAY--WNV and EEE vaccines

As we approach the Labor Day holiday and celebrate the American worker, we wish everyone a safe weekend. At the rescue, we are also working to try to ensure our older horses are as safe as possible. Many of you have heard recent stories in both the local and national news about equines (and humans) being infected with west nile virus and eastern equine encephalitis. We have 8 horses that are over 30 y/o and about a dozen more over 25 who are hard keepers, on meds, or are likely to have compromised immune systems for whom we would like to boost their vaccines against these vector borne viral infections.

By using a vaccine focused on WEE, EEE and WNV (it also has Venezualan and tetanus anti-toxin) we can buy the vaccine for about half the price of the 6 way vaccines we usually use. For now we'd like to buy a 10 dose bottle (for $320) now and possibly another in two weeks--we save by buying the 10 dosage and doing autoship.

If you would like to help our older and compromised horses with these important vaccines, our paypal is [email protected] and our venmo is Our mailing address is HHSMI, 2932 Eaton Rapids Rd., Albion, MI 49224 and that is also our mailing address for supplies if anyone is interested in purchasing one or more doses for the rescue directly from this, or another vendor.

Thanks for supporting your local equine rescues and sanctuaries, and we wish everyone a safe and healthy weekend.

The West Nile Innovator + EWT vaccine for horses aids in the prevention of the Eastern & Western Encephalomyelitis plus West Nile Virus Vaccine and Tetanus Toxoid.

On rainbow bridge day, HHSMI remembers today all the lost horse souls who found a save haven with us, no matter how shor...
08/29/2024

On rainbow bridge day, HHSMI remembers today all the lost horse souls who found a save haven with us, no matter how short their stay (some for only a few hours) The list is long, it’s part of the package for a rescue and sanctuary. Some of our longer term sanctuary members were around long enough with big personalities that touched our hearts and stories we continue to tell. We can’t possibly post them all, so these photos represent a sample of the ones we love and miss.

We are holding an Open Barn to meet companion animals the third Saturday of September.  If you are interested in fosteri...
08/28/2024

We are holding an Open Barn to meet companion animals the third Saturday of September. If you are interested in fostering or adopting a companion animal, or being a winter foster for any of our herd, please save the date. We would love to have you meet our available companion horses.

OUR AUGUST VIP PONY PARTY We had our August pony party this past Sunday.  The heat was oppressive with temps still in th...
08/28/2024

OUR AUGUST VIP PONY PARTY

We had our August pony party this past Sunday. The heat was oppressive with temps still in the high 80s at 6pm, but the kids had great energy and enthusiasm on the obstacle course, grooming and then riding. Hadley and Dash were wonderful riders who were also great with the horses. We hope they visit us again soon!

Our volunteers were wonderful as always, but Billy the farm manager, like me, found the heat exhausting after being outside most of the day. Thank you Hadley and Dash for coming out to play with our horses and to our volunteers for hanging tough in the heat.

Thanks for supporting your local horse rescue.

THANK YOU TSC AND CINDI YOUNGWe received confirmation this week, that Hoof and Heart of Southern Michigan was selected a...
08/25/2024

THANK YOU TSC AND CINDI YOUNG

We received confirmation this week, that Hoof and Heart of Southern Michigan was selected as a winner of the Tractor Supply 2024 Horse Feed Sweepstakes prize. One of our supporters, Cindi Young, had put us in for the sweepstakes and after going through TSC's process to verify our 501c3 status and mission, it is official!

The prize is $2500 in gift certificates to TSC which will be wonderful to supplement our feed budget and, especially, our supplement budget. We have a lot of horses with special needs and specialty feeds and supplements are one of the areas we have to scrimp if our funding and donations drop off. So this is a huge help to us!

Thank you Cindi for all the support you have given the rescue over the last several years, and thank you TSC for supporting rescues and other non-profits who rely on your products. We are very grateful for the support!

MORNING AT THE RESCUEThe horses were gearing up this morning for an event filled weekend. There is volunteer orientation...
08/24/2024

MORNING AT THE RESCUE

The horses were gearing up this morning for an event filled weekend. There is volunteer orientation (open to new and established volunteers) starting in an hour and tomorrow a project day (open to new and experienced volunteers) along with our second pony party (reservation only). Our equine residents are looking forward to welcoming all their weekend visitors, so be sure to stop on out to one of our open events and help make a rescue horse's day. Thanks always for supporting your local equine rescues.

AUTUMN'S  VET INTAKE AND SECOND TRIMAutumn  is a beautiful soul, a very sweet mare.  But she has been dealt a very bad h...
08/24/2024

AUTUMN'S VET INTAKE AND SECOND TRIM

Autumn is a beautiful soul, a very sweet mare. But she has been dealt a very bad hand. She loaded first this time, and both mares loaded easily. But the first xrays of her feet revealed the issues she is facing and the reasons for the pain she is experiencing.

She has had a history of laminitis, and also has a club foot presentation on her right front, the one that grew so very long. There is minor rotation on the left front, but not significant. On the right front she also has high ringbone--arthritic presentation between the low and high pasterns. A significant portion of the coffin bone just shows as a dark space on the radiograph, which means it has disintegrated into what the vet put into layman's terms as "runny cottage cheese" and all of the coffin bone appeared soft or porous. The destroyed bone can't be grown back. The best case scenario is that with proper pain management (which she will need for life), corrective trimming, improvements to diet and supplementation, she may be able to be maintained comfortably in a small pen. She will never run in a pasture. She will never be able to carry a small child on her back. We also drew blood because the vet suspects she has cushings as well, which will also increase the difficulty of getting her comfortable and gaining weight. The vet candidly advised us not to "get attached" to her. But it is too late.

Euthanasia would be warranted in a case like Autumn's as her rehab will not be cheap, and there is no guarantee that we will even be able to get her comfortable to where she gains weight again and enjoys turnout in a pen. But Autumn is a fighter. She has tried so hard even when we're loading her for a ride, or asking her to change pens. She has been in pain for a long time, yet she has endured. We want to give her a chance to be comfortable even though the damage to her right front means she will be very limited.

Dr. Quinter and specialty farrier, Tuff Wireman worked together to get her feet trimmed and under her as well as possible. I lost count, but think there were at least 9 images taken to get as much of the excess to removed as possible on that right front and to provide a flat surface for her to bear weight. The bloody gel-like fluid from the disintegration of the bottom of her coffin bone oozed through her sole, and we will be wrapping and treating that hoof for at least the next week or so.

At her next visit we will measure her for Soft Ride boots. The right (club) and left feet will need different sizes, so we will need two pairs. Dr. Quinter at Countryside and Tuff Wireman did such great work with her. You could see Autumn relax and let some of the stress go from her body. She knows we are trying to help her.

There are those who will say we shouldn't spend thousands of dollars trying to help this horse, when we could save many other horses who could be ridden, or "useful" to humans. But we are not helping horses in order to provide a supply to people who want low cost riding horses. We aim to help horses in need. And Autumn is in need. She is deserving, and she is trying so hard. A month ago when we all gathered at her home to do her first trim, it was hard to get her foot off the ground. Now she lifts it like a standardbred when we come out to the roundpen (where she is turned out) to re-wrap her foot. So we are going to fight with Autumn, and we are going to ask for help, for sponsors or donors to help defray the costs of her care and rehab.

Her vet and farrier expenses Thursday were just over $750. Her boots will be around $500. She will be supplemented to improve her bone, and to protect her gut from the pain meds she will be on, and her feed and supplements will be over $200/month. Her pain meds will be at least another $30/month. She will have radiographs for her next trim, and that with the corrective trimming will be about $400 to $500. For a while she will need corrective trimming on a monthly basis until her feet improve. If she has cushings, that will add about $100 more to her monthly care. (Thank you to all the kind people who donate their unused Prascend to rescues--it helps horses like Autumn so much!) So, it will not be easy, and it is not cheap. But Autumn has endured a lot. We suspect that once upon a time she was more like her sister. But now she is stoic and quiet, having endured so much pain and trying to get through to where it feels better. Her ears do go up, whenever she sees us though, and she is cooperating well, and getting used to her treatment routine. She walked from the roundpen to her new stall last night without needing to supply any pressure. We have a long, long way to go, but already it seems like she is feeling better so we have hope.

If you would like to donate toward Autumn's care, or be a regular or occasional sponsor of any part of her care, please message the page. Or you can send donations via paypal at [email protected] or through venmo Our regular mailing address is: HHSMI, 2932 Eaton Rapids Rd., Albion, MI 49224

We also ask, if you are in our area, to please consider coming to one of our project days this fall. We have so much shelter repair and preparation to do to get ready for winter, not least of which is lifting the stall mats and re-doing the bases of 14 stalls. We can also work with your schedule. So, for example, if you know you would have several hours available on a certain day, if you let us know a day or two in advance, we can have the supplies and other volunteers available to help you work on a project or two that the rescue desparately needs help to complete.

Thanks for supporting your local rescues and sanctuaries and helping horses like Autumn.

BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN, one of our recent intakes who had terribly overgrown feet has her appointment with the vet and correct...
08/21/2024

BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN, one of our recent intakes who had terribly overgrown feet has her appointment with the vet and corrective farrier tomorrow. She'll have radioagraphs and then another trim with the veterinarian there and consulting on what she needs based on the xrays and vet exam.

Her sister Vera (a/k/a Walnut) will also be there to get her blood tested (she's overweight with a very cresty neck) and a basic intake exam.

Please keep a good thought for these beautiful mares. If you are interested in helping with their intake veterinary and farrier costs, we would be very grateful for the assistance. Our paypal is [email protected] and our venmo is

Thank you for supporting your local horse rescues and horses in need, like Autumn.

HAPPY TUESDAY FROM BOO BOO THE MULE
08/20/2024

HAPPY TUESDAY FROM BOO BOO THE MULE

AROUND THE RESCUE It's been a busy week, and hard to find time to post.  This week our 3 legged farm dog, Roscoe, who ca...
08/20/2024

AROUND THE RESCUE

It's been a busy week, and hard to find time to post. This week our 3 legged farm dog, Roscoe, who came in from PA with a load of standardbreds about 7 years ago--he's about 13 now, had to have emergency surgery at MSU in the wee hours of Saturday morning. The little pitbull we rescued last fall got out of his cage while we were outdoors and attacked Roscoe, and at first we thought the wounds were limited to the ears, so we treated that and started SMZs. Roscoe's a pyrenees/golden retriever cross and he is very very fuzzy and so there are layers and layers of hair to get to his abdomen and at first we missed his abdominal wound. But it was deep and more than an inch wide. He had emergency surgery to clean and treat the wound, but had it "communicated with the abdomen" as the vet's say, we would have had to let him go as our 2K surgery cost would have gone to 10K or more. We didn't sleep all night worrying about the news we would get, but around 6am we got a good call from MSU. He has a drain, and has even more difficulty than usual walking now (we are trying to get him to use a wheelchair), but he is a tough old guy and we are so grateful he got to come home.

Park Town Lee. a strong beautiful 22 y/o STB mare who rides and drives well returned from a foster arrangement this week. We will be posting her for adoption shortly.

Secret Choice, the 25 y/o mare who came in several months ago has experienced some swelling in her abdominal area that looks like a pre-pubic tendon rupture to me. She is eating and passing manure well, and all her vitals are normal. We know she had 14 foals, but since her abdomen has changed over the last week we will want to have her see the vet again soon. Our two haflinger mares will be getting hauled to the vet this week, and Autumn will have radiographs and get her second trim with the vet and farrier working together. So, we will need to fundraise for that as well, as our vet bills are getting rather large again.

In better news, Kaden, Sara, and Caetlin all did their initial volunteer visit and orientation this week. We are so grateful for the help. We are having a project day this weekend, and have more than 50 projects large and small on our list. We are especially grateful for any help at our project days this fall as we have so much work to do to get the farm ready for winter this year. If you'd like to learn more about volunteering, please message the page or send us an email at [email protected]

Thanks for supporting your local horse rescues.

VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION AUG 24, 2pmWe usually do new volunteer orientations the third Saturday of the month, which technic...
08/15/2024

VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION AUG 24, 2pm

We usually do new volunteer orientations the third Saturday of the month, which technically would be this weekend. But with wet weather expected, and a pony party the next day, we will be holding our next regular volunteer orientation Augut 24 at 2pm, and volunteers can stay and help feed afterwards if they like.

Although it is supposed to be wet, we do have two new volunteers coming out this Saturday (the 17th) to help feed and we are always looking for extra help on Saturdays (morning and afternoon) Tuesdays, and Thursdays--those are the days we usually have the least help, but we can use volunteer help the rest of the week as well.

While feeding, unloading hay, and mucking chores are usually our most consistent needs, I am trying to find a couple of volunteers to help with animal care issues on Wednesday afternoons and/or Saturdays. Help is needed with things like massage therapist visits, vaccinations (we have about 20 older horses we need to boost soon), and applying the longer lasting insect repellant on the horses on pasture in Springport--we need to do that every other week. Then there are just more routine medical care issues like treating abscesses, wounds, dewormer, etc., etc. With about 60 horses on two farms it's a never ending task and I would be grateful to find a few folks who maybe don't want to, or can't do the heavy feeding chores, but who would be interested in working with the horses on a regular basis and helping tend to their care.

We also always need help with fundraising activities, vet and farrier days, and helping with special events like Trunk or Treat. The picture is Bomber (USTA He's a Bomber) and Jaime, one of our experienced volunteers who does everything from wrangling horses, to feeding, mucking, unloading hay and feed, riding and exercising horses, to helping with special events and providing the cupcakes for our pony parties. If you are interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities, please plan to attend our next orientation or message the page so we can set up a visit.

Thanks for supporting your local horse rescues.

OUR NEW HAFLINGER MARE RESIDENTS came in last Friday.  They loaded within 10 minutes and traveled well.  They are settli...
08/13/2024

OUR NEW HAFLINGER MARE RESIDENTS came in last Friday. They loaded within 10 minutes and traveled well. They are settling in using the round pen for turnout while being stalled in the "drive through" barn. They have an appointment scheduled at the vet's office with our farrier who does corrective shoeing for early September, as we would like the farrier to be there with the vet to go over the radiographs and determine how best to correct any damage. We'll be doing bloodwork on Walnut (a/k/a Vera) to be sure everything is ok with her.

They are very sweet mares who will require at least several months of rehab--Autumn to get her feet in better condition, and Vera to lose some weight and get on a proper diet. Our goal will be to eventually place them together, although we don't want to make any estimates of the timeframe when they will be available until they have had their intake vet exams and we have a better assessment of what their rehab will require.

If you stop out to the rescue, be sure to stop by and welcome Autumn and Vera. If you are interested in being a sponsor for either of these sweet girls, please message the page. Sponsorship amounts are at the discretion of the sponsor, but between the bloodwork and radiographs, the initial vet visit will be over $500 (not including the farrier work) and then Autumn will need more frequent farrier visits until we know we are on the right track to correcting any damage.

Thanks for supporting your local horse rescues.

LELAND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS SUMMER CAMP YOUTH VISIT  We had a wonderful visit with Leland Community Affairs summer camp att...
08/11/2024

LELAND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS SUMMER CAMP YOUTH VISIT

We had a wonderful visit with Leland Community Affairs summer camp attendees today. After meeting the horses and learning about the rescue's mission, we groomed horses, and then did a short agility course before tacking up a couple horses to ride in the arena. It was wonderful to see how well everyone did with the horses although many of the kids had not been around them before. There were lots of great questions and positive energy and we are grateful that this faith based organization that provides leadership and opportunities for community youth spent the morning learning more about what we do and giving some attention to the rescue and sanctuary horses.

There was also some great discussion with Pastor Knolton about the potential for future collaboration. We hope we get to visit again soon, and thank you for making the trip to Albion to spend time with us. Thanks also to our great volunteers for all your help today.

Thanks for supporting your local horse rescues.

UPDATE:  Aspen has found a home that is not far from where her owner's live and they can still see her from time to time...
08/04/2024

UPDATE: Aspen has found a home that is not far from where her owner's live and they can still see her from time to time, so we are happy for Aspen. Thank you all for sharing her information.

HELP US FIND ASPEN HER FOREVER HOME

While the rescue has a current wait list for owner surrenders, we were contacted by a local owner about a beautiful older QH mare that we would like to try to help find a home. Aspen is a 26 y/o registered QH mare (Genuine Aspen Go AQHA No. 3758784) She is a well broke, sweet girl who would make an amazing trail horse or riding horse for a child or lighter person. She loves a mission and purpose and is an incredibly well minded and behaved girl. Her current family got her for speed events, but given her age, that is not the best fit for her and we would like to find her a lighter use. She is a W/T/C horse who neck reins. She requires a mash/soaked feed due to a choking risk rather than dental issues. She needs to have her hay in a slow feed net as well, but does well in a grassy pen. She has been on equioxx when shown or used in speed events, but is not on it daily.

This mare would be a good fit for a family with kids or for a lighter adult or older person who wants a well broke horse and doesn't mind a little maintenance. She currently lives with a mini and pony and they get along great. She is the low horse in the pecking order and is ok with that.

Aspen will go under a rescue contract that prohibits her resale or transfer, and she will have a place at the rescue if she should need it for any reason. She is currently located in Eaton Rapids with her owners and we are trying to find a placement directly without her needing to wait for a spot to open in the rescue.

If you are interested in Aspen, please message the page. She will require a pre-app, and contract. However, we will set up visits before we have a pre-app on file for potential adopters who contact us and have established vet and farrier references.

Please share and help us find this pretty mare a home.

Thanks for supporting your local horse rescues.

08/03/2024

Today we said goodbye our beloved Cruiser, USTA Lotsa Cruisin, who has born in Ontario 21 yeas ago. He'd been a resident here about 2 years and had been fostered by the Davises for a while, but he has been a hard case to manage due to his scarred lungs and reactive obstructive airway disorder, that required frequent adjustments to meds and treatment to keep him breathng well. He's always been a good patient horse who never resisted his treatments that included various adjustments to steroids, bronchodilators, various nebulizer treatments, and antibiotics as well as a number of vet visits and ultrasounds along the way.

He seemed to drop a lot of weight in just the last week or so despite us amping up the feed, and then the last few days his water intake dropped off significantly despite the heat.. He tripped a couple times coming up to his stall from his turnout below, and during his breathing treatments he was leaning more on his handler.

Today at the vet's his breathing was relatively controlled and any lung infection had cleared. But the symptoms we thought might be related to hypoxia were actually neurologic symptons related to a brain lesion. He had already lost vision in one eye, and actually bit Randy while he was holding him for the vet exam--which was so unlike Cruiser. Our poor boy could not recover from this and the vet felt he was at the point he would be dangerous to himself or others. The video is from five weeks ago. When we'd turn him out in the round pen, you'd just need to open the door and he would see himself home to his stall in the evening. It's how we'd like to remember him--he knew where he belonged on the farm, who his friends were, and was a sweet horse to be around. It is hard to see this stall empty tonight and his friend, Fancy, moved to the stalls down below with the others.

So, although it was not a hard call to make, it was a painful one as Randy hugged him one last time and held him as the vet heped him cross over. We will miss our patient, handsome boy who always seemed so grateful for help. We're so sorry there was no more we could do except to end the suffering you must have felt this past week as the tumor got worse and impacted your daily functioning. We are grateful to have had you in our herd, as we relinquish you to the heavenly herd who loudly announced your arrival this evening with the loud, rolling thunder of all the horses in heaven. Rest well, handsome Cruiser, till our trails cross again.

CRUISER COULD USE A GOOD THOUGHTOur old standardbred Cruiser, who has heaves and significant lung scarring,  could use a...
08/01/2024

CRUISER COULD USE A GOOD THOUGHT

Our old standardbred Cruiser, who has heaves and significant lung scarring, could use a good thought today. The combination of heat, poor air quality and possibly a secondary infection has got him struggling today. He's had his steroids adjusted by the vet, we have been running antibiotics, and we will get him back on the nebulizer today. But the vets are swamped with calls in the opposite direction today, and he'll be seen again tomorrow.

Meanwhile, we've got to get through farrier calls both here and Springport, afternoon feeding and now adding in breathing treatments. His fluid intake is way down, and we suspect he may need fluids introduced, so we are working to keep him as comfortable as possible today untill the vet can see him tomorrow.

If you're a volunteer who might be able to help with our farrier visits or afternoon feeding chores today, please message the page as we could use the help. But mostly, please say a prayer or keep a good thought for our old guy.

Thanks for supporting your local horse rescues.

BARNEY'S HOPE GETS FOSTEREDAnyone who has visited our rescue in the last 8 years likely met our handsome black and white...
07/28/2024

BARNEY'S HOPE GETS FOSTERED

Anyone who has visited our rescue in the last 8 years likely met our handsome black and white paint, Barney. For about 7 of those years, he had the most wonderful companion, Hope, a beautiful black STB mare who came in from the east coast after she had been saved from the slaughter pipeline by a wonderful lady and then surrendered to us. I often think she added a year or two to Barney's life by how she protected him, kept other horses from running him around which would have broken down his arthritic pasterns even more. She has been lonely and a little lost in the three and a half months since we said goodbye to her best friend.

But today she went to stay with Rachelle and run with two other HHSMI alum and a pretty mare named Mazy, on a nice pasture that she didn't have access to here. Rachelle and her family have adopted Bruce (USTA Time to Run), previously fostered Dixie, and currently foster Queenie (Da Queen of Hearts) and now Hope, the Hope that was Barney's mare all those years.

She looks like she is really enjoying the pasture and having room to run, and lots of friends. Thanks, Rachelle and family for opening your hearts and farm, to our beautiful Hope. Barney would be grateful too that his mare got such a lovely welcome and place to roam now that she doesn't need to be stuck in a small pen any more.

Thanks for supporting your local horse rescues.

AUTUMN  is a beautiful underweight haflinger mare whose hooves were incredibly over grown after her senior owner had ser...
07/28/2024

AUTUMN is a beautiful underweight haflinger mare whose hooves were incredibly over grown after her senior owner had serious medical issues and became unable to care for her. Somewhat surprisingly, her sister remained at a good weight and while her hooves were cracked and a little overgrown, there was nothing that would immediately cause concern. The horses were turned out on pasture, but with Autumn's long hooves, it hurt just to walk and she was not making it out to the pasture to eat very much, and was dropping weight.

Relatives from out of state were visiting the farm where Autumn lives and reached out to us to get her help. The owners didn't know who to reach out to for help and were afraid of legal repercussions for having let her hooves get that overgrown. But our first priority as a rescue is to help the horse in need, and they agreed to surrender the mares and allow us to come out for an initial trim to try and get her more comfortable so she could be more stable for the ride back to the rescue as we are more than two hours away.

So last night Kayla Jäger-Smith from Riverbend Farm & Stables LLC (she found our Goldie for one of her clients and helped save Angel and Hope who are now residents of our rescue), her husband Levi, and wonderful farrier Molly Bartman, and Randy and I met Autumn and Walnut. It took about two hours on Autumn whose overgrown front hooves showed a history of chronic abscesses. It was hot and stressful for the old mare even with dermosedan and banamine on board, but she was a very gentle and sweet mare. She could tell we were all trying to help her, and she helped as much as she could. I felt hopeful for Autumn and so grateful someone reached out to us to help her, and that Kayla, Levi, Molly and Randy were able to make a good start last night toward getting her hooves back on track.

We left them with hay, and grain and a little bute for Autumn to keep her comfortable the next few days before we bring them back to the rescue. We would like to fundraise for some of Autumn's vet expenses as she will need radiographs on a regular basis and she will likely need corrective shoeing or boots to try to help her feet recover from the long tem lack of farrier care. Thanks to the farrier spending several hours working at such a reduced rate for us, the farrier care and sedation and pain relief were under $200 yesterday. But we would like to raise about $1000 to cover her first vet visits, radiographs and corrective farrier work and shoes. Any contribution toward their care is appreciated. We are very full currently and not open to intakes. But Autumn is an emergency situation and so we needed to help, and hope our community will respond with support to help provide her the care she needs.

Our paypal is [email protected] and our venmo is Our mailing address is HHSMI, 2932 Eaton Rapids Rd., Albion, MI 49224. You can also use our network for good link at https://hoofandheartofsouthernmichigan.networkforgood.com

If you see a horse in need, please reach out to the owners and see if they need help. Sometimes you may find that people reject help or don't think their horses need help, and then it may be necessary to seek other means. But sometimes the owners are hurting or struggling themselves, and may not know where to turn for help. Thank you for supporting your local horse rescues and helping horses like Autumn.

CONGRATULATIONS DIXIE on your new home.  Dixie is currently on a foster to adopt arrangement with the family who has his...
07/24/2024

CONGRATULATIONS DIXIE on your new home. Dixie is currently on a foster to adopt arrangement with the family who has his killpen buddy Thumpem N, now known as Jackson. Thank you, Helen, and family for giving Dixie a home. Thanks also to Rachelle and family for fostering him since last year and getting him ready for a longer term placement. Interestingly, Rachelle discovered she was helping train another horse from the rescue who had the same damsire, so Dixie got to spend some time with his cousin Queenie before finding a home with his old killpen pal.

Dixie Union is a STB gelding in his mid teens, who does have a heart murmur but has been vet cleared for light use riding. He's not fancy broke, but is a nice little riding gelding who loves kids, and just about anybody. He came in with Zach (He's All In) and Thumpem N, from a PA killpen several years ago and both of them had been adopted. We know you'll be a good boy and hope you have your best life, buddy!

Thanks for supporting your local horse rescues and finding second chances for horses like Dixie.

Address

2932 Eaton Rapids Road
Albion, MI
49224

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Hoof & Heart of Southern Michigan posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Hoof & Heart of Southern Michigan:

Videos

Share