Starry Skies Equine Rescue and Sanctuary

01/01/2025

Congratulations to Molly for being the first adopted horse of 2025!

12/31/2024

As we look forward to the new year, we get the opportunity to reflect on 2024.

It was a good year for Starry Skies - our 13th year of operation.

We took in horses from all walks of life. In 2024, we welcomed 73 horses into the Starry Skies family. Of these, just over 30% were owner surrenders, 10% from rescue to rescue transfer or in our collaboration with law enforcement, and the rest diverted from the slaughter/auction pipeline.

Of course, we wouldn't be able to accept new residents without adoption. 53 horses found their forever families this year, with many going to repeat adopters, which is always very exciting!

Our sponsorship program remains very successful, with all but 1 of our sponsorable horses in our sanctuary program fully sponsored.

We also said goodbye to several horses in 2024 and helped them to a peaceful end. It's no one's favorite part of the job, but we believe it is important to give horses with severe medical issues a chance - and to know when to help them over the bridge.

Thanks to all of your support, Starry Skies Equine Rescue and Sanctuary is able to make a difference in the lives of so many horses every year. We remain one of the largest and longest running equine rescues in the state. We couldn't do it without all of you. To our board members, volunteers, donors, sponsors, adopters, and social media followers - thank you so much, and we look forward to what we can do together in the New Year.

Congratulations to the adopted horses of 2024 - Smoke, Poppy, Rosie, Keri, OBD, Cat's Eye, Queso, Jasper, Ella, Wednesday, Trigger, Cheddar, Barney, Tex, DeeDee, Penny, Willow, Hutch, Gibbs, Gusty, Monty, Ragnow, Tiller, Max, Jack, Izzy, Tucker, Pumpkin, Goff, Cash, Kilkenny, Bernie, Maple, Sam, Cayenne, Miracle, Natasha, Art, Geo, Sassy, Wick, Sparky, Angel, Woody, Bailey, Gym, Allie, Jay, Merida, Riley, Liberty, Annie, and Roz.

If you have an update on the horse you adopted in 2024 (or any year), please feel free to post them in the comments! We love getting pictures.

12/27/2024

Nick is still looking for his forever home.

Nick is a ~20 year old, 16.3hh Belgian gelding. He is a nice chunky boy who keeps weight on well. He's very gentle and friendly, though he does prefer stocks for hoof trimming.

Nick is overall a healthy boy, but does have some age appropriate arthritis.

Nick is good to ride, but does best walk/tort. He is not spooky, and is on the lazy side. He enjoys trails and is more of a follower type.

Interested in adding this handsome guy to your family? Check him out on our website www.starryskiesequinerescueandsanctuary.com

12/27/2024

Congratulations on your adoption day, Roz!

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! The horses are getting some extra peppermints in their stocking.

PS - BIG thanks to those of you who bought us horse treats off our Chewy wishlist. The horses were very grateful!

12/23/2024

The boys are here!

Any name suggestions? Christmas/Holiday themed would be great. We still need a bit over $1000 to support their first few weeks at the rescue. Anyone want to give someone they love a cool Christmas present? Supporting these handsome gentlemen would be a great present!

Venmo:
Paypal: [email protected]

12/22/2024

Congratulations on your adoption day, Annie!

12/20/2024

Look at this handsome fellow!

Paco has no shortage of good looks. He's a mid 20s QH gelding, a big guy at 15.3hh.

He's very friendly and comes right up to you in the pasture. He's not spooky, but can be pushy on the ground. He was surrendered by his owners who did not ride him, but he rode off for us. If your intention is to ride him, a refresher would be a good idea. He is sound with no known issues.

He is Hard To Load. We can load him into a stock trailer (with patience). He would be happiest in a home where he is not expected to load frequently. Of course anything can be trained and improved but that's how it is right now.

Interested? Check him out on our website at www.starryskiesequinerescueandsanctuary.com

12/18/2024

These 2 boys need our help. One is a middle aged pony, the other just a baby. They are headed nowhere good without our intervention. Of course, we had to say yes.

Will you help them? Pull fee + vet + farrier, we probably need at least $1500 to start.

Venmo:
Paypal: [email protected]

Thank you in advance for being their Christmas miracle!

12/18/2024

Indy is the sweetest little fellow (okay, so he's actually pretty big...but he thinks he's just a little guy!).

Indy is a rising 2 year old DHH/Saddlebred. He will be big, probably well over 16hh.

No health issues, lovely movement and oodles of potential. He is still working on his 'big boy' skills like feet handling, tying, lunging, etc - all have been started and will need a intermediate+ handler to continue.

Interested? Check him out on our website at www.starryskiesequinerescueandsanctuary.com

12/17/2024

Holiday pics are in! Thanks to everyone who came to make our event a success.

Download pin: 5524

Photo collection by White Lotus Farms

12/17/2024

Seriously, this guy would make the perfect Christmas present!

Russel is a standardbred gelding, 2002 model, and 15.1hh. Plenty big for any rider as he is thick. He has some front right arthritis (mild) and is blind in his right eye. Neither bother him much.

Russel is sweet, gentle, friendly, good to ride, and overall a good boy. Safe for any level rider.

Interested in adding this guy to your life? Check him out on our website at www.starryskiesequinerescueandsanctuary.com

12/16/2024

Mater is ready for his forever home!

Mater is a TRUE 18hh Belgian draft gelding. He is about 12 years old.

No health issues. Super friendly. Easy to catch lead load tie and handle. Mater ***requires*** stocks for his feet.

Rides around wonderfully. He has a surprisingly smooth jog for a horse his size.

Interested in adding this big handsome hunk to your family? Check him out on our website at www.starryskiesequinerescueandsanctuary.com

12/15/2024

What do you get for your friend who already has everything? A project pony, of course! (jk, we do require if you're interested that the actual person submits an application, but some peer pressure never hurts!)

Sulley is a HANDSOME, good moving pony gelding. Morgan? Maybe something like that. He's 7 years old, 13.2hh. Sound, no medical issues. He is sensitive and appreciates a calm handler, but rides around walk trot canter and will pop cross rails.

Sulley is a sweetheart, and is so curious and smart. He is flashy with 4 white socks and a blaze and moves like a perfect hunter pony. Take him now, finish him in jumping or dressage over the winter, and show him all summer long!

Interested? Check him out on our website at www.starryskiesequinerescueandsanctuary.com

12/14/2024

Congratulations to Liberty on her adoption day!

12/14/2024

Look at this beautiful girl! Can't believe she hasn't been snatched up yet.

Roz is a 2007, PercheronXStandardbred mare who stands 16hh.

She is overall very healthy with just a touch of age appropriate arthritis in her front left. As long as she isn't asked to jump high or run barrels, she should be just fine.

Roz is sweet, gentle, and easy to handle. Good to catch lead load tie and good for vet and farrier. Nice big feet. She is not buddy sour and will ride out alone.

Roz is best suited to an advanced beginner rider and is safe and fun to ride on trails.

Interested in Roz? Check her out on our website at www.starryskiesequinerescueandsanctuary.com

12/13/2024

Elsa would love a home for Christmas. 🎀

Elsa is a draft mule mare. She is estimated to be 19 years old, and is about 16.2hh. She is a thick built girl. No health issues and is in good shape.

Elsa was a pack mule in her former life. She was used hard and didn't learn to bond with people. Her perfect home would include someone patient, who wants to help her learn to trust and connect and who has time to spend with her. She would make a wonderful trail mule, go back to packing supplies for your overnight weekend trail ride, or be a wonderful pasture pet.

If you're interested in Elsa, please check her out on our website at www.starryskiesequinerescueandsanctuary.com

12/09/2024

Today was a sad day for the rescue.

Nikita is our longest term resident - she was the first official Starry Skies horse. She was a thoroughbred broodmare with a severe wry nose. Despite that she lived a very healthy, long life that most horses can only dream of. Unfortunately last weekend we discovered she had damaged her spine. Whether she twisted just wrong or what, we will never know. We gave her the weekend to try some last ditch therapies - she is a fighter, after all. Unfortunately her condition progressed and this morning the only humane thing left was to euthanize her.

Peter came to us from the Black Friday auction so he hasn't been with us long. He was sold through the ring with severely progressed cancer. No vet or treatment in the world could alleviate his pain. We were hopeful we might be able to help him, but the only way we could was to free him from his body.

Rescue isn't easy, and today is a hard one for us.

We appreciate your support, without which we couldn't do our work.

Hug your horses tight for us today.