Braided Manes Equine Rescue

03/23/2025

03/23/2025

Mark your calendars for the 2025 Ride to Provide Poker Ride at Milo McIver State Park! We had such a great time last year and can't wait to do it all over again. Stay tuned for registration details and more information!

03/17/2025

02/17/2025

01/17/2025

Yes, we have many beautiful drafts for adoption and yes, I am always happy to speak to someone about adopting. But just because you think you are the perfect person and home for one of our horses doesn’t necessarily mean I feel the same way, and that’s a simple fact some have a hard time accepting!

You can tell me all day long how great you are. Yet I’ll decide for myself if I feel the same way. And I can, because I run this organization by standards my board and I have established.

If someone can’t answer a simple question like “how old are you” then that’s on you, not on me. If someone has a hard time telling me how tall and heavy they are, again, that’s on you, not on me. But I am the one who made a promise to the horse about finding it the best home possible, and I will always do my best to keep that promise!

So when you then decide to tell me I come across strong and straight forward - I pride myself with that. For the best of the horse! And if you tell me I scare people, again, that’s on you, not on me. Don’t reflect your own insecurities on me while I am acting in the best interest of the horse! And please don’t go then and tell others you’re going to destroy this organization - I’m simply going to laugh that off! It’s just plain wrong.

That being said, decisions at the rescue are always and only made with the best interest of the horse in mind, and that will never change, no matter how butt-hurt someone is when we don’t agree with them on things❤️🐴❤️

❤️🐴 BUCKY🐴❤️

says let them talk mom and laugh it off looking at this silly picture of me 😉

12/29/2024

A cautionary tale...

I saw a Facebook post today where the person said they were finally diagnosed with walking pneumonia after feeling bad for a while.

If you Ever deal with a starving or disadvantaged horse, you need to remember this.

We have to say that if there is one thing we have massive experience in, it is severe starvation cases.

We want to talk to you about an issue that often arises in severe starvation cases that many people, even vets, may miss because handling starving horses day in and out isn't usually what they do.

We are not veterinarians. But there is significant merit in the voice of experience, and this occurrence has happened time and time again in our rescue.

When a severe starvation case comes in, for the next TEN days, someone should take the horse's temperature twice a day, and we are going to tell you exactly why.

Starving horses very often come down with pneumonia, especially after being moved. By the time it presents like obvious pneumonia, it's too late. We call it "The Silent Pneumonia." In people , it's rather like walking pneumonia in that it is an atypical presentation.

The first symptom is the horse won't drink well and just seems off. There will be a fever, usually.

You often don't have coughing or uri symptoms at first. The lungs may be quieter than usual. You don't hear all the crackles and wheezes at first like typical pneumonia. One side may sound normal and the other silent, or both may be silent.

If appropriate antibiotics are thrown at this day 1, you've got a good shot at saving the horse.

By the time the starving horse has labored breathing, it is generally too late. They get dehydrated, the fever burns up what little reserves are left in their ravaged bodies, and the labored breathing quickly saps their energy.

In this case, it is so much better to err on the side of caution and beg your veterinarian give an antibiotic before OTHER signs present. Excede is usually what we've found effective.

The Rapid Infection Test even often will not detect that this is going on and the vet will try to encourage you to wait and see. And IF it is this silent pneumonia and the horse is a starvation case, they will usually be lost shortly after the labored breathing begins because their body just cannot handle more strain.

We strive to educate to improve the welfare of horses before they ever need a rescue.

We hope you will help us by sharing and sharing these educational articles that come from our experiences.

12/27/2024

I deleted an earlier post because I felt it was confusing. We love horses, you love horses, and we all want to help horses. What is so wrong with 'online broker programs' when all of us want horses safe?
Here are two reasons why it doesn't always work that way.
WHERE DO THEY ALL GO?
Take a look at the comparison photos below.
This is not always the outcome, but what IS the outcome, for horses hastily "bailed" and moved out the door, to make room for the next week's batch? Do you know what happens to the horses that you have helped to 'save'? Can you watch them recover, can you get an update in five years? In 10? Do you expect a dealer, who was ready to KILL the horse, to responsibly 'vet' the people who want these horses, especially if someone else just paid for them? As the 'donor' you can't follow up.
With responsible rescue, you can.
These two horses suffered, starved, and nearly lost their lives because they were irresponsibly given away, once they were 'paid for' and profit was garnered, and their use was over. Again. Used by humans, again. The person they were given to abandoned them in a field, where they slowly starved, for months.
They were very lucky that a kind person spoke up, police became involved, and they were actually rescued, by Rosemary Farm Sanctuary. Since that time, they have put on weight and health and are on the path to recovery, a recovery that shouldn't have needed to happen.
Can you imagine being old, having worked hard, having gone blind, been sold, threatened with slaughter, given away and then find yourself in a field, alone, with no food, no shelter, no water?
Please consider where you donate; please find a responsible rescue that you can connect with, confirm, and believe in.
We are happy to share names of ones near you if you can't find them.

12/07/2024

It was this day last year I shared this:

"Our vet saw many horses today, and something he said struck me as we did x ray after x ray, lameness after lameness. . .

Dr. Walker has been our primary vet for more than half of the rescue's existence. He came in as the rescue was really growing from holding 6-10 horses to 20, then 50, then 100, then over 150.

He said, when he saw the really emaciated Grulla today, "it used to be every horse you guys got was this thin or worse. You all were the refeeding experts. Now, everything you get is broken in some other way or every other way," and it struck me as so true.

It's really important to hear, I think, for our supporters and the horse industry, overall.

Fixing a starved horse, once you know how, isn't that hard. Re-feeding is painful for very emaciated horses initially. But after a few weeks, you're out of the danger zone.
And, especially for horses under 20, it doesn't carry lasting issues, usually. Once the horse is fed, he's ok. Back in the day, once we fed them, they tended to be sound, healthy and ready for a home.

These days, they aren't usually as thin, but they
are so often wrecked physically and mentally and in need of so much more than food. Many more these days are chronically lame or ill or emotionally unstable, but they aren't body score 1 horses as often as before. The costs are so much higher per horse, the holding times longer, the need of a training greater, the odds humane euthanasia is needed much higher. It's so hard.

The donors don't see under the skin, to the bones, and we can't explain how much more these other horses need you in a way that seems to translate like it must.

Honestly, the horses these days are leaps and bounds more challenging.

He saw it. I saw it. And we went about seeing the horses in front of us."

I just saw this come up in my memories, then a trainer and I were talking this afternoon about it, and the irony is this was just after reviewing our end of the year data and digesting how many horses are coming in where euthanasia is the best answer compared to five years ago, or even a year ago.

12/07/2024

Few things divide the horse community, or confuse non-horse owners, like the topic of horse blanketing. When, or if, to blanket is discussed endlessly, and like being a parent, we hear all sorts of judgement and unrequested advice. So here is our 2024 winter review;
-No, wild Mustangs do not wear blankets and are generally fine. However, half of the wild born horses die in their first year; nature is harsh, and only the fittest survive. And some adults do die of exposure, starvation, etc. And a wild horse can move to a different climate, valley, grove, etc. A domestic horse is stuck.
-No, the Mustangs at Rosemary Farm Sanctuary are not blanketed. They are provided many shelters, barns, ample hay and fresh water (both natural and heated). And many, many healthy horses here are not blanketed, ever. No not even at -20 degrees. They are fine. No horse has suffered from frostbite here, ever, in our 15 years of operation, or died of exposure. They are fine.
-Yes, a healthy horse grows an amazing furry coat that does its job at keeping them warm. A wind break is crucial. Hay is crucial. Water is crucial. Preventative health care helps a horses’ natural resources function.
-Yes, we blanket horses that need it. Who needs it? Good question that is easier to answer with experience, but basically horses that are old, have medical issues, are slower or lower in the herd ranking.
-If you see a horse in our photos that is either blanketed or not, and you are wondering why, to learn, feel free to ask.
-Factors for blanketing; genetics, health, acclimatization to weather. Example; A horse may want a blanket at 30 degrees in October but the same 30 degrees in March is t-shirt weather. Example; you would not want to blanket a wild deer or a wolf, but you would blanket your poodle or chichuaha.
-Training! If a horse is not trained to wear a blanket it can kill them. Better to leave them without, be sure they have wind break, hay, water.
-Blanket fit and quality; an ill fitting blanket can kill, a blanket that soaks through to wet can kill. If you don’t know what you are doing, hold off that blanket until you learn. Practice fitting when it is not needed. Train yourself and your horse when it is not critical.
-Fact; a wet soaking that drops below freezing is more dangerous than a consistent cold temp (ie last winter here was too warm and there were many days we weren’t sure what to do, this winter we dropped gracefully into freezing)
-With all these factors, our winter focus is on the environment provided at the Sanctuary; many shelters, heated waters, natural water, salt, supplements, lots of hay. On our coldest days, we may have half the herds in blankets, that means that half are never blanketed.
-Fact; we wish everyone would calm down about blanketing. We hear more criticism about this topic than any other, whether it’s the diehards who think blankets are cruel, or the people who think all horses ought to live in heated barns all winter, both extremes are not a healthy approach to equine stewardship.
Judging each individual is.
From the wild Mustangs to the hothouse flower thoroughbreds to the toothless mini’s, there is a wide range of horse health, and needs.
Thanks for reading! Questions welcome but snarky comments, well, ask after volunteering here for a day.

12/07/2024

12/03/2024

Ziggy made so many friends on Saturday, everyone loved her. And yet, she is still available. Wonderful 4yo Pearlino mare.
Loves people, and people love her!
Stands for trims. Here's proof....

12/03/2024

What a great weekend at Braided Manes Equine Rescue. It was great to see everyone who came out to support the sale at High Tail Tack Consignment and who stopped by to see the adoptable horses. Baer found his person and now Nate and his daughter can go riding together. Ziggy made lots of new friends, and Fiona enjoyed the snacks. If you are looking for a horse, please consider adopting from a rescue.

12/03/2024

Congratulations Nate and Baer, may you have many happy trails ahead.