Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society

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Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society

Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society A non-profit equine welfare organization dedicated to helping starved, abused, abandoned and estray Thank you!

Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to helping abused and neglected horses throughout Texas. We primarily work with law enforcement agencies to help abused, neglected, abandoned, and estray horses and other equines. We do have a few rules for our page.
1) This page is for posts about Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society only. If you are trying to r

ehome a horse and need our help, please email us at [email protected]. Do not advertise horses for sale or rehoming or adoption on this page.
2) Profane, racist, or otherwise offensive posts will be removed.
3) Any non-BEHS advertising will be removed.

02/07/2025

Chico is searching for just the right experienced chld or smaller youth or adult rider who wants to have some fun adventures. He's a 17 year old, 13 hh, pony gelding who is missing one eye - but that doesn't stop him!

He's been adopted and returned a few times, mostly because his young riders lost interest. His 2022 youth Training Challenge partner and his 2024 Training Challenge partner both rode him on trails, over obstacles, over cavaletti, and at shows. He should make some lucky kid a great show or trail pony – he’s just looking for his person!

His 2023 Training Challenge partner also introduced him to a harness. Although he's not been trained to drive, he has been ground driven and could be a cute driving pony with training.

Chico's adoption fee is $1,200 and he's located in Georgetown, Texas.

02/07/2025

I'm so excited to get to share a new program with you. Have you ever wished you could foster a horse but you just don't have the time or place to keep one? Just this week we've launched the horse sponsorship program - so you can "virtually" foster a horse at Bluebonnet.

When you sponsor a horse, you'll be helping to feed "your" horse and/or take care of his hooves. Your name will be listed on his webpage and page (if he has one). You'll get an emailed photo as well as a mailed sponsor certificate. And you'll be one of the first to find out when "your" horse gets adopted.

You'll be directly helping a rescued horse get the care he or she needs!

The sponsorship benefits are at https://www.bluebonnetequine.org/horse-sponsorship/ and the list of horses needing sponsors is available at https://www.bluebonnetequine.org/availability/available-for-sponsorship/

We hope to get all of the current horses sponsored and then we can add more! It is a great way to help a horse get the care and love he needs and deserves.

02/07/2025

When you donate to a nonprofit, you probably like to know what your money is paying for. Or when you see many request for donations, you may wonder why we're asking so often.

Caring for horses is expensive. In 2024, we spent almost $12,000 just for vaccinations. We spent even more in 2023, $17,000, because we took in so many horses who didn't have current vet care. We're anticipating about $12,500 in vaccination costs this year. That could go up, though, if we end up taking in a lot of neglected horses.

Caring for our horses means doing our best to keep them from getting preventable diseases, and one good way to do that is with annual vaccinations administered by a veterinarian. Thank you for helping us keep our horses healthy and safe.

02/06/2025

Donkeys! I love these long-eared, guys and gals who are just full of character!

But poor donkeys - they are often so misunderstood. People think of them as "long eared horses", and while they do share the same genus (equus) they are different species. And their differences extend beyond how many chromosomes they have (64 for horse, 62 for donkeys). They have different nutritional needs, different behaviors, and even different lifespans.

Let's start with the simple one: horses live on average about 25 years while donkeys live an average of 33 years, with some living to be older than 40 years. So when you acquire a young donkey, that's a long commitment there!

Nutritional requirements are a big one. While horses evolved where grass could be abundant at least part of the year, donkeys envolved in more rugged, desert areas where food was scarce. Because of that, donkeys require fewer calories than horses, and most really should be fed a grain free diet consiting of plenty of forage (grass or hay). Unfortunately, too much grass can be a problem and cause obesity which can lead to laminitis and other problems. So putting your donkey out on a lush grass pasture is dangerous for him.

Donkeys can develope Cushings and Insulin resistance. I'm fostering one right now who was recently diagnosed with Cushings.

Behaviorally, horses and donkeys are different, too. Many people think donkeys aren't as smart as horses or too stubborn to train, but that's just not true. Donkeys are incredibly smart animals. However, they don't like repitition - so while you may be able to drill your horse on a skill for a while before he gets bored, once a donkey has mastered a skill, he has it down and doesn't need to practice again and again.

Donkeys also work particularly well with positive reinforcement training (which includes clicker training). You can train donkeys to ride (if they're big enough), to drive, to do tricks, to navigate obstacles. etc. You'll just have a lot more fun doing it and your donkey will be happier if you use positive reinforcement training and mix up your training routine a lot.

Donkeys are such loving, kind, fun creatures. I talk to mine a lot, and I find that they really respond well to my voice and learn a wide range of voice commands/cues.

I've just scratched the surface, but there are so many great websites with good donkey info that you can learn as much as you ever wanted to about donkeys!

02/05/2025

Carrot is newly available for adoption and hoping to find a partner who will love him like he deserves!

He came to us in February 2024 as a skinny stallion. He was a very well behaved stallion at my place - whinnying at other horses but not getting overly excited about much. He left to go to a new foster home not long after arriving where he finished his rehabilitation and was then gelded.

We were told he was used by his previous owner for hog hunting, but his first foster home discovered that he either wasn't broke to ride or never had a good experience. We sent him to a trainer who got him going under saddle, and he's now ready to find a home!

He's still green, so he's not for a novice rider, but he's a good boy who likes to learn. He's just six years old - a wonderful age, and he stands 14.1 hh.

He's got a great mind - not spooky or silly - and he could make someone a nice trail horse.

His adoption fee is $1,000 and he's located in Whitney, Texas.

02/05/2025

We haven't had a in a while, so let's change that. For those who are newer to our page or don't remember, I started the to educate folks about rescue - this way, you can pick good rescues from bad. Because sadly, there are bad rescues out there.

But focusing on what horse rescues is are is the point of these posts. If you have any questions or topic suggestions, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll be pulling ideas off things I see online or out of my book.

Today's post is inspired by a post from Tiffany of Gentle Spirits Horse Rescue in South Dakota also educating folks. Thank you, Tiffany!

Did you know that a 501(c)(3) is a designation granted by the IRS? It means donations made to the organization are tax deductible. It isn't a guarantee that an organization is run ethically or morally. It just means that the organization has filed a lengthy application, paid a hefty fee, and meets certain requirements.

Once an organization is granted its 501(c)(3) status, that organization is its own entity. It doesn't have an owner. So that means Bluebonnet isn't "my" organization - it may be the legacy I hope to leave, it may be something that takes up too much space in my heart and head, it may be something I am passionate about. But it isn't "mine" any more than it is "yours".

Bluebonnet is Bluebonnet.

Since a 501c3 does not have an owner or stock holders, this also means that no one gets a percentage of the organization's income. Employees can get a salary (hourly or salaried) but they can't just take a percentage of all income. And they can't use organization money to build onto their property, buy vehicles, pay their rent, etc.

As a 501c3, a third of our income must come from donations from donors who give less than 2% of our total donations. More simply put - no one person can provide the bulk of the financial support for a 501c3. So you can't look at the founder and expect them to pay all the organization's bills or provide the bulk of the organization's funding.

So why is this important? It is important because words matter. Words influence our actions, our perceptions, and our thoughts. And I want to educate folks about good nonprofit management so they can make good decisions about where to spend their donations dollars, about where to volunteer, and about who to support. And if you are out there thinking about starting a rescue or other nonprofit, I want you to be able to go into this with your eyes wide opened and not spend the next few years playing catch up like I did.

Again, if you have any questions/topics for future posts, I always want to know.

02/04/2025

02/03/2025

The Bluebonnet Rescue Horse Training Challenge applications are open for 2025 - and as always, we're going to have some awesome, formerly needy horses, who need a little help finding adopters.

And look here - we make the Challenge easy enough that even a snowman can take home a ribbon! If Mr. Frosty can help needy horses, I bet you could, too!

You can review the rules and get your application in at https://bluebonnethorseexpo.com/blog/challenge/

02/03/2025

Is this not the cutest thing ever?!

This is adopted horse Mayo Neighs making his parade debut with his lovely little rider. So sweet and cute - and look what a rescue horse (pony) can do!

02/02/2025

Bon Jovi - what Gen X-er can resist that name? I've now got Livin' on a Prayer in my head, do you?

Well, our Bon Jovi is equally irresistable. He's a 14 year old, grade gelding. And he's "Livin on a Prayer' that the right person will come along, someone who wants a friend, a pet, a companion, and maybe to ride a little bit occasionally. He says if that's you, he's "Born to be your (My) Baby".

He's got great ground manners and says he would never "Runaway" with you. Life hasn't always been a "Bed of Roses" for him, and his veterinarian diagnosed him with navicular last year. He might be able to do very light riding on his good days and he may do better with shoes if you plan to ride him.

Bon Jovi hopes you'll be "Shot Through the Heart" with Cupid's arrow when you see him. He wants you to adopt him so you two can "Make a Memory" and he promises that "I'll Be There for You" and he'll be "All ABout Lovin' You" if you adopt him.

His adoption fee is waived for the right adopter, and he's located in Sherman, Texas.

Someone might want to take my keyboard away now!

02/01/2025

I feel like there's someone out there just looking for a horse like Bandera. He's been with us since June of 2023.

When he arrived from another rescue, it seems like he hadn't had a lot of handling and that he had some trauma in his background. He spent some quality time with a trainer in 2024 getting ready for the Training Challenge. She didn't feel he was ready to ride yet, and I've fostered him since the Expo and agree with her. She did a marvelous job with his ground manners, had him lunging, and taught him to ground drive.

Since I've fostered him, I've continued working with him and really do believe he's had some trauma in his past. He's nervous with new people. His 2024 Training Challenge trainer thought he was scared of the saddle, and I agree. He's fine with being cinched/girthed in a surcingle, but he was so worried about a saddle blanket at first. We worked through that, and now he's scared of a saddle. We're working through that, too. He also was terribly nervous if I jumped near his side (like you would hop up and down before stepping up in the stirrup), but he's worked through that now.

He has SO MUCH TRY. He likes people. He wants to be friends. He just needs people who can handle him kindly and get him past his past.

He's only about 13.3 hh, and he's about ten years old. He's got an awesome trot with a lot of action, and he could be a super cute driving pony if someone wanted to train him. He's learned to line drive, so he's on his way. He could also be trained to ride.

So far, his handling has been by adults but he's been around my ten year old on the ground (petting and feeding) and been fine with her.

His adoption fee is just $600 and he's located in Rosharon, Texas.

01/31/2025

Is anynoe out there looking for a youngster to add to your life? If so, Bambi's looking for you! She's been with Bluebonnet since June 2023. She came to us with her dam, as just a youngster, from a rescue who had been overwhelmed. She's had a lot of handling at a couple of different foster homes and while preparing for the in hand division of the Training Challenge.

She's not quite two years old, so we want to find an adopter who won't start her under saddle for another year or two (or even more) to give her time to finish growing. But she's a nice age to adopt now so you can work on her ground manners and get her ready to start under saddle when she's old enough. I adopted a weanling myself, and it gave me a lot of time to hang out with him, develop a relationship, and work on ground work.

She's close to 14 hh now and still growing, so while she won't be huge she also won't be a tiny girl. She has the potential to do most anything she's trained for, and someone is really going to enjoy her.

Her adoption fee is $750 and she's located near Taylor, Texas.

01/28/2025

Another week, another celebration of our 20th annviersary at Bluebonnet! Today we've got Board member and adopter Jake Whitman, a relative newcomer to Bluebonnet, telling you his Bluebonnet story.

01/27/2025

01/26/2025

We are aware that the website is down, and we have been working on it. Thanks to Janet S for working to get the site back up even while at the Board meeting!

01/23/2025

In a little over a month, we celebrate our 20th anniversary at Bluebonnet. So naturally, being who I am, that means I'm reflecting a lot this year on where we started out, who we are now, and where we're going (as well as personal reflections of the last 20 years, but no one wants to read those :)).

I think about the horses we lost, like Zed (pictured) and the members we've lost. And so many memories.

So today, I would like to honor those founding members who passed away. If anyone has photos or stories or memories to share about them, please do.

Don't view this as sad - although maybe a bit bittersweet - but I would like to honor and remember those who helped form Bluebonnet and who aren't here to see where we're at today.

We've lost members, too, who weren't founding members and we'll chat about them another time.

For now, the founding members who I know have passed on are:
Regina Anderson
Patti Glass
Gaye Patrick
Loretta Pinnell
Joe Schedler
Edie Skuca
Randi Smith
Mearl Taylor

Address

PO Box 632
College Station, TX
77841

Website

http://www.bluebonnetequine.org/

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February is our anniversary month - 20 years ago right now, no one knew Bluebonnet would exist. But by the end of the month, we were planning and working to create this rescue that's helped so many horses and people. Dr. Amber Hampton has been on our Board of Directors twice, she's adopted from Bluebonnet, she's currently fostering, and she's been a part of Bluebonnet since our early days. #bluebonnet #bluebonnetequine #bluebonnetequinehumanesociety #texashorserescue #texashorses #horserescue #bluebonnetcommunity #equinewelfare #bluebonnethorserescue #helphorses #helpinghorses #20thanniversary #20yearsofhelpinghorses #20yearsofbluebonnet #bluebonnetstories #20yearsofhelpinghorses #helpinghorsestogether #joinourcommunity #bluebonnetcommunity #bluebonnetvolunteers

I was just talking elsewhere about books for those interested in sheep and fiber arts (spinning, weaving, etc), and it dawned on me that I haven't read a horse related book in ages. So, let's hear it - what's your favorite horse book? Fiction? Non-Fiction? And anyone interesetd in a horsey book club? My favorite fiction one is Can I get There by Candlelight (I read in elementary school, which means it is OLD) and non-fiction is probably My Horses, My Teachers by Alois Podhajsky or My Revelation by Loula Long Combs (anyone ever heard of that one?) So, please share yours so I can build my reading list! And so we can discuss what we learned from them - please! #bluebonnet #bluebonnetequine #bluebonnetequinehumanesociety #texashorserescue #texashorses #horserescue #bluebonnetcommunity #equinewelfare #bluebonnethorserescue #helphorses #helpinghorses #20thanniversary #20yearsofhelpinghorses #20yearsofbluebonnet #horsebooks #horsebookclub #readingislife #reading #books

Another week, another celebration of our 20th annviersary at Bluebonnet! Today we've got Board member and adopter Jake Whitman, a relative newcomer to Bluebonnet, telling you his Bluebonnet story. #bluebonnet #bluebonnetequine #bluebonnetequinehumanesociety #texashorserescue #texashorses #horserescue #bluebonnetcommunity #equinewelfare #bluebonnethorserescue #helphorses #helpinghorses #20thanniversary #20yearsofhelpinghorses #20yearsofbluebonnet #bluebonnetstories #20yearsofhelpinghorses #helpinghorsestogether #joinourcommunity #bluebonnetcommunity #bluebonnetvolunteers

Let me know if you like these chats from the Executive Director with updates on what's going on with the rescue. If our folks enjoy them are interested in them, I'll do my best to post one each Monday. Some will be short and sweet and others might be longer. I try hard to keep everyone informed of what we're up to! #bluebonnet #bluebonnetequine #bluebonnetequinehumanesociety #texashorserescue #texashorses #horserescue #bluebonnetcommunity #equinewelfare #bluebonnethorserescue #helphorses #helpinghorses #20thanniversary #20yearsofhelpinghorses #20yearsofbluebonnet

Since we're celebrating Bluebonnet all year long for our 20th anniversary, we want to introduce you to some of the people of Bluebonnet and share their stories. Today, meet Allen Johnson. He's one Co-Chairs of the Board of Directors. He's an adopter, has fostered, is a donor, and has volunteered in many capacities. #bluebonnet #bluebonnetequine #bluebonnetequinehumanesociety #texashorserescue #texashorses #horserescue #bluebonnetcommunity #equinewelfare #bluebonnethorserescue #helphorses #helpinghorses #20thanniversary #20yearsofhelpinghorses #20yearsofbluebonnet #bluebonnetstories #20yearsofhelpinghorses #helpinghorsestogether #joinourcommunity #bluebonnetcommunity #bluebonnetvolunteers

cold

How's everyone doing with the cold?

We're celebrating our 20th annviersary this year by celebrating YOU, the people who make Bluebonnet possible. Yes, Bluebonnet is about the horses - but we can't help horses without people. You bring your unique talents, your time, and your love for horses to our community of horse helpers. Today's story comes from Janet Sembroski. She's a Bluebonnet Board member, past Co-Chair of the Board of DIrectors, previous foster home, adopter of four Bluebonnet horses, and all around volunteer. I hope her story inspires you to also join Bluebonnet. #bluebonnet #bluebonnetequine #bluebonnetequinehumanesociety #texashorserescue #texashorses #horserescue #bluebonnetcommunity #equinewelfare #bluebonnethorserescue #helphorses #helpinghorses #20thanniversary #20yearsofhelpinghorses #20yearsofbluebonnet #mybluebonnetstory

2025 is the 20th anniversary of Bluebonnet. Over the past 20 years, so many wonderful people have been part of Bluebonnet. Our goal is to share their stories and invite you to join them as part of Bluebonnet's next 20 years - growing a community of equine welfare and support for the horses of Texas. Meet Julie Upchurch. She has been a member of Bluebonnet for nearly 15 years. During that time, she's done a little (or really a LOT) of everything for Bluebonnet. #bluebonnet #bluebonnetequine #bluebonnetequinehumanesociety #texashorserescue #texashorses #horserescue #bluebonnetcommunity #equinewelfare #bluebonnethorserescue #helphorses #helpinghorses #20thanniversary #20yearsofhelpinghorses #20yearsofbluebonnet #bluebonnetstories #20yearsofhelpinghorses #helpinghorsestogether #joinourcommunity #bluebonnetcommunity #bluebonnetvolunteers

20th anniversary

This year, our 20th anniversary, we celebrate you and how you help horses at Bluebonnet.

Rainy night

My voice is hoarse thanks to gems my 10 year old brought home from school and shared (nothing like being sick at year end/ the holidays). So if you can't hear - it is just a heartfelt year end donation request. We have some horses we could take in, but we do need to raise funds to care for them and others. Thank you for your support.

Dasher Dec 13

Excuse the shaking camera- Dasher had a box to open!

Dasher

Umm. Dasher what ARE you doing there?!

Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society

02/07/2025

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01/23/2025

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20th anniversary

Rainy night

Dasher Dec 13

Dasher

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