The Dorset Equine Rescue Inc.

08/08/2024

Whiskey was such a good boy today riding on the road for the first time. He didn’t seem to mind the cars at all and moved out very confidently. He’s such a nice horse and is looking for the perfect home where he can do relaxing light trail rides.

08/07/2024

Who remembers Sven? Sven was adopted this spring and is loving life in his home. Here he is with his BFF bobbing for apples. 🍎 🍏🍎🍏❤️

08/06/2024

Wild Sage loved her massage from our friend Pam of Equimotion today! Thank you Pam for donating your time and expertise to our rescue horses. They thoroughly appreciate it. 💗

08/06/2024

Poe loved his massage from our friend Pam of Equimotion today! Thank you Pam for donating your time and expertise to our rescue horses. 💗They thoroughly appreciate it.

08/04/2024

We have some very sad news to share. A few days ago, we lost our senior off-track thoroughbred, Missy, to colic. Missy came to us as an owner surrender back in 2016 and was a part of the Dorset Equine Rescue family for over eight years.

After her racing career ended in injury, she went to a home where she was severely neglected. She was forced to stand in a tiny fenced pen in deep mud and denied access to food. She then ended up being “rescued” by a kind- hearted person, who unfortunately could not afford to care for her. She was soon abandoned at a local farm. The Dorset Equine Rescue was contacted and we took her in.

After rehabilitation, Missy was available for adoption, but due to her old injury, only as a non-riding companion. This significantly reduced her chances of finding a forever home. Fortunately for Missy, The Dorset Equine Rescue is a no-kill shelter and we are committed to caring for our horses for life if they are not adopted.

A couple of years ago we decided to move Missy, along with Poppy, another off-track thoroughbred, to our friend Maddie’s beautiful horse retirement farm to live out their days. Because our current location has limited acreage, being able to utilize fosters like Maddie helps to relieve some of the space issues at our main location so we can take in other horses in need of rescue.

We would like to say a special thank you to Maddie, who provided top-notch care for Missy the last two years of her life and was there for her at the very end. Missy loved being there, and we are so grateful to Maddie for the loving care she provided.

Below are a few photos of Missy throughout her 8 years in our care.

08/03/2024

This post is a few days delayed but here’s an update on an ongoing case that we assisted law enforcement with. Some of the minor facts aren’t completely accurate here, but gives a general idea. We will post some before and after photos in the comments below of some of the horses that have been in our care from this case and some who continue to be in our care from these two seizures. Some have been adopted, two have been humanly euthanized, and a few have genetic medical conditions and are still in our care.

BRATTLEBORO — The owner of Friesians of Majesty, a horse breeding farm in Townshend, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 16 counts of animal cruelty dating back to 2023.

08/02/2024

If you love our work then tell the world! Stories about us from people like you will help us make an even bigger impact in our community. GreatNonprofits – the #1 source of nonprofit stories and feedback – is honoring highly regarded nonprofits with their 2024 Top-Rated List. Won’t you help us raise visibility for our work by posting a brief story of your experience with us? All content will be visible to potential donors and volunteers. It’s easy and only takes 3 minutes! Go here to get started! https://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/write/the-dorset-equine-rescue-inc

Thank you!💗
Shown is Whisky being ridden by Tiffany.

08/02/2024

Panike loves to play in the water trough, especially on hot and humid days which we’ve had a lot of this summer. 💦 Update: Someone asked a great question in the comments, “Why is she wearing a blanket?” I thought this was a good opportunity to explain. Unfortunately Panike is severely allergic to bug bites and has to wear a fly sheet and accessories when she goes outside during the summertime. She also has a condition which prevents her from being able to sweat which adds to her complications. When she is in her stall, she has a fan constantly blowing on her, and she can take a break from wearing her fly sheet and fly gear. 


08/01/2024

Who is looking for a flashy, easy going, light trail horse? Whiskey is a 12 year old, well-behaved and mellow quarter horse gelding. He’s pretty to look at and stands about 14.3 hands tall. X-rays show that he has an old chronic injury in his stifle. Because of this he cannot do arena work, but he can be ridden on the trails with a small rider. His weight limit is 120 pounds (including tack) and he is doing well on trail rides lasting a couple miles on relatively flat ground, 2-3 times a week. He is suitable for an advanced beginner rider, goes on the trail solo, is an easy keeper and gets along well in the herd. He does best living with geldings. Please visit our website and read our adoption requirements and fill out an application if you are interested in Whiskey. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. 802-366-1300
dorsetequinerescue.org

07/31/2024

Phoenix took a huge step forward yesterday and we are incredibly proud of him! For the first time ever, he allowed our farrier Chris to trim all four feet!

Phoenix was a four year old when he arrived at the Dorset Equine Rescue 15 months ago. We rescued him from slaughter after he was dumped by a rodeo company along with 25+ others. Most of the horses in this herd had been used as bucking horses in rodeos. We looked up his brand number but were not able to find any history on Phoenix, so it is unclear whether he was used for this purpose or not. But it was confirmed through their brand numbers that several of the other horses in his herd were regularly used.

It was evident that his short life experience left him with an extreme amount of trauma. To say he was “unhandled” is an understatement. He is definitely the most challenging horse we’ve ever had at the Dorset Equine Rescue. It was several months before he allowed us to even touch him. The more sessions we had with him, the more tension he released. After months of trust building, it was hard for our trainer not to jump for joy when he allowed her to put the halter on him for the first time. It’s been a very long journey and we still have a ways to go, but it’s the most rewarding feeling in the world when he started to let down his guard and initiate interactions. Phoenix had to learn how to coexist with humans in a way that didn’t bring him trauma and fear. We are so excited to continue to watch him grow and learn to trust us more and more each day.

07/31/2024

If you are new to our page, we are glad you’re here! Here’s a little bit about us and what we do:

The Dorset Equine Rescue is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Dorset, VT and was founded in 2012. Our mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and re-home abused, neglected and slaughter bound horses. We pride ourselves on being a very transparent organization and are rated at the platinum level on Guidstar. We are blessed to have a wonderful team of volunteers, staff, and Board of Directors who help out in various ways behind the scenes. Our awesome team evaluates every incoming horse at our organization and provides vet care, rehabilitation and training to better prepare him/her for adoption. To date, we have helped over close to 400 equines from various neglectful situations. We are proud to be accredited through the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and also be an EQUUS Foundation Guardian. It truly takes a village to do what we do and we are so glad to welcome you to our page so that you can join us on this incredible journey of helping horses in need.

If you would like to learn more about The Dorset Equine Rescue and keep up to date on all of our events and activities, please sign up to receive our emails through this link (Don’t worry...we don't send out too many):

https://dorsetequinerescue.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/connect-with-dorset-equine-rescue

Please also visit our website to learn more about us:
dorsetequinerescue.org

Whether you are new to our organization or have been by our side for a while, we are so grateful to share our stories and progress with you. We appreciate your support more than you know. Thank you!

Jen Straub
Founder/Executive Director

Photo of Whisky and Ulysses

07/29/2024

Local friends, does anyone have a round pen or two we can borrow temporarily or would sell to us? If so, please message to page. Thank you!

07/28/2024

Happy Sunday from Poe! Poe is available for adoption and is looking for someone who loves to go for hikes and explore new things. Might it be you? Thank you for the photos Bre!

07/27/2024

Morning greetings from Jasper! Jasper is a very sweet and easy going gelding in his mid-twenties. He is available for adoption as a retired pasture companion. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you are looking for a nice pasture companion and are interested in offering Jasper a forever home. Our adoption requirements and adoption application can be found on our website.
dorsetequinerescue.org 

07/26/2024

Happy Legacy Farm Friday, friends! We’re so pleased to have already harvested over 900 bales of hay on our own land this year!

This figure will only rise as we clear and reclaim two more enormous hay fields in the mountainside!

We’re so grateful for the wonderful sense of security that comes with acquiring and working the farm.

Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen!

07/24/2024

Poe is available for adoption! Poe came to us along with six other Morgans from an animal welfare investigation which resulted in a seizure back in 2022. The other six have since been adopted, but Poe is still waiting for his forever home. He is looking for a non-riding adopter. Please consider opening your heart and farm by offing Poe a forever home. Our adoption requirements and adoption application can be found on our website. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions about Poe.
dorsetequinerescue.org

07/23/2024

Who is looking for a flashy, easy going, light trail horse? Whiskey is a 12 year old, well-behaved and mellow quarter horse gelding. He’s pretty to look at and stands about 14.3 hands tall. X-rays show that he has an old chronic injury in his stifle. Because of this he cannot do arena work, but he can be ridden on the trails with a small rider. His weight limit is 120 pounds (including tack) and he is doing well on trail rides lasting a couple miles on relatively flat ground, 2-3 times a week. He is suitable for an advanced beginner rider, goes on the trail solo, is an easy keeper and gets along well in the herd. He does best living with geldings. Please visit our website and read our adoption requirements and fill out an application if you are interested in Whiskey. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. dorsetequinerescue.org

07/23/2024

Morning greetings from this adorable crew!

07/21/2024

Ulysses is available for adoption and looking for a special home with someone who has the time, funds, experience and facility to meet his special needs. Ulysses is a beautiful and sweet two year old Friesian gelding. He is super playful and full of life and energy!

Unfortunately, Ulysses was dealt a bad hand and has been diagnosed with Pyloric Stenosis/gastric outflow obstruction. In English, Pyloric Stenosis is a narrowing of the pylorus, the opening from the stomach into the small intestine. His opening is only 25% of the size it should be, incresing the risk for food to get blocked in that section.

Because of this, Ulysses is on a very strict diet for the rest of his life. This diet involves being fed wet grain and chopped forage 4 times throughout day (8am, noon, 4pm and 8pm) and he will not be able to tolerate eating hay for the rest of his life. He will need to be seperated from other horses during all four meal times and put back with his pasture buddy(s) during the day between meals. We realize this is very time consuming. Because Ulysses is a high maintenance horse, we would love him to go to a home with multiple people around throughout the day who are consistently available to feed him his 4 meals including his second dinner (8pm) and able to move him back to his turn out with his horse companion(s)after he’s finished eating meals. Due to his high level of care, a type of situation with only 1-2 people feeding/caring for him who also have full time jobs off farm is not going to be sustainable for his long term care. We are happy to discuss his routine (and other routine options) in more detail with anyone interested.

Because of his special needs, we would also like him to go to a home where the routine is generally to stall at night where he has horse friends next to him that he can see. Since he can have grass, a home with large pastures to graze on would be ideal for him (due to not being able to eat hay) and to have a pasture companion(s).

Although Ulysses can not have access to hay whatsoever, he is thriving and doing very well with his diet. He has had no further issues since his initial rescue, rehabilitation, and diagnosis/treatment, but it’s likely he may need routine scoping to check up on his condition which requires a hospital visit.

Ulysses has his whole life ahead of him! He is a stunningly beautiful Friesian, and we would love to see him placed in a home with someone who can continue to give him the daily maintenance he needs, as well as the training and job he is fully capable of doing. He leads well, ties and stands to be groomed and picks up all 4 feet politely. His mind is a sponge right now. Ulysses needs a very special person, as he is a very special horse. 💙

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us to learn more about Ulysses. We are now accepting adoption applications to find him the most compatible and loving forever home. Please visit our website to read our adoption requirements and to find our adoption application.
dorsetequinerescue.org
802-366-1300
[email protected]

07/20/2024

Poe is available for adoption! Poe is a beautiful registered Morgan gelding in his mid-teens looking for a forever non-riding home. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you are interested in adopting Poe and have any questions. Our adoption requirements and application can be found on our website.
dorsetequinerescue.org

07/20/2024

This beautiful painting of Wild Sage was painted by our talented friend Matt Solon. It is oil on canvas and measures 16”x20”. Matt is donating this painting to Dorset Equine Rescue to sell and help raise funds for the care of our rescue horses. We are selling this painting for $500. This painting of Wild Sage, a once wild mustang, captures her first step off the trailer when she first arrived at The Dorset Equine Rescue. She was emaciated and in poor health. But she’s doing amazing now and is available for adoption. Please reach out via email or phone if you’re interested in purchasing this painting. All proceeds benefit our organization. More photos of Wild Sage in the comments below.
[email protected]
802-366-1300

Thank you Matt!

07/20/2024

Happy Saturday from Ulysses! 💗

07/19/2024

Wild Sage is available for adoption! She has been with us for 3 1/2 months and has come so far since arriving at DER. She has blossomed physically and emotionally and is a quiet girl. She is a petite five year-old Mustang who takes all new things calmly and thoughtfully. She is well-behaved for the vet and the farrier. She cross ties, bathes and fly sprays. She’s a brave and confident mare who is happy to hit the trails with only her rider. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you would like to learn more about her. Please visit our website to read our adoption requirements and to fill out an application. dorsetequinerescue.org

07/19/2024

Happy Legacy Farm Friday, Friends! This view never gets old, but it also never stays the same. Watching the seasons unfold during our first year owning the farm feels like getting to know a new friend.

This week it’s like ‘butterfly Olympics’ on the hill: so many varieties it feels like a world of them. The milkweed is blooming, blackberries are abundant, the sounds of life are a chorus and cloud-shadows are racing across the hayfields.

The work of planning continues, as does the work of mowing, cutting, hiking and exploring! We’re getting our heads, hearts and arms around this incredible land that’s waiting patiently to become our home. The plan for farm development continues to emerge and we’ll have more to share soon!

07/18/2024

Our Barnyard Ball fundraiser was one week ago today and we just wanted to give one more shout out to everyone who helped out with this event!

Our 9th annual Barnyard Ball Fundraiser was a great success! The Dorset Equine Rescue would like to thank our honorary Chairs Lori Berger and Stacia Geno as well as our generous sponsors and auction donors. Thank you so much to all who attended! Your support means the world to us, and to horses in need!

Thank you to our 2024 Barnyard Ball sponsors!

Magic Meadows Farm
Gary Hunt
Dr. Robert & Mrs. Alice Pezzulich
Mary-Anne & Bob Van Degna
Jennifer & Steve Kimball
Al Ducci’s
Berkshire Bank
Tyler Electric
Bryan & Lindsay Knight
Church Street Hospitality
The Bank of Bennington
Bradley Pro Shop
Cota & Cota
Fahey Family Ranch
Frost Well & Pump
H.N. Williams Store
Miss Phyllis Fine Linens & Frocks
RK Miles
G. Stone Motors
The Vermont Country Store

Thank you live auction donors:
Lisa Cueman, Rita Dee, Maxine Linehan, & Hub’s Catering

Thank you online auction and prize donors:
Arlington Equine, Linda Baccki, Lori Berger, Amanda Birch, Lauren & Steve Bryant, Barrows House, Lilli Biedermann, Curate Cafe, Cindy Cross-Greenia, The Dorset Inn, The Dorset Players, Dorset Bakery, Equimotion, Equine Site Solutions, Equinox Golf Club, Fleur Farm, Green Mountain Inn, Gr**go Jacks, Kimet Hand, Jenni Haynes, Heart of the Village Yoga, Hildene the Lincoln Family Home, Jim Fisher Stables, Colleen Kennedy, Jenn Kimball, Bryan Knight, Pam Langlitz, Loose Ring Studio, Dona Mara, Mother Myricks, New England Saddle Fit, Pearl’s Place & Pantry, Publyk House, Pure Complexion Beauty & Day Spa, Tracy Rodriguez Massage, Reluctant Panther, Rug Crazy, Steven Schlussel, Mary Scriber Massage, Southern Vermont Art Center, Sally Stetson, Tanya Wright, Tasha Yoga, Nicole Mills at TÖST, Vermont Bracelet, Vermont Wood Pellet, Vermont Teddy Bear, Whistle Wing Prints, Wild Wings, & Laura Zindel Designs.

Thank you to those of you who helped bring this wonderful event together:‬Equinox Valley Nursery, Jenn Casey, Penny Preuss, Ken, Eli, & Nikoline Norman, Alice Pezzulich, Linda Baccki, Janet Dunnington, Jenn Kimball, Joanne Threlfall, Connie Blatchford, Leah LaTour, Heather Ayers, Janet Dunnington, Karen Patnaude, Charity Eugair, Jen, Chip & Lily Straub, Tiffany, Jarid and Annabelle Vittum, Merryl Hazelton, Tiffany, Emily and John Darling, Bre Johnson, Lynn McCloe, Eric Nathan, Holly Mirenda/Mum Stationery, our event photographer Jenni Haynes, musicians Joe Bouchard and his band, and Colleen and Caitlin at The Old Gray Barn and their amazing staff.

We would like to thank our entire community for your support over the last 12 years–we couldn’t do what we do without you! We are grateful to be here and continue to rescue, rehabilitate, retrain, and rehome abused, neglected and slaughter bound horses in Vermont and beyond.

Shown below are several of our wonderful volunteers, our board of directors and farm staff: Jarid, Connie, Eli, Emily, Leah, Tiffany, Linda, Karen, Janet, Heather, Lori, Jen, Chip, Stacia, and Ken (many more are missing from the photo)

07/18/2024

Poe, Ulysses, Phoenix and Whiskey had a great time playing this afternoon. 💕

07/18/2024

Ulysses is available for adoption and looking for a special home with someone who has the time, funds, experience and facility to meet his special needs. Ulysses is a beautiful and sweet two year old Friesian gelding. He is super playful and full of life and energy!

Unfortunately, Ulysses was dealt a bad hand and has been diagnosed with Pyloric Stenosis/gastric outflow obstruction. In English, Pyloric Stenosis is a narrowing of the pylorus, the opening from the stomach into the small intestine. His opening is only 25% of the size it should be, incresing the risk for food to get blocked in that section.

Because of this, Ulysses is on a very strict diet for the rest of his life. This diet involves being fed wet grain and chopped forage 4 times throughout day (8am, noon, 4pm and 8pm) and he will not be able to tolerate eating hay for the rest of his life. He will need to be seperated from other horses during all four meal times and put back with his pasture buddy(s) during the day between meals. We realize this is very time consuming. Because Ulysses is a high maintenance horse, we would love him to go to a home with multiple people around throughout the day who are consistently available to feed him his 4 meals including his second dinner (8pm) and able to move him back to his turn out with his horse companion(s)after he’s finished eating meals. Due to his high level of care, a type of situation with only 1-2 people feeding/caring for him who also have full time jobs off farm is not going to be sustainable for his long term care. We are happy to discuss his routine in more detail with anyone interested.

Because of his special needs, we would also like him to go to a home where the routine is generally to stall at night where he has horse friends next to him that he can see. Since he can have grass, a home with large pastures to graze on would be ideal for him (due to not being able to eat hay) and to have a pasture companion(s).

Although Ulysses can not have access to hay whatsoever, he is thriving and doing very well with his diet. He has had no further issues since his initial rescue, rehabilitation, and diagnosis/treatment, but it’s likely he may need routine scoping to check up on his condition which requires a hospital visit.

Ulysses has his whole life ahead of him! He is a stunningly beautiful Friesian, and we would love to see him placed in a home with someone who can continue to give him the daily maintenance he needs, as well as the training and job he is fully capable of doing. He leads well, ties and stands to be groomed and picks up all 4 feet politely. His mind is a sponge right now. Ulysses needs a very special person, as he is a very special horse. 💙

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us to learn more about Ulysses. We are now accepting adoption applications to find him the most compatible and loving forever home. Please visit our website to read our adoption requirements and to find our adoption application.
dorsetequinerescue.org
802-366-1300
[email protected]

07/16/2024

Did you know that Prime Day starts today? Prime Day is Amazon's biggest annual sale of the year for those with Prime memberships and takes place on July 16th and 17th this year. Anyone can participate in Prime Day by becoming a member of Amazon Prime.

We could use a few supplies from our Amazon wish list if anyone would like to send us a gift while shopping today! In particular we could use some new hay nets, stainless carabiners, vitamin e tablets for our horses, Himalayan salt licks, thermometers, fly masks, horse treats, and horse toys. Honestly, we would be grateful and use anything you choose from our wish list.

Please click here to view our wish list (thank you in advance!):

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2KMDFXDK3JP1O?ref_=wl_share

We sure appreciate your help! All Items can be shipped to:
The Dorset Equine Rescue
P.O. Box 92
East Dorset, VT 05253

Thank you!

07/15/2024

Our 9th annual Barnyard Ball Fundraiser was a great success! The Dorset Equine Rescue would like to thank our honorary Chairs, Lori Berger and Stacia Geno as well as our generous sponsors and auction donors. Thank you so much to all who attended! Your support means the world to us, and to horses in need!

THANK YOU TO OUR 2024 BARNYARD BALL SPONSORS!

Magic Meadows Farm
Gary Hunt
Dr. Robert & Mrs. Alice Pezzulich
Mary-Anne & Bob Van Degna
Jennifer & Steve Kimball
Al Ducci’s
Berkshire Bank
Tyler Electric
Bryan & Lindsay Knight
The Bank of Bennington
Bradley Pro Shop
Cota & Cota
Fahey Family Ranch
Frost Well & Pump
H.N. Williams Store
Miss Phyllis Fine Linens & Frocks
RK Miles
G. Stone Motors
The Vermont Country Store

Thank you live auction donors:

Lisa Cueman, Rita Dee, Maxine Linehan, & Hub’s Catering

Thank you online auction and prize donors:

Arlington Equine, Linda Baccki, Lori Berger, Amanda Birch, Lauren & Steve Bryant, Barrows House, Lilli Biedermann, Curate Cafe, Cindy Cross-Greenia, The Dorset Inn, The Dorset Players, Dorset Bakery, Equimotion, Equine Site Solutions, Equinox Golf Club, Fleur Farm, Green Mountain Inn, Gr**go Jacks, Kimet Hand, Jenni Haynes, Heart of the Village Yoga, Hildene the Lincoln Family Home, Jim Fisher Stables, Colleen Kennedy, Jenn Kimball, Bryan Knight, Pam Langlitz, Loose Ring Studio, Dona Mara, Mother Myricks, New England Saddle Fit, Pearl’s Place & Pantry, Publyk House, Pure Complexion Beauty & Day Spa, Tracy Rodriguez Massage, Reluctant Panther, Rug Crazy, Steven Schlussel, Mary Scriber Massage, Southern Vermont Art Center, Sally Stetson, Tanya Wright, Tasha Yoga, Nicole Mills at TÖST, Vermont Bracelet, Vermont Wood Pellet, Vermont Teddy Bear, Whistle Wing Prints, Wild Wings, & Laura Zindel Designs.

Thank you to those of you who helped bring this wonderful event together:

Equinox Valley Nursery, Penny Preuss, Jenn Casey, Ken, Eli, & Nikoliné Norman, Alice Pezzulich, Linda Baccki, Janet Dunnington, Jenn Kimball, Joanne Threlfall, Connie Blatchford, Heather Ayers, Karen Patnaude, Leah LaTour, Charity Eugair, Jen, Chip & Lily Straub, Merryl Hazelton, Tiffany, Jarid & Annabelle Vittum, Emily & John Darling, Bre Johnson, Lynn McCloe, Eric Nathan, Kristi Marcus, Holly Mirenda/Mum Stationery, our event photographer Jenni Haynes, musicians Joe Bouchard and his band, and Colleen and Caitlin at The Old Gray Barn and their amazing staff.

Thank you for your support over the last 12 years! We would like to thank our entire community for your support over the last 12 years–we couldn’t do what we do without you! We are grateful to be here and continue to rescue, rehabilitate, retrain, and rehome abused, neglected and slaughter bound horses across the state and beyond.

More photos to come!

07/15/2024

Wild Sage is available for adoption! She has been with us for 3 1/2 months and has come so far since arriving at DER. She has blossomed physically and emotionally and is a quiet girl. She is a petite five year-old Mustang who takes all new things calmly and thoughtfully. She is well-behaved for the vet and the farrier. She cross ties, bathes and fly sprays. She’s a brave and confident mare who is happy to hit the trails with only her rider. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you would like to learn more about her. Please visit our website to read our adoption requirements and to fill out an application. dorsetequinerescue.org

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating neglected horses.