Kataluna Horse Rescue

11/02/2024

❤️🥰Adoptable Horses!🥰❤️
I figured it was a good time to share some of the adoptable horses here at Kataluna! As much as we’d love to keep each and every horse who comes through our doors, our goal is to be able to rescue and continue to help horses just like these guys. The more we keep as sanctuary horses, the less lives we can change. Our current adoptable candidates are as follows! They are all in training with our Kataluna trainers & up to date on all veterinary & farrier care. If you’re interested in learning more about these love bugs, send us a message!

❤️Sable! 6 years old Friesian/Morgan cross! Sable has one of the biggest personalities I’ve ever met in a horse. She’s as sweet as can be but loves her bit of sass as well. She’s curious, and *loves* to learn and engage. She is not started under saddle yet but doing great with her groundwork. She does have a genetic sway back which has been cleared by our vet and will make a great brave trail partner someday!

❤️Coco! Coco is a coming 3 year old draft cross mare. She came to Kataluna only as a 2-4 month old and has lived an incredible life since then with the family who adopted her. Due to no fault of her own, life changes brought the difficult decision for her to come back to Kataluna although her family loved her dearly. Coco is spunky and ready to conquer this life with someone who is ready to match her playfulness!

❤️Merle! Merle is an 18 year old ex ranch gelding who served most of his life moving cattle and carrying the kids around. When he was supposed to have a good retirement he ended up at the auction yard where we found him and gave him a new outlook on life. Merle would make a great trail partner or family horse for anyone looking for a guy to love on and give a peaceful home.

❤️Poppie! Poppie is a mid twenties paint mare who is looking for a life as a pasture companion. Shes been used time and time again as a broodmare for her “pretty babies” then was abandoned when she could no longer reproduce. She is a more sensitive horse who needs a home where she can just live out the rest of her days loving life in a pasture & gets along with everyone she meets.

10/31/2024

Donkey update!❤️🫏
They are here!! Our sweet donkeys arrived the same time as our group from our MT auction, so I figured it was time to introduce them as well!
This donkey group wasn’t originally who I intended to bring home from the group of pregnant donkeys that went through the TX sale. But that always seems to be how it goes is we never really know who we are coming home with until the auction is over. Most of the Jenny’s who were extremely pregnant sold for a high dollar amount (over $2k each) and although I wanted to help give them a soft place to land, it just wasn’t in our budget for what we fundraised. We DID however still manage to bring in four donkeys and a mini horse.
The first Jenny was from the original group and she will be preg checked via ultrasound as soon her quarantine period is up in two weeks. For horses you can do a blood draw which isn’t nearly as invasive as an ultrasound but we just recently learned that the lab won’t run donkey blood. Upon initial vet evaluation she’s only about 2 years old and definitely more weary of people but starting to open up the longer she’s here.

The second Jenny came in separately, along with our second and third donks the baby jacks. She was sent into the ring with the babies (not her babies either) and we took home all three. She is much more comfortable around people, you can tell she’s been loved by someone before. But the sweet babies are also only about 6 weeks old (same age as our auction baby c**ts and filly). 6 weeks is *way* to early to he separated from mom. Unfortunately I have no idea why they separated them and sold them with another Jenny who isn’t related to them. The babies have been trying to nurse on her and nurse on one another without any luck so we have started them on milk replacer as well. The little brown Jack does have a fever and a cough, but I’m hopeful we caught it early enough.

The two Jenny’s are Hocus and Pocus, and the baby jacks are Wonka and Charlie🧡

Lastly, our little mini we named Boo, we don’t know much about her but are waiting on a blood test for her to find out if she is pregnant. She has no fever but she is coughing with a snotty nose so monitoring close.

10/29/2024

Welcoming our newbies!🥺❤️‍🩹
This weekend we attended one of the biggest monthly horse sales in the world and were able to bring home *seven* horses. I officially want to introduce you to the newest members of Kataluna!
First, the babies. At this particular sale there were over 30 foals, weanlings, yearlings, minis and ponies all put together in one pen. Ages ranged from what appeared to be only a few weeks old to seniors. These three in particular really caught my eye, so little, and so young being pushed around by all the others. I could tell they had leg deformities and figured that’s why they ended up here. We’ve seen it before, people who breed for color and money but when babies hit the ground with limb deformities they are pulled from their moms way to early and taken to auction to still make a quick buck.
Upon our initial vet evaluation, we determined the two smaller foals are only about 6 weeks old and the bigger one is only 8 weeks. Babies ideally should be weaned from their mothers until *at least* 5 months old. Luckily they are all in good spirits, they are eating hay, and we have started them on milk replacer to help balance their nutritional needs they should still be getting from mom’s milk. We will do X-rays on Thursday to determine the extensiveness of their conditions. We have named them Kirby the love bug (buckskin c**t), Glinda the good witch (palomino filly), and Dually (the liver chestnut).

The big horses. Out of 360+ horses that sold on Saturday. Four bigs loaded onto our trailer. A sweet old chestnut mule with a huge low hanging belly, we named Francine. Francine was a bit hesitant of us at first but once we gained her trust she didn’t leave our side. Even putting herself in between us and other horses so she didn’t have to share our attention. If Francine was a horse I would guess she was pregnant, but being a mule the chance is likely to none and it’s nearly impossible (but not entirely impossible) for mules to have babies due to their genetic breeding.
We also took in two emaciated senior geldings. The seniors always capture my heart. One old grey who just looked so defeated emotionally. He has large melanomas (cancer) on the side of his face but after vet eval they aren’t causing him any pain or discomfort with the placement they are at, so he should be able to life a good happy rest of his days as long as they don’t progress somewhere that would effect his quality of life. The other gelding, an old emaciated paint. Out of the hundreds of horses that day something stuck out to me about this guy. I noticed his legs covered in mud and f***l matter, I noticed his hips and ribs protruding much farther than they should, and I noticed his mostly matted mane aside from one single perfect braid. Someone gave him that braid. Someone wanted him to be noticed. Normally we don’t know anything about our horses history. Not even a name, but sometimes we get lucky with a vet document of who brought them in, with the horses name on it. These two had names. Jerry (grey) and Steve (paint).

Lastly, our sweet sick mare, who we named Paulie. I only saw Paulie for a split second before the auction, she was not one our list that day but I remember seeing her and thinking this poor horse. As she came into the auction, it all happened so fast. No one bid. Not a single hand went up. Until the auctioneer looked directly at me and my number went into the air. Something said she needed to come home. I wanted to help her. I wanted her to get better. She was small, scrawny, covered in bites and could hardly breathe. The vet in the area would not see her that day so we brought her home. I felt awful having her on our trailer but I knew it was her only chance. We’ve had worse come in that pulled through and I wanted so badly to try. Unfortunately, she was just to sick. Her body was just too weak. She passed the next day at home. As hard at this was, and feeling like I couldn’t do enough for her, my dear friend that was with me through it all sent me this message: “You did try Katie, and you wanted her. Even though she didn’t get to have a happier ending, at least she was wanted in the end. And being wanted is more than what maybe anyone had ever given her before.” Right after she passed, we had a beautiful rainbow full up the sky on our farm. I knew our heavily herd was there to greet her with open arms.

10/26/2024

The time is now. We need your help. I try not to ask for help often and only when we truly need it because I know there are so many other worthy causes, but these guys need someone now. We are back at auction. One of the biggest in the country. Over three hundred horses in the loose sale alone. I want you to really think about that number. *three* *hundred* babies, weanlings, minis, ponies, drafts, seniors, standards, really wonderful riding horses, injured horses, bonded pairs who have lived a lifetime together soon to be separated forever. But we can help. We are here, boots on the ground, and we want to make a difference. Right now we have just barely over $4500 raised for this weekends auction. That is *amazing* having everyone come together to raise what we’ve got so far, truly THANK YOU!

In all honesty, we usually try to fundraise at least $3000 per horse to help cover the cost of bail, feed, vet & farrier care, etc. (which we usually surpass in the time they are with us) but there’s just too many here to leave behind. My list of the number I write down before the auction starts has never been this long. I know realistically we can’t take them all. But we can at least change the lives for some. We’ve got some funding saved up from previous fundraisers which will go towards helping, but we truly cannot do this without you. Even if you aren’t in a place to donate, please consider liking, commenting, or sharing this post! You never know who might see❤️‍🩹

Thank you with all my heart for helping us make a difference!

To donate!
Venmo: (under charities)
PayPal: Horse Rescue (under charities)
Zelle: [email protected]
Card/Apple Pay: donorbox.org/donate-today-257 (link in bio)

10/24/2024

This weekend we are headed back to the auction to change the lives of horses in need. We are attending an auction we’ve never been to before so honestly I really have no idea what to expect. Supposedly there are between 200-600 horses that sell here every month as one of the biggest sale yards in the country. A lot of what we try and fight for are the horses who continuously get passed around time and time again. This so called “auction pipeline” for horses that aren’t necessarily waiting to load up on the next slaughter truck out of here, but the horses who were given up on by others when all they deserved was a chance. Auctions are a great way for people to step in and do just that. A lot of horses sold at auctions tend to end up in great homes, but there are just so many it’s impossible to garuntee it for everyone.
That’s why we do our best to stop it there. We want to help the horses who really seem to be calling for help and make it so they never have to be traded, sold, sent through a ring, ever again. This auction is out of state, we will be making the quick flight over and our hauler will be meeting us there. And we are really really hoping to be able to do some good and hopefully educate more on the seriousness within this. Part of what I do when trying to help these horses is show you the WHY we are helping. WHAT we are fundraising for and the DIFFERENCE we are trying to make, while doing it in as much of a positive manner as I can.

I will keep you all posted as we go through the weekend, but we will be starting fundraisers as soon as we get there. Donations are slow this time of year and I know not everyone can contribute and that is okay. But spreading the word, sharing the posts, and letting others know really makes more difference than you could imagine! The most important thing here, is we are doing this for them.

10/22/2024

We have been so excited to partner with Beyond the Stables Photography this year who spent so much of her time these last several months putting together a stunning calendar called “Horses of the PNW” featuring our sweet old man Ernie and several other stunning horses throughout the valley we call home!

If you’d like to get one of these stunning calendars for 2025, but purchasing one you’re also helping support the horses here at Kataluna Horse Rescue because the proceeds raised will be donated directly to our animals!

Here is link! Get yours now!
https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/horsesofthepnw

10/21/2024

Our fall leaves have come just as quick as they’ve gone and after yesterdays wind and rain storm all the trees are empty now 🍂 So here are a few of my favorite photos from the last couple weeks with the herd🧡

Our donkeys are doing well as they await their arrival here this weekend! The babies are so young we worry about them being weaned from their mamas too early but I know they are in good hands until they get here. We just cannot wait to welcome everyone home.

10/18/2024

OUR CREW IS COMING HOME🥹💜 because of YOU!!

Last night I stayed up all evening watching the live auction broadcast from home. Horse after horse and donkey after donkey, some sold for insanely high amounts and some for so cheap. You never really know what to expect when entering the ring until you are there, and just when I think I’ve got an idea the game changes in a split second.

So after everything through the night, we are officially welcoming home FIVE new little faces! Two adult Jenny’s (both possibly pregnant and will get preg checked upon their initial vet check), and two weaning jacks under six months old, as well as one mini mare with a mouth sore (also will be getting preg checked). We cannot wait to welcome these little guys home. Lord knows they’ve been through so much in such a short period of time.
Most of the other Jenny’s sold for quite high prices and I could only do what I could with the fundraising we had brought in. Usually though, with those high prices they sell to private buyers which ideal opposed to a trader.

I’ll share more as they start their journey here, thank you all SO MUCH for helping make this happen! and a huge huge thank you to our incredible hauler who dropped everything to get these guys on his schedule.

WE DID IT❤️

10/15/2024

‼️URGENT PREGNANT DONKEYS‼️
We’ve started an urgent fundraiser for several mini Donkey’s who are supposedly all either heavily bred or have a baby by their side, as well as the intact male who is the father to the herd.
I was contacted by one of the guys who helps run this auction, letting me know about this herd disposal.
An auction is not a great place for any animal to be let alone especially ones who are pregnant and expecting any day, as well as the sweet 3 week old baby clinging onto mom. These auction yards are filled with fear and sick animals that put these mamas and babies at such a high risk.
We’re not expecting them to go for cheap as mini donkey‘s tend to be in higher demand. However, usually what end up happening with these minis is constant “trading”. They are bought at one auction and taken to another sold for more money again and again. They are viewed as a dollar sign. This vicious cycle continues and we want to stop it right here right now. The auction is tomorrow night and we are fundraising as much as we can to help as many as we can. We are aware we most likely won’t be able to take in the whole herd, but I’m hoping we can collaborate with a few others who may want to help give these babies a safe place to land. We try to fundraise at least $3000 Per Donkey, which I know sounds like a lot, but trust me after you factor in bail cost, transport, vet care, Farrier care, especially with them being pregnant there’s higher risk for more complication later down the line especially if they do get sick. Those donations go out just as fast as they come in. Right now, we’ve raised almost enough for one Donkey and we’ve got 24 hours to make a difference!

If you are interested in donating, we appreciate any and all the support! I promise you every single dollar makes a difference. If you can’t donate, please consider sharing because the more we can spread the word the more we can change lives!

❤️ Venmo: @ katalunahorserescue_
❤️PayPal: @ Kataluna Horse Rescue
❤️Zelle: [email protected]
❤️Card/Apple Pay: link in bio (donorbox.org/donate-today-257)

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

10/14/2024

❤️‍🩹FUNDRAISER STARTED❤️‍🩹 🚨Pregnant Donkeys & October Auction Saves🚨Going into winter, we haven’t taken in any new rescues as we’ve been focusing on rehabbing the ones we currently have in our care, as well as working day in and day out to prep as best we can for our winter rain season. With everything under wraps, it’s time to jump back in. I was contacted by an auction yard in Texas about seven mini donkeys coming into their weekly sale on Wednesday. Four of which are heavy bred, one is a mama with a 3 week old Jenny foal, and one jack who’s been running with them. We see a lot of mini donkeys who sell at auction for higher dollar amounts because horse flippers know they can bring in more money elsewhere. Moving them from auction to auction which is no life for any animal, especially carrying a foal and being so close to delivery. Having Beansly and Prim born here on our farm, it just breaks my heart wondering what would have happened to them had their mamas not been rescued. So we want to do the same for at least some of these donkeys where we can. We are working to collaborate with another sanctuary on the herd, but our funding efforts will really determine how many of these little pens we can bring in. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE, I promise every single donation matters, no matter how big or small!❤️Venmo: ❤️PayPal: Horse Rescue❤️Zelle: [email protected]❤️Card/Apple Pay: link in bio (donorbox.org/donate-today-257) ON TOP OF THAT‼️We have decided to attend a new auction out of state at the end of October. I’ll be sharing more details on this soon but this auction tends to have 200-400 loose sale horses on average *every month*. There’s a lot of reasoning as to why I am feeling called to visit this auction in particular, but we truly hope the outcome will be change the lives of a few horses that we can. For now we will focus on getting our donkeys home and I will share more on this next trip soon.

10/12/2024

Baby Prim in last nights sunset was nothing short of jaw dropping🌈

10/07/2024

Our sweet Aurora✨💛 Our big strong fighter. I’ve been getting asked so often recently “how is Aurora doing?”. I’ve been holding off on responding publicly as I just wanted to make extra sure before I shared any updates as I know this kataluna family cares so deeply for Aurora.
Aurora came to Kataluna early June after being spray painted with big red X’s because her life was deemed as worthless. We saw her potential and made the decision to bring her home and give her a chance, maybe that’s all she needed was someone to give her a chance. Upon her arrival we got right to work with our vet and coordinating a game plan. Many X-rays, therapeutic clogs, castings, supplements and meds later, after talking with several vets, farriers and surgeons across the country, as much as I wish there was a different answer, Auroras prognosis of her front left foot is just too far damaged with the severity of her rotation and disintegration of the coffin bone. There would be potential for surgery on her front right if the left was not as bad, but she needs a good foot to stand on after surgery & there’s no way to bring back what has already been done. This comes from many years of neglect and mistreatment.

With that being said, Aurora will stay here at Kataluna as a hospice care horse, living out her best days we can be sure to give her. When she first arrived, she was exhausted mentally and physically, but she was trying. Over the next month I saw her “try” start to diminish. I always keep hope working with our rescues until they tell me it’s time, but that’s absolutely one of the *the hardest* choices to make is when is it time. Am I making this decision too early? Too late?

Out of no where last month, a switch changed in Aurora. Her light started coming back, she found her place in the herd and was excited to be apart of it, she’s eating, drinking, laying down and getting up, she’s moving all throughout the pasture every day! Honestly, she’s happy, probably for the first time in a long time. We will listen to her, and when she tells us it’s time, I will honor that. But for now, we are here to honor her & keep her as comfortable as we can💛

10/02/2024

On a regular basis we get owner intake requests weekly, especially this time of year going into winter it rises. Rescues and sanctuary’s are flooded and we are doing our best to continue to help where we can, but sometimes this is the brutal truth with horses we love so dearly. It’s important to love them in the beginning, just as much as it is the end.

As we enter the fall, and soon winter, hay production slows.

The unwanted horse ads start to appear.

“Beautiful pasture ornament available, very sweet and kind. Cannot be ridden. But only 6 years old so lots of life left!”

Or

“Retired senior horse. Very arthritic so only pasture sound. We love her but can’t justify keeping a horse we can’t ride. We also can’t keep weight on her and she costs too much to feed!”

There are not enough homes out there for horses that have health issues and are “less desirable” due to not being rideable.

Not saying it’s fair but it’s the reality.

If a person doesn’t love a horse enough to keep them through their retirement, expecting a stranger to do so does not make sense.

In fluke cases, sure you may find the unicorn retirement home that has no bad motives and actually intends to keep the horse until they pass.

But, the fact of the matter is that these types of horses are most valuable when sold to auction, usually for meat.

And if the person who lamed them or owned them into their senior years doesn’t care enough to take care of them for life, a stranger with no attachment to the horse isn’t particularly likely to.

Are there some incredibly generous and kind strangers who do this? Yes.

Are there enough of them to keep up with the “demand” of all of these unwanted horses? No.

Rather than rolling the dice and hoping that these unwanted horses will find a soft landing when they’re given away for free or cheap, consider what kindnesses are within your power to offer them.

1. You could keep them, because an unrideable horse generally costs the same as one who is ridden.

2. If you’re unwilling to do so because of their health issues and lack of “usefulness”, you could give them a humane ending with euthanasia.

Horses don’t fear death like people do. They live in the present moment. They don’t spend time worrying about their mortality or if there’s life after death.

So, if that present moment is a miserable existence, that is what their life is. Miserable. That is their reality.

If all they know in the moment is suffering, that’s what their life is comprised of.

Passing off the unwanted horse to be someone else’s issue in lieu of giving them a humane ending may feel more noble because it extends longevity of life, but it doesn’t factor in quality.

A horse being passed off from home to home, always a second class citizen due to being unrideable, isn’t a kindness.

It is humans continuously evading accountability for the care of the horse and instead passing the horse off to be someone else’s problem.

It is the humans feeling morally superior for doing so because they think keeping the horse alive is a kindness.

Even if the life is no life to live.

Or even if it is condemning the horse to be taken to the auction and sold to a kill buyer.

Love your horses enough to love them through their lack of rideability or at least give them a humane end if it’s between that and rolling the dice and throwing them into a market that is already flooded with unwanted horses.

Horses should hold value whether they’re rideable or not but currently, that’s largely not the case.

Rather than ignoring that fact, people need to be honest with themselves about what they’re actually doing.

What their choices put their horses at risk of.

Let your elderly horse pass in the home they’ve known for so long instead of throwing them out into a new environment as soon as they can no longer be ridden.

Give your lesson horses the gift of retirement after they’ve kept your business afloat instead of pawning them off when they are no longer useful.

Or give them the gift of a good death instead of just making them someone else’s problem.

If you do not love the horse that you’ve spent years bonding with enough to keep them through their “less desirable” stages of life, why would a stranger be more likely to do that for you?

Winter is coming. Don’t throw your damaged horses to the “wolves.”

Part of owning horses is caring about them enough to give them a good end.

If you feel like a bad person for euthanizing them because you know retiring them would be the kinder option, that’s likely a sign that you should buck up and keep them into retirement.

The answer is not playing Russian roulette with your horse’s quality of life.

Stop pawning old and lame horses off onto other people.

There is not the amount of kind and caring homes available that people are making it out to be.

09/30/2024

Can you believe this before and after?!🥹 Lou was rescued from an auction in April after being abandoned when her friend sold elsewhere and Lou was left behind. She was lame in her hind end, underweight, her coat was caked in mud and manure, her hooves long and cracked, and mentally she wanted nothing to do with people. But now after a few months she has completely turned around! We are SO excited for miss Lou (now named Lou Ellie🥰) on her next journey in this life! Lou has officially been adopted into the most wonderful home as a friend for another senior horse who recently lost her companion of many years. Lou has such a sweet but sassy personality and truly enjoys just being someone’s best friend, so now her and her new buddy are living their best life together. We are just over the moon happy for Lou and her new family💜

09/19/2024

Sweet Shania’s before and after🥹 Shania has probably been the most reserved out of our group from the August auction. You can tell she really wants to engage but is having a hard time letting herself open up. We’ve got an appointment with a body worker and chiropractor to come spend some time with Shania, as we feel she is guarding something within her body not just mentally but physically as well. Body work can be *such* a huge help for horses as well as any animal especially after everything this girl has gone through.
And… good news!! After Shanias initial vet check and finding something which may have appeared to be an early pregnancy, we ran another blood test and the lab results came back that she is NOT pregnant thank goodness!! Shania is in her mid to late twenties and we have no doubt she’s likely had babies before, but at that age there is so much more risk involved with carrying a healthy foal to term. So that was a huge relief for everyone here.
Shania will be up for adoption to the right home once we can dive a little deeper into helping her feel more comfortable💜

09/17/2024

Who remembers baby Amira?!🥹
Little Amira was rescued with her mama Juno from a kill pen back in January of 2023 when she was only 2 months old, with Juno being around 25 years old. We brought them both home, got them all doctored up and taken care of. Eventually congratulating them on their way to an incredibly loving home not too far from our home farm after they got adopted together. Both girls have been so loved and spoiled over the last year, but due to no fault of her own, Amira (who was since renamed Coco) has come back to Kataluna. Juno is still living her very happy best life with her buddy Jasper (also a former Kataluna alum horse) but Coco just needed some extra special care and attention that although I know her adopters wished more than anything they could give her, for safety reasons for both themselves and Coco, we all decided it would be best for Coco to come back to Kataluna. Although we try our absolute best to make sure their next home after our rescue is their forever home, we completely understand when sometimes life throws curve balls our way, which is exactly why I do my best to keep tabs on every horse that has since come through our doors per adoption protocol. Once a part of our herd always apart of our herd.

Coco has been doing very since adjusting to being back. She’s bonded with a few of our senior horses and is doing very well in her training! She will most likely be looking for the perfect person to help her continue her training and grow into the most beautiful horse🥰

09/16/2024

When you learn that life can take away something you never imagined loosing, you might also discover it can give you something you never imagined finding. Keep going.

I want to thank the incredibly talented for capturing this moment with my sweet Mila💜 I think of this quote so often when I spend time in her presence. Mila came into my life only a few short months before I lost Luna. I never could ever imagine replacing my heart horse with anyone else, but Mila came in with such a powerful and peaceful presence, almost as if she was here to help protect our herd during such an impeccable time of loss. She guarded me and my heart, and comforted the rest of our herd who looked up to our matriarch. Everything happens for a reason in this world whether we know it or not at the time. Keep going.