Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue

11/26/2025

Don’t forget our winter hoodie sale ends in 4 days!! There are many great new colors and new styles, plus an awesome new design with the one and only Phantom!

Shop here 👉 https://www.bonfire.com/make-mine-a-draft-1

Our winter hoodie sale is LIVE, and MAKE MINE A DRAFT is back with a new and improved look!

This year’s design features the legendary Phantom in all his towering glory! All proceeds go directly toward our mission to save draft horses just like Phantom from slaughter, abuse, and neglect.

THE SALE ENDS ON NOV. 30th
ORDERS ARE EXPECTED TO ARRIVE BETWEEN DEC. 9 and DEC. 18

Shop here> bonfire.com/make-mine-a-draft-1

11/26/2025

Sweet Fable ❤️ this old gal is estimated to be around 23 years old, though her teeth are so worn down it’s nearly impossible to tell how old she really is. She arrived wearing road shoes that were half hanging off her feet and clacking as she walked.

She’s thin and exhausted, but is getting stronger and healthier every day. She loves her alfalfa and when she isn’t filling her belly, she’s contently napping or looking out over her new pasture, enjoying the view 😍 She has a little bit longer to go until her quarantine is over, and needs to gain weight before she’ll be ready to start looking for a forever home…wouldn’t it be nice if she had a home for Christmas? We’ll keep our fingers crossed 😍

11/24/2025

Levi update!

He’s been doing so well and is handling his leg wraps and bandages like a champ. He did pop most of the stitches on his leg, which we anticipated would likely happen, so today he received new stitches using buttons that will help to slowly pull the open area closed as his skin begins to heal. You can see a pic of his new buttoned up leg in the comments - we promise it’s not too gross!

Levi also started his chemo treatments today! He is receiving a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy (cisplatin and imiquimod). Cisplatin is often used in humans to treat a number of cancers including squamous cell carcinoma, lymphoma, and cervical cancer while imiquimod has been used in humans with basal cell carcinoma. Both of these treatments are injected/applied directly to the sarcoids so we don’t anticipate any systemic side effects.

As long as Levi has a giant bowl of alfalfa in front of him and his lady friend, Pumpkin, in the stall next to him, he’s a happy camper 😍

11/23/2025

Just checked in on Levi and he’s doing well! All of this doting and attention must be so new for him, but he’s eating it up! ❤️

11/22/2025

Our winter hoodie sale is LIVE, and MAKE MINE A DRAFT is back with a new and improved look!

This year’s design features the legendary Phantom in all his towering glory! All proceeds go directly toward our mission to save draft horses just like Phantom from slaughter, abuse, and neglect.

THE SALE ENDS ON NOV. 30th
ORDERS ARE EXPECTED TO ARRIVE BETWEEN DEC. 9 and DEC. 18

Shop here> bonfire.com/make-mine-a-draft-1

11/21/2025

Levi is out of surgery! He did beautifully! We shaved the area around the tumor on his leg and discovered it was much larger and expanded up to his armpit. Our Vet had to remove a very large portion to ensure good margins, but lucky Levi had enough skin that she was able to fully suture it closed and it looks beautiful! He’s resting in his recovery stall for the night next to his friend Pumpkin. He’s bright and seems to be in great spirits! Thank you for all the well wishes for our sweet Levi!

11/21/2025

We’d like to introduce everyone to Levi ❤️

We recently found Levi at an auction, covered in large bloody masses all over his eye and leg. Clearly these don’t just pop up overnight. Poor Levi was left to suffer and then dumped at the auction without a care in the world. What a way to thank a horse that has not only worked for years helping his owner fulfill their needs, but who also relied on that person to be there for him when he needed help.

We were there for Levi. We brought him home and started to get him cleaned up, removing all of the caked on blood from his face and legs. We submitted a sample for pathology and the results confirmed our Vet’s suspicions…we’re dealing with sarcoids and thankfully not squamous cell carcinoma…neither are good news, but when sarcoids are caught and treated early, they have a better likelihood of responding to treatment. Of course, Levi is at an advanced stage, but we’re cautiously optimistic we can help get these under control for now.

Levi is currently in the treatment room of our Healing Barn having the largest tumors on his face and leg, plus the tiny one on his lip removed right now. We’ll also be injecting chemotherapy. The next stage in his rehabilitation plan will be to send Levi off to the Hospital to receive treatment via an electroporation unit which applies a very low voltage current to the cells, creating tiny pores in the cells, thereby destroying them. This exciting new treatment option will be available after the new year, but Levi should be much more comfortable until then!

11/19/2025

They do this every day….play fight, make us worry, abruptly stop, everything’s okay we can stop worrying, and then it starts all over 🤷‍♀️ This group is still waiting on their case to go to court and it’ll likely be at least a year before we know what their future holds - until then, they’re safe here with us!

11/18/2025

Well...to put it bluntly...today sucked.

Today, we laid to rest the sweetest young horse, so full of life, so curious and brave...yet also in so much pain. His hoof was the first thing we looked at - we hoped a surgical fix may help make him comfortable. Both hind feet showed significant scarring, leading us to believe he may have been injured, possibly in some fencing or rope, but we'll never know for sure. Even if surgery on his foot may have been an option, his hind feet were the least of his problems. Both of his front legs were trembling as he stood there, his knees bowed, and he was shifting his weight forward onto his toes in an effort to alleviate the pain radiating through his joints. This was just too much to ask such a young horse to endure. He would have faced a lifetime of joint injections, corrective shoeing, surgery with long rest and recovery, and loads of daily pain medication with no guarantee that any of it would give him true relief. We often see this sort of thing with horses that have been doing strenuous, hard labor their entire lives...but Pip was just a baby...he would have turned 4 in the spring.

We're so sorry, Pip. We didn't know you nearly long enough, but we loved you very much, enough to let you go so you could rest in peace, and feel no more pain. Run free now, sweet boy! We won't forget you.

11/17/2025

5 more souls are safe tonight! Watching them trot around, exploring and filling their bellies brings us so much joy. Tomorrow they’ll see the vet and we’ll start their individual rehabilitation plans, plus…they’ll get new names!

11/16/2025

Keep that spark of hope in your eyes dear ones, we promise everything good and wonderful is just a trailer ride away ❤️