08/15/2025
Tomorrow, a huge horse show with the best of the best American Saddlebreds will begin to crown the new world champions for 2025. It's every breed enthusiast and breeders dream to trot onto those green shavings and get a ribbon, or a beautiful photo to post to social media about their accomplishments. They should be very, very proud of how hard they have worked, and especially for the investment of time and resources put into their quest. The horses are treated like royalty, with no expense spared in keeping them fat, slick, and healthy. Everyone lines up to see them and marvel at their beauty, and who can blame them?
Meanwhile....just twenty miles away from these sacred fairgrounds, another set of saddlebreds wonder why they were discarded and cannot find homes, living in a sanctuary with people who pulled them out of terrible conditions, auctions, feedlots, and animal neglect cases. They have also had no expense spared on their rehab, retraining, and making them feel just as special as their showing counterparts. Living out their days at an underfunded charity that gets mocked online for legally asking for donations for their support, we are all confused why this dichotomy exists. It is confusing for them and us.
Only three percent of American Saddlebreds born will ever get the chance to grace the green shavings. The rest? Some are lucky to work as lesson or practice horses, breeding stock, or trail/alternative disciplines. The rest? Well, they usually will need to be rescued. That's where we come in.
By numbers, we are the largest American Saddlebred sanctuary in the United States. We house 39 permanent residents that do not belong to our family and to the charity who rely solely on donations for their care, and another 20 that we personally have taken on to care for, with varying levels of physical and mental issues, who belong to our family. Although we have some show friends who do support our cause, and we are so grateful, our pleas for donations often go ignored, and recently, even mocked for asking for care for the 39 elderly and mentally damaged horses who truly need the support.
Our rescue/sanctuary is the ONLY American Saddlebred based rescue charity that has held the prestigious Platinum Seal of Transparency from Guidestar every year since our beginning, meaning that we are extremely transparent and honest about where every cent and donation goes. We take no salaries and our family covers most of the costs. Yet, we are consistently the most underfunded rescue out there, even though we are always told we are one of the only ones to stand by our horses for life and will take them back and protect them at all costs. (Others do also, but I don't follow them to know their statistics)
So here's the thing. Honesty means TELLING THE TRUTH. I'm not going to overdramatize posts and lie to get donations, it's not my style. The truth is, it takes money, and a lot of it, to keep this place going. Money we no longer have. We need the support of the public to keep our doors open and be able to care for and continue to help horses in need. I'm sure I will be made fun of for this post, but I don't care. The loudest boos come from the cheapest seats, and it's always the same people who will never lift a finger to help an animal who always have the most to say.
We represent the forgotten horses. I take them to shows, I consistently show the industry that these horses are capable of continuing on, but the ongoing lack of horsemanship epidemic causes them to be returned, over and over again. I don't have the answers, but I know this is a safe place for horses who aren't quite normal to live a life that they deserve and be happy.
If you have made it this far, thank you. To read more about our cause and the services we provide, including our free riding lesson program for underprivileged youth and those in the foster system, please visit www misfithorsetoys.org. while you are there, please sign up for a monthly donation, no matter how small.
All saddlebreds deserve to live with dignity. Not just the three percent who grace the world stage. Thank you for listening.
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