Midwest Horse Welfare Foundation, Inc.

09/11/2025

Remembering American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, American Flight 77, and the braves souls on United Airlines Flight 93, souls in World Trade Center buildings North and South Towers, and the pentagon. The emergency workers, the search-and-rescue dogs who helped retrieve so many survivors, and all families involved.

09/08/2025

Does anyone remember Belle? She came to MHWF as a 5-year-old in June of 2018, and she needed everything including training (Belle was one of the "Lucky 13 herd" that MHWF took in). Belle got all of her regular things taken care of and then headed off to training with Jennie M. from August through October of 2018. Belle did get adopted in March of 2019, but came back to MHWF in July of 2021 having done some trail riding and such but wound up just not being a good match for those adopters. Brittany came along and adopted Belle in August of 2021 and really did a lot with Belle, and had the patience and skill to really bring her along... so much so that now Belle is confident enough and skilled enough for Brittany's young son to be able to be ponied out on Belle! Wow, you've come a long way baby! Thank you so much, Brittany!
Here is a very recent update, hot off the press from Brittany:
"Leylin's first ride on Belle ponied from Black Wing ❤️ Belle has made such great strides in these last few years where we finally feel confident in her to pack younger and more inexperienced riders. She has been a beautiful addition to the family."

09/02/2025

This is Lobo after a recent trail ride. Lobo is a Spanish Mustang adopted from MHWF by Jurita back in 2011, and he turns 25 this year! Looking fantastic Lobo!

08/29/2025

We just received a reminder from Tucker donk that we didn't share their great news yet! Tucker, Mario and Luigi found the most perfect home together, and all of us couldn't be happier! These adorable boys left for their new home back on August 19th, and we have an adorable photo to go with their meeting of their new family. While these three donks have the most adorable butts, it was their faces that sealed the deal ;) :)
A big congratulations to all and thank you to Deb and family for choosing adoption.

08/25/2025

Good and proper training does so much to ensure a horse's well-being and future safety. The two horses pictured here came to MHWF needing training. Faith, on the left, came to MHWF as a 14-year-old with no training back in 2018. Odin (FKA Lefty), on the right, came to MHWF as a 3-year-old with his whole life ahead of him back in 2017. This picture is of Anna and her sister Tamara on Faith and Odin from this past weekend at the Wittenburg Trail Ride, where they were both complete rock stars. Anna took Faith in for training and wound up adopting her. Anna took Odin in for training, and ultimately her sister Tamara adopted him! This worked out so perfectly for all involved, especially the horses.
Anna has helped MHWF many times with training and other things, and Tamara and her daughter Kendal adopted a 19-year-old TB named Wesley way back in 2011. Wesley lived an amazingly great life with them. ❤️
Thank you so much Anna and Tamara, for everything!

08/19/2025

That handsome golden boy named Samuel D West, lovingly known as Prince, has found himself a stellar home with Camille and family! Prince was incredibly popular, being 21 years old and loads of riding experience. Prince does have some arthritis issues, and Camille is right on top of that, ensuring Prince gets everything he needs. He is making a great addition to their family, and gets to live with another adoption horse named Shoshone, who Camille adopted earlier this year!
Big congratulations to everyone, and especially Prince for landing such an amazing home!

08/17/2025

Little Miss Coconut found a great match and got herself adopted! Coconut was used as a brood mare the majority of her life with no training, coming to MHWF very green under saddle. Ana is the perfect person to get Coconut going in the right direction, having successfully trained the quarter pony mare she adopted from MHWF last year named Piper. We're so happy for Coconut and Ana both! We look forward to the bright future that both of them have. Big congratulations to Coconut and Ana! Thank you so much for choosing adoption!

08/16/2025

Does anyone remember the Arabian mare named Sky? Sky came into MHWF back in 2017 as an owner surrender. Sky was adopted in spring of 2018 but did not work out for them and of course came back to MHWF. Sometimes that happens, but it's a wonderful thing to have the safety net of MHWF for the horses. Sky then went on to get adopted by Larissa in August of 2018, and they have been a great match. This picture is of Paige, a friend of Larissa's, showing Sky recently at an open horse show where they took first in Western Pleasure and first in Halter! Congratulations and great job Larissa, Paige and all of Sky's friends! Thank you for being such an amazing home for Sky!

08/04/2025

We want to let you all know that Thor has been found alive and well!

UPDATE 8/4/2025: THIS HORSE THANKFULLY HAS BEEN FOUND ALIVE AND WELL!
Attention Wisconsin people: This horse went missing on June 1st. There have been a couple of sightings, but he has still not been found. Please be on the lookout and check your game/trail cameras. Please read the flyer below for more information. It is unknown if he is still wearing the fly sheet that is seen in the picture. Note, the horse went missing from the area of Gresham, WI.
If you see this horse, please call Nicole at 715-302-3792

07/27/2025

Babe left for her new home today!
We're so happy and excited for both Babe and Olivia. It has been such a pleasure to take Babe in, retire her from farm work on the Amish farm she came from, and get her everything she needed to move on to the next chapter of her life ❤️
A special thank you to the Amish family for reaching out to us and wanting the best retirement for Babe, and to Olivia for completing this amazing story and wonderful life for Babe.
Big congratulations to Babe and Olivia!

07/14/2025

Herd behavior is fascinating to watch. It's interesting to see the different groups that horses choose to hang with and make their closest friends with. This picture is a snapshot from the big pasture that shows a few groups of horses. You will notice the different groups, but also keep in mind that they have 40 acres to roam and they choose to be this close together in their groupings, most of the time.

Horses are highly social herd animals. They depend on the herd for social stimulation as well as a sense of security. Safety from predators may not be an issue for most domestic horses, but that need is still deeply ingrained in the horse as a prey species. Horses are a quiet species and they prefer calm, and learn most efficiently in tranquil, familiar settings. An equine’s happiness directly effects his/her health as well. Horses are most comfortable if they can touch another horse. Touching, nipping, grooming and swishing tails is important to a horse’s overall well-being. Horses can develop anxious behaviors for a few reasons such as lack of exercise, limited turnout and management practices that don’t align with a horse’s nature, such as highly concentrated feedings and lack of socialization being common contributors to equine anxiety. With horses being herd animals, they depend on the herd for survival. There is no way for us, as humans, to be a surrogate or make up for lack of being with their own species as company. I think many of us have dealt with “separation anxiety” in horses to some degree at some point along the way. Serious separation anxiety can lead to self-injury in the horse and can be dangerous for the human involved. In the long term, separation anxiety can lead to chronic exposure to the stress hormone cortisol. Over time, this can be detrimental to the horse’s immune, cardiovascular, and digestive systems. In every horse’s life, some type of separation is necessary and unavoidable at points. Fortunately, it’s not always a source of significant suffering and is very temporary separation, such as joining a new group of horses when their home changes. When it comes to training horses to tolerate separation, sooner is always better than later. Horses can be conditioned to be separated from the herd and be okay with that. They know they will join them again and the temporary periods of separation they learn to handle well. It’s great when horses are taught that from a young age, as prevention of this behavior developing is the best, but we do not get the benefit of that having happened for some of the equines that come to us here at MHWF. This is one of the things we put a lot of work into with a lot of the horses that come to us who have some form of separation anxiety.

07/04/2025

From all of us at MHWF, we wish you all a happy and safe Independence Day holiday.
250 years ago...on July 4th, 1776
This great nation, the United States of America,
In a struggle for what was right and free,
Was proudly born...
May we celebrate that precious freedom
For which our forebears fought so bravely...
The freedom that is inherent
In the Stars and Stripes, our revered flag...
Celebrate Freedom this Fourth of July!
Let Freedom Ring!