Sonoma County CHANGE Program

11/14/2025

❤️ Adopt Buck! ❤️ One thing we love about Buck is he LOVES going for a ride in the trailer. Buck is a dream to load and haul, and thinks it's all one big happy adventure. A few years ago, when Buck was in foster care, we took him to Starbucks. 😂

Buck came to the CHANGE Program back in 2022, a beat up senior stallion who who had a terrible injury. He underwent major surgery and spent several months in the hospital and rehab, and was gelded. Ultimately, he was adopted by a senior lady who has loved him hard for three years. Sadly, health issues forced her to return Buck to CHANGE.

Buck is sweet, mellow and easy to handle. He is a dream for the farrier and vet, loves to be groomed, and walks politely alongside you. Buck is about 25 years old. His only limitation is that he can't be turned out with mares, as he still remembers his stallion days. We are placing Buck as a non-riding companion horse. Buck has no special needs and keeps weight on nicely with just hay. He does not take any medication.

Please SHARE this post and help us find Buck his final home. Adoption application can be found here:

https://sonomachangeprogram.com/documents/CHANGE-ADOPTION-QUESTIONNAIRE-2025.pdf

More about Buck:
https://sonomachangeprogram.com/content/buck.asp

11/04/2025

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!Buck is looking for his forever home ❤️

Buck came to the CHANGE Program back in 2022, a beat up senior stallion who was dumped with a severe injury in the hills of Cloverdale. Over time, thanks to alert community members, law enforcement learned that Buck had originally lived at a property in Mendocino County.

Buck’s injury was an unusual one. At some point many months prior to his abandonment, his p***s had been injured and had become paralyzed. He was unable to retract it. Buck was admitted to the hospital and underwent a procedure called a phallopexy. This successfully tacked the p***s back where it (mostly) belonged. Buck was also gelded. Finally, after weeks in the hospital, sweet Buck was able to come home to CHANGE foster care. Life was looking up!

While in foster care in 2022, Buck met a lovely senior lady who adopted him. He has lived three amazing years with her. Unfortunately, due to declining health, she made the difficult decision to return Buck to CHANGE.

Buck is sweet, mellow and easy to handle. He is a dream for the farrier, loves to be groomed, and walks politely alongside you. Buck is about 25 years old. His only limitation is that he can't be turned out with mares, as he still remembers his stallion days. We are placing Buck as a non-riding companion horse. Buck has no special needs and keeps weight on nicely with just hay. He does not take any medication.

Please SHARE this post and help us find Buck his final home. Adoption application can be found here:

https://sonomachangeprogram.com/documents/CHANGE-ADOPTION-QUESTIONNAIRE-2025.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawN3HidleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHrQMstlNEnQCQ35VdIZ_jld4d2c9sRksXIKJLh97P73Rnb3IGB8LZzTPXJ_S_aem_LwBUerCC7MFy_i3b7XlDlQ

More about Buck:
https://sonomachangeprogram.com/content/buck.asp

10/30/2025

Winter is coming.....you may need to consider some management changes for your horses.....

Just like people, the needs of horses change as they continue to age. Join members of the AAEP Horse Owner Education committee for a wide-ranging educational presentation on how to properly care for the elderly equine in your life. Register: https://aaep.org/event/horse-owner-education-committee-webinar-preparing-your-horse-for-aging/

10/26/2025

❤️❤️Look who’s back with the CHANGE Program!❤️❤️

Buck was adopted almost exactly 3 years ago and was loved deeply and cared for by an amazing adopter who unfortunately and with great sadness had to relinquish Buck to us due to her ongoing health issues.

These pictures were taken yesterday, and he had just joyously rolled in the mud, but even so, we think he’s stunningly beautiful and has a personality to match!

More information to follow, but in the meantime you can read more about Buck’s story on our website: 

https://sonomachangeprogram.com/content/buck.asp

Our website will be updated shortly but Buck is available for adoption now. Here is our adoption application if you are interested in meeting Buck:

https://sonomachangeprogram.com/documents/CHANGE-ADOPTION-QUESTIONNAIRE-2025.pdf

10/02/2025

❤️❤️❤️❤️Thank you Sky High Ranch, Emily Cooper and Caryn Hoeflein for helping our Arnie-boy gain confidence and knowledge. We’re so grateful and pleased with his progress! More information about Arnie, and other horses available for adoption can be found on our website:

https://www.sonomachangeprogram.com

09/16/2025

🦄🦄We are happy to announce that we have some really exciting horses in training right now who we are confident will be amazing for some lucky adopters!🦄🦄

They are both green, but thanks to Sky High Ranch and Caryn Hoeflein for her compassionate and comprehensive training program, they’ll be ready for their forever homes soon.

Check out our website to read about Arnie and Oreos’ stories and to get our adoption application filled out and submitted (if you want to be in line for one of these horses it’s important to get it filled out and submitted as soon as possible🥰).

We also have a beautiful and sweet companion mare available too….be sure to read about Eva.

https://sonomachangeprogram.com

08/22/2025

folks. If you need livestock transport help, contact NorCal Livestock Evacuation.

Pickett Fire (Calistoga) - If your animals are in danger, NorCal Livestock Evacuation team is mobilizing for evacuations. If you need to get your animals out of the fire zone, our Evac number is 707-234-7193.

The fire grew to over 2,100 acres last night.
Some mandatory evacuation orders in place.
• Mandatoy evacs for: NPA-E114, NPA-E115, NPA-E120, NPA-E121-B
• Evac warnings for: ANG-E001, NPA-E107, NPA-E121-A, NPA-E122, POP-E001-B, POP-E002-B

If you have resources to offer such evac location to house animals, water vehicle, etc, feel free to call or text us and we would be happy to speak with you and add you to our resource list.

Thanks for passing on the info and helping all our neighbors.

08/22/2025

A large animal shelter is being set up at Napa Horsemen's Arena for evacuees. If you need temporary stabling, contact Napa CART.

Napa CART has been activated to set up the shelter at Napa Valley Horsemen's Association at 1200 Foster Road.

If you are a Napa CART volunteer and available to deploy to NVHA this morning, we plan to start at 1000 and likely work until noon.

Please respond to your WhatsApp 2025 NCART Volunteer thread to indicate your availability.

08/21/2025

🫏🫏🫏🫏🫏We always keep in touch with our adoptees, and when I asked Lucy’s adoptive mom if she would be interested in writing about their story she was happy to oblige….. These are the kinds of stories that make our hearts full🥰🥰🥰🥰

"I adopted Lucy in 2020, not long after the LNU Fire tore through our lives and left so much behind in ashes. In the chaotic days that followed, when I was asking animals to load into trailers with urgency and uncertainty, little Lucy, who I barely knew yet, walked right in, no questions asked. Every time I asked her, she got in. Over the next few weeks, as we navigated stress and survival, she stayed steady.

That first year together was anything but smooth. We were both adjusting, trying to understand one another in a world that had already been shaken. But somewhere along the way, Lucy became more than just a rescue. She became my friend, steady, quirky, and full of grit.

In 2021, we started driving together, and something lit up in her. Brave as can be, Lucy faced every new experience with a sort of cheerful determination. She loved to work. Out and about, she was fearless, ears forward and heart open. It was like she had been waiting her whole life for someone to believe in her.

Then, in 2023, everything nearly changed. Lucy colicked, and in her panic, got her back leg caught in a fence. She went down during a brutal subzero night and stayed down for nearly 24 hours. I thought I was going to lose her. But Lucy, true to form, decided to fight. When she finally stood, it was with that same stubborn fire that had carried her through everything else.

She spent 12 days in the ICU. I’ll never forget those long days, the hope and fear tangled together, waiting to see if her body could match her spirit. But she came home.

Her leg injury left her intermittently unsound. She's not quite the same physically, but that doesn't matter to me. Every morning when I hear her bray from the dry lot, it feels like a little miracle. Lucy is still here, still part of our lives, still full of heart.

These days, she spends her time peacefully with her best friend Boujee and the weanlings. She may not be the driving partner she once was, but she’s more than earned her rest. And every time I look at her, I remember everything we’ve been through — fires, storms, hospitals, and healing — and I feel grateful beyond words.

Lucy didn’t just survive. She chose to keep going. And I’m lucky I get to keep walking this road with her."

08/20/2025

Round 2 of training field officers for Sonoma County Animal Services! This week's crew had so many great questions about current and prior horse cases. We are especially happy to bring along their skills with Body Condition Scoring, a critical element when handling horse humane cases.

08/13/2025

CHANGE was formed in 2007 to support Sonoma County Animal Services with equine humane cases. One of the ways we help is to provide support and training to field officers. These officers get called out to deal with a variety of concerns, from a loose horse on the road to a horse that appears neglected. Many of the officers have years of horse experience, while others are developing their skills.

Today, officers Chelsea, Michaela and Galand attended a hands-on training session at one of our CHANGE foster barns. We worked on skills such as catching a spicy loose horse, as well as safe haltering and leading practices. We want to give a special shout out to Officer Galand, who is a novice handler. By the end of our training, Officer Galand was catching, leading, and handling Charlie the Thoroughbred like a pro!

We also completed training on Body Condition Scoring. The Henneke body condition scale is a widely recognized methodology for documenting horse body condition. BCS is also recognized by courts. It involves feeling, looking at, and scoring 6 specific places on the horse's body. The horse is scored on a scale of 1 to 9, with 1 being emaciated and 9 being morbidly obese.

Your support of CHANGE helps us provide this training. ❤️

07/10/2025

❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️Another happy adopted horse update:

Estrella came into the CHANGE Program in 2017 and was adopted 8 years ago this month. She has been adored by her adoptive mom ever since. Like any proud parent, when we asked about doing a post on Estrella, her adopted mom supplied us with lots of wonderful pictures and video.

🦄"Grateful every day to Sonoma County Change for bringing us together! ~ 'Unicorn," "Adorata," "Estrellita," "The Contessa," her nicknames say it all, for the sweet, sassy, sensitive Estrella."🦄

The work we do can be heavy at times, but check-ins with our adopted horses remind us of why our work is so important. Thank you to Estrella's adopted mom, and thank you to all who support our program.🥰🥰