My Happy Place Animal Sanctuary

16/08/2024

It’s double votes weekend at MyGivingCircle.org. Vote for My Happy Place Animal Sanctuary to keep us in the Top
10 to get a grant.

14/08/2024

Oversized Draft Shoeing Stock. Thanks to a very generous donor for buying it, and our volunteers and summer intern for building it! We now have a 1400+ lb white oak wooden stock for trimming. It’s been weather sealed and sits protected under a livestock shelter, resting on stall mats to help keep it from rotting. Thanks everyone!

02/08/2024

2nd Annual Sussex County Fair Horseless Horse Show Fundraiser to benefit our Sanctuary of benevolent beings! Everyone had a great time last year! It’s the best all-for-fun competition!

01/08/2024

During the entire month of August, please stop by the ACME on Oak Ridge Rd in Oak Ridge, NJ to buy a reusable “I give back where it counts…locally!” grocery bag. $1 of every $3 bag will go to our sanctuary. The bags are located by the customer service desk. Shop local, save, and support!

Have too many bags already? That’s ok! Buy some dog and cat food and fill up your bags and take them to a local animal shelter! The animals thank you!

24/07/2024

Pharaoh (aka “Legs”) was on high alert for the herd this afternoon. His dapples are prominent now. His presence is simply profound. He’s gained over 400 pounds and no longer shows any signs of facial paralysis.

24/06/2024

We’ve started Round 3 and are currently ranked #12! Wooo Hooo

Each year MyGivingCircle gives $1,000,000 in grants and donations

12/06/2024

That’s one big smile from one big mare!

06/05/2024

It’s hard to believe it’s been 5 months since we first set out to save the shire siblings! Thanks to everyone’s generosity, they are doing well!

29/04/2024

Violet’s tail had been docked at some point earlier in her life, making it impossible for her to swat flies and other bugs. Thanks to her very own, very special fairy godmother, Violet has a new fly sheet and mask to keep her more comfortable during this very buggy spring. She’s super grateful! Thank you!

11/04/2024

We would like to honor the life of Elizabeth Mongiello and thank her friends and family for their donations in her memory. May God bless all of you by lifting the sadness from your hearts and gift you with remembrances of happy times spent with her.

20/03/2024

A huge “Thank you!” to The R3finery for supporting our sanctuary during your recent “Donation Week”! We appreciate you and all your clients! We hope your clients continue to enjoy receiving wellness services at The R3finery knowing they also are helping our animals receive wellness services from us! Thank you!

13/03/2024

Shire ‘Stache

27/02/2024

30/01/2024

So proud of the progress Mason and Violet have made thus far. Big shout out to Alix Terpos for going above and beyond this past month- you rock!

16/01/2024

01/01/2024

As 2023 comes to a close, we would like to thank our donors, our veterinarians, our trimmer, our quarantining facility and shipping company, our grant supporters, the Sussex County Horse Show and it’s Board, as well as the many companies who offer non profit orgs a discount to help meet the financial demand of rescue and rehabilitation.

We would also specifically like to thank a few very special people who have made all the difference in furthering the mission of My Happy Place this past year. Please join me in saying a special thank you to Joelle Rybakowski Krok, Caitlin McCall, and Alix and Terry Bell. They have gone above and beyond in so many ways too numerous to list to help us walk these horses home. Stay tuned in 2024 as we continue to heal and grow! Blessings to all!

24/12/2023

Water remains as important for your horse in cold weather as it is in the summer. As a matter of fact, decreased water consumption in the winter is thought to be the primary inducing factor for impaction colic — although there are other predisposing factors such as poor hay quality, lack of exercise, internal parasites and dental problems.

Impaction colic is essentially constipation and most often includes the accumulation of hard, dry f***l material in the colon. The usual signs of impending impaction colic are depression, a decreased appetite, and decreased production and dryness of manure.

Studies demonstrate that you can increase your horse's winter water consumption if you provide access to heated water, but ONLY if that is the only source of water available. As always, if you have any questions about preventing colic in your horse, your local veterinarian remains your best source of information!

23/12/2023

We would like to thank Amber and Brandon from Indiana for their donation of Triple Crown and Standlee proofs of purchase. We are grateful for you hearing about our mission and choosing to support us- We know it took a long time to save up those proofs! And thank you for taking care of your animals using great products from two great companies who give back to charitable organizations like ours. Thank you!

22/12/2023

Meet the newest residents of My Happy Place Animal Sanctuary!

Thank you to everyone for a quick and safe rescue!

Shires are an endangered breed. They are a tightly bonded brother and sister. Please continue to support their journey through our “Save the Shire Siblings” GoFundMe, or find us on Venmo and PayPal. Donations of any size are greatly needed and appreciated to help their rehab.

We are ALL just here to help walk each other home.

05/12/2023

Be a Horse Hero this Holiday Season and help save this rare breed!

Become a Horse Hero this Holiday Season and help us Save these Shire S… My Happy Place Animal Sanctuary, Inc. needs your support for Save the Shire Siblings!

29/11/2023

We may not be the biggest sanctuary. We may not be the oldest sanctuary. We may not be the loudest, or have the most followers. We aren’t here for the accolades or awards. We are here for the animals. To work hard every day and every night to give them the best of what we have to offer. We won’t quit. With the help of generous donors who make it possible, we are committed to help walk them home, leaving only love and kindness in our tread. Thank you.

23/11/2023

Thankful to all our donors, sponsors, medical providers, and friends for supporting our mission and our animals.
Happy Thanksgiving 🙏

23/11/2023

Pharaoh is a former Amish buggy DHH who stands 16 hands and wears a 81” blanket. He came in a year ago weighing only 784 pounds by tape measure. Our on-site equine vet scale currently weighs him at 1125 pounds and gaining mass. The facial paralysis is all but gone. No more parasites, no more oral cyst, no more thrush, no more infection, and a colic survivor. He “joined up” this week and leads without a halter or lead line. He even shows up in other people’s healing sessions. Grateful this holiday season for being a part of his healing journey so he can be part of theirs. Forever Safe.

19/10/2023

We would like to take a moment to give the biggest “thank you” to an amazing couple! Terry and Alix celebrated Terry’s 50th birthday by hosting a party at their home and designating the Sanctuary as the recipient of donations in lieu of a birthday gift. We are humbled by their gesture and honored to receive a total of $2420 in donations! Thank you to all the donors, vendors, and most importantly to the hosts! Happy birthday, Terry! May blessings of health and happiness be bestowed unto you for the next 50+ years!

29/09/2023

I am soooo pleased to give a giant round of applause to a very special young lady. She bravely took our Intro to Horses Level 1 class in the Spring with a bunch of adults and promptly offered her time to help me at the Sanctuary. Throughout the entire summer, she selflessly gave her time, and I am grateful for her help. Here is what KC said about why she chooses to spend time helping the horses, in her own words...

"I started volunteering at My Happy Place Animal Sanctuary originally for Confirmation service hours and because I love animals. After meeting Julie and leaning about the horses she rescues, I feel so happy I get to help them and make relationships with these incredible animals. Getting to groom and feed the horses and knowing they are being cared for makes me feel good and I always look forward to coming back. It's a wonderful place!"

Thank you, KC!

26/09/2023

We use 3-string square bales of straight cut orchard grass and alfalfa from out west. It’s definitely more expensive hay. Our reasons for choosing this hay compared to local round bales are:
1) allergies. Some of our horses are allergic to local mixed hay and/or the weeds found in local hay
2) We steam every flake to reduce sugar, dust and any potential microorganisms
3) the nutrient content of western grass is different
4) every steamed flake is bagged using HayChix bags
5) less waste
6) storage and movement of square bales is easier

Yes, it’s a ton of work to do what we do around the clock. We feel it’s the best choice for the horses here.

26/08/2023

As part of an full circle environmental program funded by Walmart grants, this is the second year we planted organic carrot seeds in clean composted horse manure. We started a little late this year due to weather and wildfires, but the carrots are starting to come in. We feed the organic carrots to those horses who can have them as a treat. One in particular absolutely LOVES carrots!

22/08/2023

Thanks to a donor’s generous gift, as of today, the horses can be weighed with an equine veterinary scale. This scale is accurate within 0.1%. It weighs horses up to 3000 pounds. This is an important addition to our rehab practice as we have horses who can not be safely trailered to the hospital over an hour away for regular weight checks. Some horses need to gain weight, some need to lose weight. The manual tapes just aren’t accurate by comparison. So this is huge! Thank you!

05/07/2023

Happy Gotcha Day to Pharaoh! He is an amazing, resilient, profound spirit! Two before pics from a year ago on rescue day and two from this week!