Red Feather Equine Sanctuary

19/06/2025

Donation support needed in Vermont ❤️‍🩹

The Dorset Equine Rescue Inc.

Dear Friends,

We urgently need your support. Yesterday, we assisted law enforcement with an animal welfare investigation in Townsend, VT, which led to the seizure of 39 horses. It was an incredibly long and emotional day, requiring a massive team effort.

Many of you know that we regularly assist law enforcement, and care for and house animals seized in cruelty cases, but you might not realize that every aspect of our assistance in these efforts—from the initial investigation to long-term horse care for those that remain at our organization, is entirely funded by the Dorset Equine Rescue. There is no government or state funding for animal welfare organizations in this work. We are so greatful to the other organizations who have partnered with us and offered to take in horses from this case.

These operations are complex and unpredictable. We often don’t know how many animals will need help until we are on-site, making planning and resource allocation a challenge. Costs include transportation, veterinary care, medications, farrier services, feed, and housing—expenses that quickly add up, especially when horses are in severe condition.

We have become a critical partner in these vital efforts to help remove horses from neglectful situations. However, the financial strain of these cases often lasts months or even years, as legal processes prevent us from adopting out the animals during that time.

Today, we need your help to cover the costs of this crucial rescue mission. Your donation will directly support transportation, emergency medical care, staff time, feed, and the ongoing needs of these horses.

We’ve made a promise to law enforcement and, most importantly, to these horses. With your generosity, we can honor that commitment and ensure these animals receive the care they desperately need.

Please consider making a donation today to help us meet this urgent need. Together, we can make a profound difference in their lives.

Donations can be made here:

https://dorsetequinerescue.networkforgood.com/projects/60596-donate-now

Or by mailing a check here:
The Dorset Equine Rescue
P.O. Box 92
East Dorset, VT 05253

Thank you for standing with us as we continue to rescue horses in need!

15/06/2025

We only have one horse dad at Red Feather. His name is Poet, and his story is almost hard to believe.

We met him years ago during a massive cruelty case we worked in partnership with . Poet had been mass-bailed from a kill pen and dumped into a severe hoarding situation. He was a stallion at the time, but by the time we met him, he had been gelded, and thanks to Lesley and the Bluemont team, he had several years of peace, until the loss of his closest companion, Roseanne. That's when Lesley and I decided that Poet would come to us.

What happened next still gives me chills. Poet arrived at Red Feather and immediately bonded with Lisa, one of our Thoroughbred mares. It seemed strange at first, until we realized they had known each other. Years ago, they lived together in the same seized herd. They hadn’t seen each other in a long time, but horses remember what matters, and they remembered each other.

Then came the moment that truly stopped us in our tracks.

We were asked to take Poet’s two foals, who were both born after the seizure. They had never met their father. But when Cimarron, the c**t, walked up to him… there was recognition. They touched noses. And then they began to groom each other like family.

This was all instinct and something deeper we’ll never fully understand.

Today, Poet lives with Lisa and his two children as a tight family band. He’s a quiet, devoted father who leads with presence more than pressure.

People talk a lot about horses as if they are "livestock" or tools. But if you watch long enough, you’ll see what we see: they feel, they bond, they remember. And sometimes, they even find their way home.

Wishing all dads - animal and human - a Happy Father's Day.

13/06/2025

Vet Day is here ~

Today is a big day for the sanctuary herd and **we need your help** We'll be posting lots of updates in our stories and on Patreon for everyone who wants to follow along.

🩻 What we are doing today:
*Jackson has been showing signs of foot pain, so we are taking diagnostic X-rays to help come up with a treatment plan
*Sinatra is getting his first dental with us... Based on some of our learnings from the anatomy class last weekend, I have suspicions of possible dental issues - will I be right?! 🧐 Stay tuned!
*Remi is having a small melanoma mass removed
*Biscuit, Sedona, Kitty, Poet, Jackson and Valor are getting regular dentals
*Siri is getting a routine follow up dental to correct the shear mouth condition she arrived with more than TWO YEARS ago. Yes, we are still rehabbing the consequences of years ago neglect - this is the importance of sanctuary placement and care!

❤️‍🩹 How you can help:
*Donate!! www.redfeatherfarmnc.org
*Join us on Patreon www.patreon.com/redfeatherfarmnc
*Consider becoming a monthly sponsor, details are on our website

Thank you for helping us keep these guys healthy & safe!

12/06/2025

Checking in with a few resident updates 🫶

-Sinatra is progressing well in training but is not quite ready to attempt trimming his hind feet
-Lawson is still the most precious giant pasture puppy. No real news on him but wanted you to see how cute he is 🥰
-Aurora was not herself for about a year after her mate Mario passed away. Just recently, she's been more interactive with us again and it's been really nice to see her heal in that way. She has been spending a lot of time with Cinder, which I think is a perfect partnership and one I hope builds into an enduring bond.

Reminder that we have a huge vet day tomorrow and we would really appreciate your support. Every dollar matters!

Donate: www.redfeatherfarmnc.org
Venmo (under Charities)

11/06/2025

Every day, well-meaning people tag us in kill pen posts or send auction bailout fundraisers, asking us to help. And we get it. Everyone wants to save horses. Clearly, we do too, as we’ve dedicated our lives to it.

But several years ago, we made a hard organizational decision: we will not purchase from or otherwise support the kill buyer network.

This is an advocacy post. If it’s not for you, you’re welcome to scroll on.

Here’s the truth: it used to be that rescuers could quietly buy horses at low prices to spare them from slaughter. In rare cases, that's still possible. But the game has changed. Profit-driven brokers figured out they could make more money by selling the *idea* of rescue than the actual horse. The sadder the story, the higher the price.

Today, some horses are deliberately starved or neglected just enough to trigger social media donations. It’s calculated cruelty—for profit.

And no, you don’t have to take our word for it. USDA horse export records are public and searchable. Slaughter numbers have dropped in the last decade, but it’s due to shifting markets—not because of online fundraisers. In fact, the rise in auction buyouts is creating a vicious cycle of exploitation, not breaking it.

The proof is seen in kill buyers and auction houses that are making record profits. Think about that.

Would we stop the drug trade by paying cartels? End puppy mills by buying every puppy? Of course not. You can’t end cruelty by funding it.

We know it’s painful to see broken-down horses online. It feels helpless. But remember—every horse you see posted is just the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands more out of view: in shelters, forgotten fields, long-term government holding.

That’s where true rescue happens. That’s where your support makes the most impact—before the suffering starts.

If you believe America's horses deserve more than being paraded across a screen for a quick dollar, we invite you to stand with us. Because real change takes more than urgency. It takes integrity.

10/06/2025

Colic... Abscesses... Plus eight dentals - all in one week.

In the past few days, Aladino needed an emergency vet for a mild impaction colic (he is doing much better now!), Jackson keeps popping abscesses, and we are starting diagnostics to determine if there is an underlying cause. Sinatra and 7 others are scheduled for dentals this coming Friday.

We’re drowning in vet bills!

This is not a drill. This is what good sanctuary care looks like, and it can be costly to provide comprehensive, quality care. But it is so worth it for the horses who rely on us.

If you’ve ever wanted to help, now’s the moment.
⁠
📍Donate www.redfeatherfarmnc.org
📣 Share... it matters
💙 Show up: like we do, every day!

08/06/2025

This page has reposted our story about Capri without permission or acknowledgement. Please leave a comment to tell them content theft hurts nonprofits and creators.

https://www.facebook.com/share/16irGSWcyN/

07/06/2025

We started the day with an incredible equine anatomy class led by the brilliant Sandy Siegrist—and wow, what an experience. Horse bones tell stories if you’re willing to listen.

I’ll be sharing more reflections on Patreon, but wanted to post this here: the fragile nasal bone you see, and the blue line I’ve drawn, show where a halter’s noseband typically sits. This area is thin, delicate, and easily damaged—especially when a horse pulls against pressure while tied. It’s no wonder so many horses develop behavioral issues or physical injuries from restraint-based handling.

We also saw firsthand what arthritis looks like at the bone level, along with deformities caused by both genetics and human practices. One major takeaway: horses' skeletal systems don’t fully mature until around age six, yet many are ridden hard long before that. Thoroughbreds, for example, often *end* their racing careers by age four. No wonder we see chronic injuries in so many of the young ones we take in.

They can’t tell us what hurts—but their bones can. And we are listening 💔

01/06/2025

"Through no fault of their own" seems to be the starting phrase to a lot of horse sale and rehoming ads these days, specifically ones for horses that are older, less than sound, high maintenance or otherwise difficult to place.

It always makes me scratch my head a little bit. It also lights a small fire in me.

I have buried every horse that has come to be mine over the last 20 years. I feel pretty strongly about being the last stop for an animal that comes into my care. I also feel pretty strongly that dealing with the inevitable decisions regarding end of life for those animals is not only part of the deal, it's my responsibility as a horsewoman.

As someone who has carved out an unintentional niche working with tough horses, I get offered - more often than I'd like - horses no one else has been able to figure out and for whom I am often their last hope. I got another offer this week for such an animal. I declined. My heart is too open and soft and is marked with too many scars from horses past that I couldn't fix. I wear those scars well and with a fair amount of stoicism...but I know they're there and feel their pull more often than I care to admit.

The older I get and the more time I spend with horses, the more I feel that it is a rare thing that choosing a peaceful end for the horses in our care is the wrong decision.

Even if the horse is still rideable "for the right person".

Even if the horse is sound.

Even if the horse isn't what one might consider "old" or "aged".

Even if the horse "just needs some basic maintenance".

Even if the horse "might be perfectly suited for a different job".

Maybe so.

But the moment you release that horse into someone else's hands, all bets are off as to what happens next. I offer my horses quite a bit - at least I'd like to think so - but the most important thing I offer them is the guarantee that they will never know suffering. They will never know cruelty.

They will never face an uncertain future "through no fault of their own".