Red Feather Equine Sanctuary (2025)

23/04/2025

This week, we celebrate a milestone: baby Maddox turns 2 years old!

And what a joy it is that he’s still alongside his devoted mum, our dear Alison Wonderland—“Ali” to us—who has overcome more than any horse ever should.

Ali was bred for the **14th** time to a high-earning race sire. When the embryo was missed in a scan, her owners dumped her into the auction-slaughter pipeline. We only intervened after pleading with her former connections to help her—help they promised, but never delivered. We had no idea she was pregnant when she arrived at Red Feather—shut down, wary, and silent.

Eight months later, Maddox was born. His legs were so windswept we weren’t sure if he’d ever stand straight. But with time and care, they did. Now, he towers over his mother.

That they are still together—after Ali had to say goodbye to so many foals before him—is nothing short of a miracle. That miracle is sanctuary.

Ali’s arthritis has grown worse, and we know we may not have many more birthdays to share. But we are grateful for every day with her and with him.

And Maddi… well, if he’d followed the path intended for him, he’d already be on a racetrack. But he’s still a baby—clingy, uncoordinated, and just beginning to discover the strength in his growing body.

I hope when people see Maddox, they don’t just see a promising young Thoroughbred. I hope they see a baby who wants nothing more than to be with his mom. Because every horse on every racetrack was once just like Maddox.

Happy birthday, sweet Maddi. You are a light for so many.

21/04/2025

We moved Dancer and Lucy to long-term foster this weekend, and now they have friends of their own species for the first time in their lives ❤️

Over the past weeks of providing feed and support to Dancer and her goat pal, Lucy, at their current home, it became pretty obvious that they were going to be challenging to place. At 22 years old, Dancer has lived her entire life alone, without other horses, only receiving very limited handling mostly over a fence. She is a very sweet and attention-loving girl who sees humans as her herd mates, which can be quite dangerous as she doesn't understand how her 1000lb. body can flatten one of us! She also has some hind end ataxia - nothing severe like Strawberry's but enough to make her undesirable in the eyes of most.

Not us, though. We made a spot for Dancer and Lucy in our off-site herd that includes mares Roulette and Shelley. We were all a little unsure of how introductions would go, but by the second day, Dancer started to figure things out and actually began making friends with Rou!!

Lucy's move came with a little surprise. A few days before, we received a call from a friend & animal advocate that there was a local goat who needed placement. Her name is Belle, and she was bred and sold by a large NC petting zoo into a private home who no longer wanted her. The timing was right because we wanted to provide a goat friend for Lucy, so we welcomed Belle into the mix and helped an additional soul in need 🩵 Lucy and Belle are still figuring out their new dynamic... She and Dancer are in constant sight of one another to help keep them each comfortable during the transition to this new chapter.

We are so appreciative of your support that allows us to provide soft landings and protection for unwanted animals. They are wanted here.

20/04/2025

We hope to see you at this year's Rescue for the Roses 🌹🐎 a Humane Alternative to the Derby!

Bet on Rescue, not Racing ❤️

It's just one week away!! You can learn more, RSVP to attend this FREE, family-friendly day of celebrating horses or purchase VIP tickets at our website:

www.redfeatherfarmnc.org/rescuefortheroses

16/04/2025

And every day 💖

15/04/2025

My horse-loving soul is tired.

Not just tired—worn through. Frayed from the endless justifications, the distortions and delusions, the subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways we humans continue to twist and squeeze and manipulate the truth to suit our comfort and our false reality. At the expense of the horse.

It doesn’t take a degree in animal science or a certificate in biomechanics to recognize what we all already know in our bones: that no mammal is built to bear an extra 15-20% of its own weight carried externally atop its spine as a regular part of daily life. Or to be required to hold and move our/their bodies in ways that please someone else's ideas about how we/they "should" ambulate.

Not dogs.
Not cats.
Not cows or pigs or deer.
Not elephants or camels.
Not even humans.

And yet somehow—we’ve made horses the exception. We’ve completely normalized the absolutely abnormal. Romanticized the barbaric. We've built entire industries and identities around a story that simply isn't true. And when we are honest with ourselves, we feel the dissonance. We know.

Without even needing science to prove it.

It only takes half a second of sincere reflection to realize that the horse—perhaps the most cooperative, forgiving, and exploited being on this planet—deserves better than our eternal, self-centered denial.

Continuing to perpetuate the lie that riding is beneficial to horses (or even worse, that NOT riding them is somehow detrimental to them), to defend this lie, to continue trying to justify it to the next generations as though it were sacred truth… it's exhausting.

And I'm not even personally perpetuating or justifying it anymore.

I'm simply still witnessing it being perpetuated and justified at almost every turn.

So if your horse-loving soul happens to be as tired as mine, I want you to know that you, too, have permission to put this lie to rest in your heart and soul. Once and for all.

12/04/2025

When Mom and Dad are having some alone time but the kid comes barging in uninvited 🤣

This hilarious moment (captured and captioned by Kaitlyn!) had us all cracking up—but it’s also kind of a big deal. Ali is extremely picky about who she lets near her and Maddox. She usually runs other horses off, so the fact that she chose to enter Jackson’s stall is front page news.

At Red Feather, we give our sanctuary horses the freedom to choose their own companions rather than forcing group dynamics. Many horses are moved, sold, or separated so often that they’re left without any say in their social lives. It’s like being shuffled from table to table of strangers, constantly trying to figure out where you belong.

Here, we honor their individuality—and their right to choose who they share space with.

Support sanctuary and our mission to make the world a kinder place for horses! We'd love to have you join us as a monthly sponsor and/or Patreon subscriber.

More info about animal sponsorships can be found on our website: www.redfeatherfarmnc.org

Join Patreon for as little as $1/mo: www.patreon.com/redfeatherfarmnc

❤️🪶🐎

08/04/2025

Siri's Story

I’m not exactly sure why I was so drawn to her photo. She was one of several Thoroughbred broodmares seized in a criminal neglect case, all needing urgent placement. She wasn’t flashy or particularly well-built—in equestrian terms, she’d go unnoticed. But something about her reminded me of our Finn, rescued from a similar situation and maybe the most good-hearted horse I’ve ever known.

So we said yes to #6—who we named Siri—along with two other mares, Shelley and Kitty.

Siri was the youngest of the bunch, unhandled, and an absolute firecracker. Getting her haltered and onto the trailer was a rodeo. It was during that process we noticed a large mass on her jaw. We couldn’t get a proper diagnosis until she was gentled enough for the vet, but what we found was heartbreaking: a broken molar buried deep in her jawbone had abscessed and eaten through the bone, draining through her chin. She was in so much pain she couldn’t chew properly, and that had caused a cascade of other dental problems.

When we take in a rescue, we never know what’s coming. In Siri’s case, she needed close to $10,000 in scans, surgery, and aftercare. That’s a terrifying number for a small sanctuary like ours. I wish, I pray, and we work our fingers to the bone to raise what we need—but so much of what keeps us going is hope. Hope that someone hears our stories and decides they want to be part of this work.

And you did—like you always do. With your help, and the support of (who had rescued dogs from the same rural shelter Siri came from), we covered every penny of her treatment. Today, Siri is a happy, healthy young horse. And I will never, ever regret choosing her—number six—because of a soft eye and a gut feeling she needed us.

That’s Siri’s story. But really, it’s just one part of a much bigger problem: a breeding operation that used these mares for profit and didn’t care for them; a legal system that let the owners walk with no charges; and the horse slaughter pipeline that exists as a dark ending for too many like her.

The only way I know to keep fighting is to keep telling their stories—and asking you to tell them, too. ❤️

02/04/2025

A thought-provoking read.
By Jane Smiley (copied)

Most horses pass from one human to another - some horsemen and women are patient and forgiving, others are rigorous and demanding, others are cruel, others are ignorant.

Horses have to learn how to, at the minimum, walk, trot, canter, gallop, go on trails and maybe jump, to be treated by the vet, all with sense and good manners.

Talented Thoroughbreds must learn how to win races, and if they can't do that, they must learn how to negotiate courses and jump over strange obstacles without touching them, or do complicated dance like movements or control cattle or accommodate children and adults in therapy work.

Many horses learn all of these things in the course of a single lifetime. Besides this, they learn to understand and fit into the successive social systems of other horses they meet along the way.

A horse's life is rather like twenty years in foster care, or in and out of prison, while at the same time changing schools over and over and discovering that not only do the other students already have their own social groups, but that what you learned at the old school hasn't much application at the new one.

We do not require as much of any other species, including humans.

That horses frequently excel, that they exceed the expectations of their owners and trainers in such circumstances, is as much a testament to their intelligence and adaptability as to their relationship skills or their natural generosity or their inborn nature. That they sometimes manifest the same symptoms as abandoned orphans - distress, strange behaviors, anger, fear - is less surprising than that they usually don't.

No one expects a child, or even a dog to develop its intellectual capacities living in a box 23 hours a day and then doing controlled exercises the remaining one.

Mammal minds develop through social interaction and stimulation.

A horse that seems "stupid", "slow", "stubborn", etc. might just have not gotten the chance to learn!

Take care of your horses and treasure them.

01/04/2025

THANK YOU to our 2025 Rescue for the Roses sponsors! The generosity of these businesses and local individuals underwrites this amazing event and helps fund our critical education, advocacy and rescue work. 🌹🐎 Please join us in thanking them for their support!

28/03/2025

We shared Willow’s photo yesterday in our Rescue for the Roses announcement. She won’t be at the event this year, but she’s a shining example of why we do this work.

Just yesterday, the person Willow trained under was banned from racing for life—caught illegally injecting injured horses to keep them racing. Willow raced exclusively under them, at tracks listed in the report (linked below).

The article says this “hasn’t happened at this magnitude” before—but truthfully, this is just the first time it’s been caught. It likely happens all the time.

We’ll never know what Willow went through. But when she came to Red Feather at just 4 years old, we let her do what she’d never been allowed to: just be a baby horse. And she’s thrived—rolling in hay, napping when she wants, and making us laugh daily.

We call her W***y. She’s silly, sassy, and totally herself. Maybe she’ll grow into “Willow” one day—but for now, she’s our perfect W***y-girl.

We don’t see horses as products. We see them as individuals. And we love them for exactly who they are.

Read the article: https://www.pennlive.com/news/2025/03/trainer-accused-of-racing-injured-horses-at-penn-national-given-lifetime-ban.html

***yGirl

27/03/2025

Rescue for the Roses is only 30 days away🌹Join us for an Alternative Derby party - our annual fundraiser that celebrates horses the humane way! You'll meet some of our retired race horses, hear their stories and learn how you can be a voice for rescued and retired equines.

R4R promises to be a fun day of:

🎶 Live music with
🍷The picturesque scenery of
🐎 Fun and games for the whole family
🛻 Food trucks
👕 Exclusive merch for sale and more!

This event is family-friendly and FREE to attend! VIP tickets with extra perks are available for purchase on our website:

https://www.redfeatherfarmnc.org/rescuefortheroses

Hope to see you there!!

24/03/2025

Chico is part mustang, part wooly mammoth and he has the cutest little heart on his snoot. Do you see it? 😍

20/03/2025

Over the past several years, we’ve rescued and advocated for dozens of horses bred for the racing industry. In the beginning, it used to really bother me when racing fans would dismiss what we do with comments like, “Thoroughbreds love to run—they’re bred for it!” or, “You just don’t understand sporting horses.” It felt frustrating and hopeless, like our efforts didn’t matter, like no one wanted to see the reality behind the glamour. How do you fix a problem when people refuse to believe it’s even there?

But over time, I’ve learned something important: the horses speak for themselves. Every horse we rescue carries a story—written in old injuries, in tired eyes, in the quiet way they learn to trust again. Little by little, people are starting to notice. More are beginning to understand that horses aren’t machines or money-makers. They are sentient, soulful beings, with emotions, personalities, and value far beyond a $2 bet on race day. They may have been bred to run, but that doesn’t mean they’re built to be pushed past their limits, discarded when they can’t perform, or forgotten when their bodies give up.

If you’ve ever wondered what happens after the races, or how you can make a difference, we invite you to join us. Support our sanctuary’s mission and come be part of Rescue for the Roses—a special event where we celebrate these incredible horses the humane way, honoring their strength, their beauty, and their spirits.

Come meet the horses and help us change their endings.

Rescue for the Roses 🌹 April 27, 2025 at Medaloni Cellars, Lewisville, NC

15/03/2025

Mark your calendars for our second annual Rescue for the Roses, an Alternative Derby affair where we celebrate horses the humane way! 🌹🐎

Wear your Derby attire and meet our rescued racehorses while learning about their inspiring journeys and enjoying a fun day with live music, food trucks, wine and family-friendly activities.

🗓️ April 27, 2025 at 1pm EST
📍 Medaloni Cellars in Lewisville, NC
🎶 Live music by the Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs
🛻 Food trucks with vegetarian/vegan options
🎉 Family friendly with games like corn hole and more
🎟️ FREE to attend with VIP tickets available for purchase

This event is a fundraiser for Red Feather Equine Sanctuary, where we educate, advocate and inspire others to make the world a kinder place for horses.

VIP tickets can be purchased on our website: www.redfeatherfarmnc.org

Can't wait to see you there!

Art by Winston-Salem, NC artist

14/03/2025

We have a routine vet day every month on the farm, where we provide dentals, vaccine updates and address any other herd health needs.

After Hurricane Helene, we updated our care policy to include an annual Coggins test for every resident. Previously, we ran the Coggins test on intake and then only again as needed for animals who were being trailered off property. Our vet and Board Member, Dr. Miley, recommended that we keep a current Coggins certificate on every equine, as it is a requirement for out-of-state travel including precautionary evacuations. Their safety is our number one concern, and of course after the devastation we saw last year in Western North Carolina, we updated this aspect of our care policy as well as our emergency and evacuation plans to make sure we have taken every safeguard possible for our animals' health and well-being.

Hank, Cash, Remi, Mia, Tater, Nilla and Wafer received routine dental floats today, while Jackson received a cool new leg compression wrap for some mild swelling, and we updated vaccines and Coggins as needed. Thank you for taking the best care of our rescues!

And thank you all for being the support behind our mission to make the world a kinder place for horses. We appreciate you beyond words! ❤️

10/03/2025

Hope you got as much rest this weekend as the Red Feather herd did -

xo, Allison

Red Feather Equine Sanctuary