I recently read removing a spider is certain death. Since we still have a lot of rain coming, I guess I will leave her alone. As long as she stays out of my way…
#freedomreins
#freedomreinsrescues
#availableforadoption
#ASAP
Monday night late night barn check.
These two are about the sweetest, shyest, low maintenance, non chalant-est ponies I have ever rescued.
KK was returned last month. Minko was returned Sunday.
That makes 7 returns this year.
Once a Freedom Reins rescue, always a Freedom Reins rescue…
But hopefully that is it for returns for the year! 🙏🙏🙏
#freedomreins
#freedomreinsrescues
#polkponies
#fortpolkwildponies
#mildnotwild
#minko
#kissy
Guess who has been in the rescue FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR?!
How? Why? Where are her humans?
Bambi came to us a year ago yesterday, after having been dumped with her brother 4 week before that. Bolt was adopted in the fall of last year, but Bambi is still with us!
Bambi is about a year and 3 months old now. She is a shepherd mix, and yes, we still need to do the dna test to find out what else. (The challenge is separating all the rescues and their drinking water…which is impossible during the summer months. There are a few water stations outside that is next to impossible to keep them from sharing…and it is too hot to empty them at the moment.)
We do know she is 100% beautiful! And 110% the smartest pup I have ever trained! She is about 50 lbs. Crazy athletic! Would play fetch for hours, and out runs everyone here by a lot! She loves going for long walks.
Bambi is crate and house trained. She has great manners and an excellent recall. Extremely loyal to her person.
Downfall? She is afraid of most men, but not all. Where are my single ladies? Bambi will make you feel safe, and comes with a built in alarm system!
She is on the very shy side at first. We are working on her social anxiety. But she does love to go for car rides.
Fence yard is a must! Bambi is well behaved, but we keep her entertained, and well exercised on the daily. Recommended to have toys and chews available for her, and crated when not home or when sleeping. I have had no problems with damage or accidents by doing these things.
Recommended no young kids, small dogs or cats. Bambi has not hurt any of ours, but I run a tight ship, have an eagle eye on the littles and the shepherds, use training collars when we are all outside, and have shifts for play time to keep everyone safe. It is A LOT to manage. Not saying it is impossible but Bambi has a strong prey drive, and a bit on higher on the pecking order, so best if she has big dog friends. Same for children. A
My happy place with my happy donkeys and their herd ❤️
#charlie
#linus
#happydonkeys
#freedomreinsrescues
I keep praying that if the good Lord wants us to keep going, that we would continue to have help. And he continues to answer my prayers beyond what I could ask or imagine! Big thanks to Mayna and hubby for the hay bales AND horse feed!! Feeling so blessed by the generosity of others! ❤️❤️❤️
Current situation…
Sitting in my car, waiting for the rain to let up. But I am so thankful for the rain! We were getting a little dusty around here. And last year this time, we were in a terrible drought that would last for months, and led to the worst fires anyone around here had ever seen in Louisiana.
So yes, so grateful for the rain! Thank you Lord!
Guess who is back?!
Kissy (previously known as Keisha) aka KK!
One week ago, we picked Kissy back up. She was adopted 4 years ago, and needed to be returned due to no fault of her own. Her owner is struggling with health issues. (If you are a praying person, please pray for her!)
Kissy came back fat and happy. She has been living the easy life!
This is one very special pony to me. She was in the very first group of Fort Polk Wild Ponies that we rescued. And she is the first one I gentled. I still have the old videos on my phone.
Very thankful to have her back with us! Thankful to her human of the last 4 years for loving her so much, and for giving us a few small bales and some items for our sales booth that helps support the rescue.
Kissy has been settling in the past week. She has made the acquaintance of every equine here. She prefers the minis to the mustangs. I think she remembers Charlie. They were hanging out last night.
She also has taken an interest in Rockstar.
And now that she has been back for a week, it is time to start “work”.
Step 1: Getting reacquainted and comfortable with each other.
Step 2: Clearing that tail!
Want to help sponsor Kissy?
A bag of feed is 16 🥕
A small bale of hay is 10 🥕
A large bale of hay is 60 🥕
https://www.paypal.me/helpFRRR
She is also due for an updated coggins. I think that is about 60 now. I will update once I set the appointment. She already has a chip.
Anyway. Welcome Kissy back!
Once a Freedom Reins horse, always a Freedom Reins horse.
Thea’s favorite spot in the barn…
More good news to share…
The mustangs get to hang out in a big pasture for a month!
They probably think they have gone to heaven…
Bambi and Zuni have become the best of friends.
All the faces of Zuni. She has been in the rescue for 405 days as of today. She has overcome so much!Where is her person?! #zuni #frrrzuni #malmix #rescuedismyfavoritebreed
Thanks for being a top engager and making it on to my weekly engagement list! 🎉
Auna Gutting, Ann Fend, Fran Hazel, Cheri Stenka, Valerie Swafford, Bliss Coulter, Sylvia Louise, Shawn Martin, Marge Dushek, Sandy Branum, Dee Clarke, Marla D. Hitchcock Lobrie, Susan Kinley, Spunky Perkins
Rockstar the Fabulous, says the teenager.
My son has been spending an excessive amount of time with Rockstar, not that I am complaining.
Rockstar is a blind horse, rescued in 2022 and bounced between fosters at first, for those unaware of his story. He came back for good last fall.
We rode him for the first time late last year, but were finding he was anxious, wanted to move out quickly, and was pushing through the bit.
Why? Because of the style of riding he was subjected to previous to rescue. He was forced to hold his head in, and in an unnatural position, he was made to go, go, go. Then stall kept the rest of the time, for at least 2 years previous to intake. We believe because of the previous pressure on the bit, a lot of force needed to be applied to stop the horse. It was all ugly in my opinion, and as you can read from the last post about bits, we do not believe that a bit should be the main source of information for a horse. Seat and leg pressure, and in Rockstar’s case, voice need to be where he gets his instructions.
So my son took him off the crazy train, and stopped tacking up, and just spent time in the pen with him. Using no tack at all, he started hopping up and down, on and off Rockstar. No saddle. No bridle. Not even a halter. And then progressed to walking. He had a calm, willing friend.
But every time after that, when tacking up, the tension came back.
Recently, the decision was made to just use a halter and lead, and it changed everything. Instead of a frustrated, anxious horse, there was a calm, respectful, curious, and willing partner. It completely changed the dynamic.
If you are reading this, and feel the need to critique my son’s riding ability, please note he is still very much a beginner rider. He knows a lot more about horses on the ground, and archery, than he does horsebackriding. But he is learning. And he is observant enough to know that a relationship needs to be formed with the horse, and that
So many things to share, so little time. Plus I don’t want to fill up your news feed!
But Sundays are beautiful days!
Time with the donkeys. Time with the mustangs. Time with the blind guy. Time with the returns…and they all need lots of grooming!
But this post is about Bambi. Again. She needs her forever person!
Where are you, dog mom?
#bambi
#frrrbambi
#thedeerdog
#bowwow
#shepherdmix
#agilitydog
#freedomreinsranchandrescue
Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy???!!??
Why has no one fallen in love with these girls?
Adopter or foster needed ASAP!
They are both so sweet, smart, obedient, cute, interesting, and fun!
Look at them…
In a world full of pitbulls, be a shepherd!
PS - Every foster mom they have had has LOVED them! Bambi has had 3, Zuni just 1.
Requirements? Fenced yard or country living needed for these two beauties. They can go separate, but they are wonderful together as well.
Bambi is ~10 months old now, and 44 lbs. Zuni is between 2 and 3 years, and 48 lbs. Both are shepherd mixes, and great alarm systems. They are both spayed, and are up to date on immunizations. HW negative for Bambi, Treatment for Zuni, with a retest coming soon to be sure they are all gone.
PM for more information…and to put in an application!
Might want to grab a coffee and a snack for this one.
This is Gandy.
I was awake much of the night, trying to write her story, coherently. And crying.
Rescue is HARD!
Gandy was rescued in 2017, from a killpen, something we no longer do, nor condone. There are better and safer ways to save a horse. Ways that keep a horse from unnecessary stress, potentially severe illness, or even death. Intercepting instead!
Ah, but this story started way before I came to my senses.
When I first met Gandy, I actually thought she was a he.
Maybe the pen pulled a bait and switch on me, which never would have occurred to me at the time. But when I arrived for pick up, a mare was waiting to be loaded.
The sad excuse for a human insisted we run her on the trailer. There was no reason for that, I explained. She would halter and load.
They sneered and snickered that she was wild and dangerous.
I insisted that she was not, as I had hugged this horse the last time I was there.
No one believed me. The arguing continued.
But I was absolutely insistent that if they just gave me 5 minutes with her, I could get her haltered.
And finally they relented.
As we walked to her pen, the rude comments continued.
And when we arrived, at first she was visibly upset and had no intention of coming any where near a halter.
Oh the comments! But I did not care. 5 minutes. That is what I said I needed. Now get out and let me do my thing!
And using my normal methods of making friends with a wild horse, I was able to halter her.
I did say a prayer that Jesus would tell Gandy I meant her no harm. And I firmly believe, after more than one time doing that, that God absolutely talks to animals, and allows me to touch them or halter them or load them on a trailer and get them out of the hell in which they are living.
And that is exactly what happened that day. She let me halter her. And we did load and leave that hell hole.
Maybe. Just maybe. If humans would treat a ho
And Skip to my Lou is on her way to her new, and probably, forever home!
Have a happy life, cute little pony! ❤️❤️❤️
We don’t have a goose.
One second, I was checking on Rockstar. The next, he had a friend land in his paddock…and walk into the surrounding pasture…get chased by the donkeys…get captured…get safely placed in our netted trampoline…and flew enough to get back into the pasture only to be harassed by the donkeys again.
Never a dull moment around here.
Anyone know of a wildlife rehabber who takes greater canadians? He (or she) does not belong to my neighbors (called around after caught but before escape)…
And I repeat, we don’t have (or need) a goose.
#freedomreinsranchandrescue
#valentines2024
#greatercanadian
#thegreatgoosetale
#ortail
#missingtailfeathers
#wasitthedonkeys
