07/05/2026
Grab a HOLIDAY Beverage of your choice and hang with me for a minute!
Information on Sanctuary Horses!
Realistically it takes 3 to 5 volunteers (depending on dependability) to care for 5 Special Needs Sanctuary Horses.
For COMFORTABLE Coverage (recommended) it takes 6 to 10 active volunteers.
A WELL SUPPORTED SANCTUARY will have 5 to 8 dependable CORE volunteers with 10 to 15 support.
THIS 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND, as the founder I spent time immersed in caring for six (6) special need horses along with the balance of the barn = many .... And my thoughts went very much to - am I doing the right thing. Are they getting what they need. Sanctuary is suppposed to bring a high level of care but many times those of us in this work cannot provide it, as hard as we try to be 10 people it doesn't work.
Gobi - was brought into the stall due to excessive heat. Every few hours checking on him for breathing, refilling his water, cleaning manure out of the stall so the bugs didn't over take him (even with a fan); trying to find the time to stretch his legs and walk him because being stuck in a stall is not great; Especially with arthritis.
Gus - our cool old mustang dude who is growing more & more difficult to keep weight on. Delivering many feeds with mush in cold water and spraying to keeps bugs off and providing ice jugs for all to keep their water cool.
Justice - who is constantly itching herself on everything she can find and tearing up her skin. Many extra feeds, and ointment for her wounds. Electrolytes for all and because she was also stalled for medical, walks when I could between caring for all of the others.
MAX - our blind guy who toughed out many neighborhood fireworks but calming and protecting him from the stress of the holiday. The dude is incredible but sometimes taking a closer look, he needs more than the passing eye can see.
Belle - Beautiful Belle seems to get terrible hives in the heat of bug season and to top off all of the heat and irritation of the bugs, her run in flipped in the storm which has her on high alert and ever so mindful of every little thing going on (fireworks didn't help).
Fire - he's our beautiful & majestic, pushing 40 yrs, Hallelujah horse. Extreme weather always concerns me. Making sure he has what he needs is a 24-7 job but hyped to the max in extreme heat and extreme cold. While he's a little tough to get close to, he does warm up and the close encounters are the BEST of the Special Encounters!! When he eats treats from your hand or lets you scratch a litle on his neck, your heart sings a very special tune.
If we have ANY FOLLOWERS that would like to help out with volunteering, we have different levels. WE adore and respect those that pop in once in a while to do what is necessary. I've also thought it would be so nice to have those who choose a horse and decide to check on them routinely. THIS is nice because so many things can be caught early and handled if there are more eyes, invested eyes on every horse.
There are other "sanctuary" horses along with a few adoptable. I will post pictures of those discussed above and if you have interest in being their special "advoate" type volutneer - just let us know. You can always reach out in messenger !
HOPE EVERYONE HAD A VERY NICE 4th of JULY !
