Refuge Farms, Inc. - Horse Rescue & Sanctuary

04/04/2026

12/21/2025

Thank you to those of you who still keep the animals in your heart in this season of shopping, eating, and Ho!Ho!Ho!.

We greatly appreciate our supporters and yet we find ourselves in need of help with March and April feed supplies - each month at $1135.. Your gifts have insured January and most of February feed needs are met.

Your long-standing belief in our Missions shows with your help. However, we still need more your help.

If you can donate, that is wonderful and THANK YOU! If not, please share this posting and comment. We do so appreciate you, our supporters!

With faith & Merry Christmas!
Sandy and The Texans and The Herd

12/04/2025

I'm happy to tell you that The Texans are coping with this frigid air and below zero temps better than most. When checking on them, my hands beneath their blankets find them toasty warm. And their appetites continue to be enormous.

It is interesting to see personalities beginning to show. The Gelding is quite possessive of his feed bucket. I am thinking the days of sharing at our feeding stations may be in the past. And the mare is adjusting to her partner's changes and accommodates his new "RULES".

The gelding's leg wound has been naturally progressing. His walks in the quarantine pasture have managed to clean the wound nicely and also stimulated the growth of some new tissue. We have a large open wound but I am encouraged on his ability to sustain his activities while the wound remains open and sensitive. Tough ole' dude, in my book!

When it warms up a bit, I will get some pics of the two in their blankets. The gelding is in the green with the sleek mare in a purple outer blanket. Until then, know they seem to be adapting very well and will, at this rate, hide their ribs by early spring!

Be warm, be safe, and keep the faith -
Sandy and The Texans with The Herd

11/16/2025

Riding Faith

Refuge Farms is splashing back onto the screens of Social Media! And not a planned splash. Hardly! An honest splash! Why?

Because we believe that the horses that find their way to us are deemed to be with us .We do not go to auctions or sales. We do not go looking. Because we believe that the horses destined for us will find their way to us. That’s why.

The thoughts that race through my mind in these situations are remembering when I was riding Faith, a large Appaloosa mare, into the dining room at a fundraising event. Not too big of a deal, you say?

It is when you realize she has no eyes and total trust in Refuge Farms. For her first public ride, she wandered into the linen covered tables of the dining guests. Each time listening to the lead rope attached to her halter. Yup. No bit in her mouth either. Just a halter on her head and a long lead hooked to that halter.

It was that night that I blazed in my mind the verse that says ”For we walk not by sight but by faith”.

Enter June and Johnny.

Let me introduce you to a bonded pair that has somehow ended up standing in the Texas Kill Pens. Thin, frightened, and literally constantly touching each other, Refuge Farms has stepped up to accept June and Johnny.

Oh! Did I mention both June and Johnny are blind? In the kill pen with the noises and smells that frighten every horse - even with eyes!

Somehow this pair came to our attention. Do we have room? We do! Big Boy has moved on to make room for them. And we have faith.

We have needed support to pay for transport fees, health certificates, and bail. In working with her network, Amy Benton has single-handedly raised the funds for the bail for both horses so we are good there! Additional funds have been donated, matched, and dedicated to help us with the transport fees.

Again, Amy Benton worked within her circles and raised roughly $1400 of those transport fees. However, we find ourselves in the situation of needing to change the transport orders and bring the pair directly to Refuge Farms in Spring Valley instead of stopping in Madison, WI with the final leg being made by a long-term supporter of our efforts.

As a result, we are asking for support to bring them home - from Texas to Spring Valley for $2000. I made the decision to accept this pair to insure they were safe, not separated, and no longer hearing bells, horns, microphones, and panic in horse’s neighs. No longer smelling the horrid unknown smells. And that the next trailer they walk into is their FREEDOM RIDE home!

If you find your heart supports this decision, we would appreciate your help with the transport fees. And we give our appreciation that for this pair, they can relax when they realize they are safe. That they are home.

We move forward without having all the answers. But we have that FAITH bucket hanging in our barn. And as we discussed the options for June and Johnny, one of us pointed upward at the bucket. With that gesture, she reminded me that we have moved forward by faith on all of them!

We don’t always have room when we accept one. But we make room. The answers come. And we have faith that the needs for June and Johnny will come, as well.

It is the faith that we are built upon!

Sandy and The Herd

08/22/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BF2XfCr11/?__cft__[0]=AZUZbq7awlXg8JkYqb2IeodUM8SAXtvD7qhoTqunTwBmXW02qDjkxwuLqAsT6GsSsRuuhHMpkWuEjxsnPgXlcOsWJLovxfddDR9lEV5nq6jiJ3pV5CCUebce92ykZt7qAifcj4zHoJB4maNvfAmtZXjdqzk-6y-EE3NJjCKGl7nF7QxaZOvcfPELt102pVlErDI&__tn__=-UK-y-R

This address is NOT for the Sandra Gilbert you know of Refuge Farms. It is an imposter attempting to mislead you with their intention of stealing your money.

If you have replied to a "Friend Request" from this person, go back and UNFRIEND for your own protection.

This posting will be updated as information is received from FaceBook.

08/07/2025

*** Marla update - part 1***
*** Published for Paulette of Cassaforte by Sandy Gilbert ***

On July 29th I received a phone call about a retired mom German Shepherd that needed emergent saving. Thankfully, I was able to convince the farmer to hold and keep her for me until yesterday.
On the 29th I immediately posted her praying I would be able to save her quickly. On the 30th I received pictures of Marla.

A beautiful, scared 5 yr old, retired German Shepherd momma.
Almost immediately upon my posting her, I received a message from a very dear friend, Sandra Gilbert. Sandy is the founder & director of Refuge Farms, Inc. - Horse Rescue & Sanctuary. Two year's ago I posted an elderly retired Amish work horse that also needed to get off her farm quickly. Sandy saw that post and sprang into action without hesitation and saved that beautiful girl, whose name at that time was Bess.

Today Bess is now Rose and she is healthy and happy and thriving. So, of course, when I heard from Sandy and she wanted Marla, I immediately without hesitation said YES! absolutely.

Sandy's had a rough year with precious lives lost on her farm. Most recently she lost one of her beloved dogs. Marla will help to fill that void. The problem was getting Marla from her farm in Lancaster PA out to Spring Valley, Wisconsin to the farm and Sandy.
I posted her on 2 different rescue flight pages. I contacted multiple transport companies. It seemed it was going to be an impossible feat. Thanks to all of you, Marla got alot of shares. A plan B went into action and a wonderful family came forward to adopt and give Marla a home. Although I was thrilled, I just couldn't get a nagging feeling out of my system. Marla really needed to get to Wisconsin.

In what was like the 11th hour, I heard from Sandy. She had transportation for Marla! I was beyond ecstatic! A wonderful man and dear friend of Sandy's for over 40 year's, Dan, volunteered to drop what he was doing and leave his home in a different state altogether, to take the 18 hour drive out to PA to pick up Marla and deliver her to Sandy.

I was and still am beyond words. What an incredibly nice gesture. Once I knew he was on the road and the plan was in action and this was really going to happen, I had a very difficult phone call to make. I had to break the hearts of a wonderful family that I have no doubt would have given Marla a wonderful and loving home. But after 35 year's of doing this, I knew it was what had to be done. It's most definitely what was best for Marla.

I was told Marla was house broken and good with kids. Now, I definitely know better than to believe everything that I am told when it comes to rescue. And I'm so glad that I listened to that nagging feeling inside of me. When we got to the farm yesterday to pick Marla up, we received a very nervous scared little German shepherd girl.

Was she good with the kids? Absolutely, from a distance. Turns out the kids really didn't have much interaction with Marla at all. Nor did Marla have much interaction with the kids. Could they pet and touch her, surely. But she was scared, and they were extremely gentle with her. She just simply is not used to much human attention and interaction and to absolutely no fault of her own.

I'm so glad that we got to spend a few hours with her. We took her to a busy place with lots of people and kids. She walked great on leash and has wonderful manners. She was intrigued by the kids. But very afraid of fast movement and loud noises. However, she did excellent with adults.

My nagging feeling was in me no more. I felt complete warmth and comfort. I was more reassured now than ever that Marla was going home exactly where she was meant to go and needed to be. She will live the rest of her life out on a wonderful farm with plenty of retired Amish work horse's much like herself.

I truly feel that she will sense that and find much comfort there with them. She will be with adults and until she is used to kids she will not have to interact with them. She will receive lots of love and attention from Sandy and all of her volunteers on the farm. Oh yea, that house broken thing. NOT! Turns out Marla isn't house broken at all. But I have no doubt Sandy will get her there.

The pictures that I posted are of Marla with us at the rest stop as we were awaiting Dan's arrival. The last one's are of her on the back seat of Dan's brand new 3 day old truck, getting her freedom ride.
I will leave part 2 to Sandy. So stay tuned for that and Marla's arrival to her new home.

I want to thank everyone immensely that shared the posts of Marla and tried and even offered to help. I'm thrilled it worked out this time. Sadly, it doesn't always.

I want to also acknowledge that as we were driving to meet Dan yesterday, with Marla, I received a phone call from a pilot with Pilots N Paws. He saw my post and was volunteering to help. He was so incredibly nice and thoughtful. I was truly touched.

So please, I encourage everyone that is reading this, please visit the pilot's n paws site, Refuge Farms, and Cassaforte, my rescue that I am founder and director of. We are all registered 501c3 non-profits. Help and donate where and when you can. We greatly appreciate it and it truly helps and allows us to continue to do what we all truly do love doing, saving the animals.

In the same respect, please make no mistake about it, it is ALWAYS about the animal being saved first and foremost! I do NOT give animals away even in rough times with short notice. There is always a vetting process that will be done and a contract to be signed.

I am working for that animal solely. There is nothing personal involved. My commitment, as is that of all of us involved in rescue, is putting the safety and the best interest of that animal first.
Thank you all very, very much from the bottom of my heart. And I am very anxiously awaiting Marla's arrival home.

Paulette