Red Feather Equine Sanctuary

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Winston-Salem, NC
Red Feather Equine Sanctuary

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making the world a kinder place for horses

10/15/2026

Today is a beautiful day to give two senior mares a new lease on life. ❤️

Meet Empress (grey, 22) and Sweet Pea (chestnut, 18), two registered Thoroughbreds who were seized by law enforcement in a neglect case.

It's easy to complain about how inadequate our animal protection laws are, but I think it's equally important to recognize and support the officers who are out there doing the work, and really trying to improve life for the animals.

The Animal Control Officers involved in this case were compassionate, responsive, and demonstrated the highest level of care and professionalism. When they called Red Feather for assistance, we jumped into action.

Here's something that might surprise you: In North Carolina, it's perfectly legal, and even routine, for horses seized by law enforcement to be sold at public auction rather than placed through qualified rescue organizations.

Think about that. An animal can be removed from neglect, only to end up right back in the same cycle.

We believe the best way to protect horses is through prevention, and that work starts right here in our own backyard. It means supporting law enforcement, building relationships, and making sure there's somewhere safe for horses to go when intervention becomes necessary.

I dream of the day when Red Feather has a facility equipped to support every county animal control agency in North Carolina with their equine welfare cases. It's an ambitious goal, but it's the future we're working to build, one rescued heart at a time.

For now, we're getting to know these two lovely ladies and look forward to sharing their journeys as they heal.

Please consider making a donation to support Empress, Sweet Pea, and the many horses who will need us next. ❤️

www.redfeatherfarmnc.org

10/12/2026

Move over, Avril Lavigne there's a new Sk8er Grl in town ✨

Norma Jeane Lavigne

10/09/2026

Kelly from Sunshine Sanctuary in AZ asked me to share some pictures of our Alpines the other day, and I'm finally getting caught up after a ridiculously busy week. By Friday, we'll have made it through three farrier days, two vet appointments, several staff members taking well-earned time off, and all our usual chaos!

I managed to snap a few pictures during feeding today of everyone except Ava. They're not staged or particularly scenic, just candid moments from an ordinary day. And normalcy is a blessing. ❤️

I thought I'd revisit part of the Alpines' story, although admittedly, it's hard for me to tell without feeling a little bitter toward some of the humans involved. I'll save that part for another day.

In a nutshell, the Alpine mustangs come from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest near Alpine, Arizona. Because they inhabit National Forest land rather than BLM-managed public lands, they aren't afforded the federal protections given to so-called BLM mustangs. Not that those protections amount to much anyhow.

Government-paid contractors can legally round these horses up and sell them directly into the slaughter pipeline. And that's exactly the situation these horses found themselves in. Mothers and foals were being offered for just $125 per pair through an online auction.

We agreed to take two pairs, and our friends at Rising Starr Horse Rescue in Connecticut took another. These horses were wild as the wind and had to be gentled from scratch. Several mares were also pregnant again.

I could write a book about everything that's happened with these horses, from before we became involved to today. It's been a journey filled with more drama, heartbreak, frustration, and complicated human behavior than I ever imagined.

But one of the brightest spots has been the friendship that's developed between both Kellys (Sunshine & Rising Starr) and me. Through it all, we've remained committed to the promises we made to these horses. Not just on the day they were rescued, when the urgency was high and everyone was paying attention, but in all the ordinary days that followed. And all the years still to come.

That's the part of rescue I wish more people understood. The rescue itself is a moment in time. The responsibility that follows can last a lifetime.

Someday I'll figure out how to tell the whole story, assuming you're even interested in hearing it!

But for today, no drama. No emergencies. Just six beautiful horses living their perfectly ordinary lives.

Meet the Red Feather Alpines: Roulette, Katsina, Chico, Sundance, Ava, and Otter. ❤️

10/05/2026

We have two of the sweetest kittens available for adoption, and we'd love to keep them together if at all possible.

Rolo and Bonbon were collected as strays out of a small colony we've been helping with locally. They start out shy but warm up in no time & are super affectionate once comfortable!

They have been fixed, microchipped, vaccinated (Rabies & Distemper), and they are FIV/FeLV negative!

Help us find a forever home for them by sharing this post! 🐾

There is a $50 per cat adoption fee, and you can apply at the link in the comments.

10/03/2026

HAS ANYONE SEEN THIS HORSE AT AN AUCTION?

No. And after today, you never will.

This is Zeus. His owner is battling two forms of cancer and, after a few weeks of talking through options, we brought Zeus to Red Feather today. He lived 15 minutes away.

Here's the interesting part: his owner bought him several years ago from the now-closed Tarheel Feedlot in NC. He gave Zeus a safe home and loved him very much, but Zeus had already fallen through the cracks once to end up at a feedlot in the first place.

I think about that a lot when I see the endless stream of urgent "save this horse" posts online. We see the auction photos and the freedom rides, but what happens after that?

How do you know? How could you know?

There's a tremendous amount of trust involved in rescue work, and many of those horses are never seen again by the people who paid to save them. I've never been comfortable with that.

So when Zeus's owner needed help, we didn't wait for him to become an emergency. We took him now.

Let me be clear: doing it this way is harder. Prevention and lifelong safety aren't nearly as exciting as a slaughter deadline. This post might get 100 likes and 10 shares while an urgent bailout gets thousands. Our fundraisers fall short. We make less money and have to do more with less.

It isn't fair, but nobody said it would be. Life certainly hasn't been fair to a lot of the horses who end up here. So we push on.

To me, "safe" shouldn't describe where a horse was on one particular day. It should mean someone is still making sure he's safe five years later. That's what we're doing here. And it means we need you, probably more than you know.

Zeus fell through the cracks once.

We're going to make damn sure he doesn't do it again.

10/01/2026

Sundae saw her besties at DCLAH Equine Hospital today and got the all clear from Dr. Bolger!

After that, she had a hoof trim and got a brand new set of corrective shoes from her boyfriend, aka farrier Rob. Rob loves Sundae so much that he told us no matter how busy he is, he will always make time for her. 🥹

And then came the part we’ve all been waiting for...

With the vets’ blessing, Laura brought Norma Jeane back to the farm for the cutest little reunion. Sundae was absolutely beside herself to see her buddy again, and the two have been inseparable ever since.

This is the special day we’ve been waiting for. Sundae will require intensive care for the rest of her life. She’ll continue to need specialized farrier care, close monitoring, and a team of people making sure those tiny legs stay as comfortable and functional as possible.

But today, after months of surgeries, casts, bandage changes, stall rest, vet visits, x-rays, worry, and waiting, we finally get to say it:

Sundae has officially entered her new normal. 💕

And her new normal includes sunshine, friends, freedom, and her very best buddy by her side. What a long way our tiny girl has come.

09/30/2026

YUMA’S 5-WEEK GLOW-UP

I think he looks better, what do you guys think? 😉

We still have a ways to go, but I believe we’ll have a completely healthy mustang in another month or two.

Yuma is a really special guy. He’s very low in the pecking order and seems to be a steady-Eddie type. He likes things calm and predictable, and he’s the kind of horse who will give his whole heart to a person he trusts.

Right now, he feels safest with our senior Standardbred, Jiffy, who has a very similar temperament. He also really enjoys being with Alpine mustangs Ava & Otter. Really, Yuma is good with just about anyone who doesn’t bring the crazy loco energy, which is completely fair and relatable.

I’ll never, ever, ever understand how someone could meet a horse this gentle, this sentient, this kind, and not move a mountain to protect him.

We’ll move that mountain, Yuma.

09/25/2026

It's a FARRIER DAY 💅

We haven't done a hoof trim sponsor call in forever so today feels like a good time to do it! We have loads of friends getting pedicures this week - we had to delay some of them by two weeks to ensure we could be present for Monroe's last day - which means today we are playing catch-up and could use your support.

All of these cuties need sponsors!

Lana Del Bray
Sundance 💛 thank you Lora
Possum
Joey
Flora
Capri
Roulette
Fiyero 🩵 thank you Sharon D.
Topanga 🧡 thank you Holly
Tater 💜 thank you Kayli
Paisley
Cinder 💚 thank you Bridget
Poet 🤍 thank you Anne
Cimarron
Siri 🩵 thank you Sharon D.
Yuma 💙 thank you Alison

A one-time hoof trim sponsorship costs $50 per horse. To pay, use the Donate button on our website:

www.redfeatherfarmnc.org

Or we have both PayPal & Venmo:
Venmo (under Charities)
PayPal [email protected]

Thank you for helping the horses look and feel their best!

09/21/2026

Yuma had a surprise for us! 🦷

Today was Yuma’s first official intake vetting, something we typically do within 2–3 days of a horse’s arrival. But because Yuma came to us represented as unhandled and wild, we made the decision to wait. We wanted to be sure he was actually ready for a proper veterinary visit rather than push him too quickly and risk losing the trust we’ve built.

Today, he was ready & he received a dental float, likely the first he’s ever had in his life, along with vaccines, a Coggins test and his second round of dewormer. He was definitely scared, but he was also amazingly calm and trusting throughout the process.

We are so thankful for our veterinary team, including Dr. Baez today, who takes the time to set our more timid friends up for success. Gentle handling and a little patience make such a difference, especially for horses who are still learning that the humans around them can be trusted.

As expected, Yuma’s molars were very sharp after years without routine dental care, so getting those taken care of should make him much more comfortable.

But we also discovered something we weren’t expecting: two of Yuma’s upper incisors are broken and missing. At some point in his past, he experienced enough trauma to lose both teeth. Maybe he was kicked. Maybe he ran into something. We’ll never know.

Dr. Baez gently filed the two lower incisors opposite the missing teeth to help even out his bite and make him more comfortable.

For a horse who arrived with a reputation for being “mean” and “wild,” Yuma just keeps showing us something very different. He’s cautious & sensitive. But when we give him the time he needs to understand what we’re asking, he tries incredibly hard.

Meanwhile, Cavallino and Sedona also received their routine dental floats, and Tater inserted himself into the conversation just to make absolutely certain everyone acknowledged what an amazingly cute little fellow he is.

We acknowledged it. 😂

Address

Winston-Salem, NC

Website

https://linktr.ee/redfeatherfarmnc, http://www.redfeatherfarmnc.org/

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