Rescue Process

While every horse rescue is unique, what we try and accomplish with each one is similar. We have 3 main PHASES that our horses go through. Sometimes it is complete in a month, sometimes a year. When they are ready for adoption, we will post them on Facebook and TikTok.

PHASE 1 : RESCUE – FROM A LIFE OF HOPELESSNESS. 

Picking up the horse and getting him/her out of its sad situation is only the beginning. Many of the horses we rescue come from “kill pens.” This means that they are tagged for transport and ready to go to Mexico for slaughter. (That’s the yellow tag you see in the pictures when they first come in on their tails)

All horses are immediately examined by our vet and a care plan is created. We redo coggins, vaccines and teeth care. Our farrier begins hoof treatments. Almost all of the horses we rescue have issues – strangles, pneumonia, EPM, to name a few of the problems. All come in severely under nourished as well.

All horses are kept in a separate quarantine center on our ranch for at least the first 30 days. This ensures that we have treated any and all conditions that may affect the other horses on the property. Our quarantine center is a self-contained area with separate water supply, tack and feed to ensure there is no spread of disease on the ranch.

All horses are given the best medical care and treatment. The feed is supplemented with medicine or other treatment items based on the individual needs of the horse. We feed 1 flake of California alfalfa a day and the rest of the regiment is Teff hay from Washington. We do NOT use coastal hay. The Teff is high in protein and low in sugar.

PHASE 2 : RESTORE – TRUST IN HUMANS AND ITSELF. 

Once our medical and care team has done their part, we begin the
(often times) long journey to #horsetrust again. We use much of the techniques from the Clinton Anderson Method for our training. However, since our horses are rescues, we take the “long” approach and wait for them to allow us in their space.

Most trainers will rope and subdue a horse. The issue with a rescue is that they will

obey out of fear when you do that. We are focused on a forever home that focuses on respect and love.

The goal is to get the horse to trust humans again. This is huge challenge, but a rewarding one. But it is also to get the horse to trust itself again. One of the things we notice in our rescues is that many have given up. They feel like it is them that caused the abuse. They are not sure why, but they stop trusting their own instincts as well.

So we are just as focused in the horse believing in itself again as much as us humans. This explains why we slowly wait for them to engage rather than force them. Many hours just “sitting in their presence” when they first come in leads to a horse who can just again.

PHASE 3 : RELIVE – THE LIFE IT WAS CREATED TO LIVE IN A FOREVER HOME. 

This part is our favorite, of course. It’s the phase where a horse once in a hopeless, often terminal, situation now gets to live the life it was created for in a new Forever Home. We use the term Forever Home because that is exactly what we are looking for. No horse flippers or brokers or “casual” first time horse owners.

Anyone adopting one of our rescues and giving them a Forever Home, must complete an extensive application process. We talk with and get references from your vet and farrier who will care for the horse and even try to inspect the new living situation before approving.

WANT TO ADOPT, BUT DON’T LIVE IN NORTH TEXAS? 

No Worries. We have a great transport company you can work with:

Phoenix Horse Transport  352-364-1487