Rescue Horses
Prince, Mirage and Angel arrive, Oct. 2007
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This picture was taken as the very first horses we rescued came off the trailer— coincidentally they were "born" into our lives during Grand Opening Weekend! Welcome Prince, Mirage and Angel. Come see what they look like now and we're sure you'll love their more recently rescued friends as well.
Angel
Angel is the one that started it all. In October 2007, we had heard about a 1 year old thoroughbred filly that was IN the slaughter pen, with just hours left to live. At her age, she had not yet even lived, and yet was about to die a horrifying death. Although we had limited experience with horses, saving this baby was all the motivation we needed. Thankfully we had the facilities, so, literally, within hours; this little filly was on her way, with Prince and Mirage (see below) in tow. As with all beautiful babies, she just tugged on all of our heartstrings, quickly becoming our little Angel, and thus she was named.
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Mirage
Mirage arrived in October 2007, totally shell-shocked from her terrifying ordeal in the slaughter pen. No one could touch or approach her at all, and we had little hope about ever reaching this poor soul and establishing any kind of trust. She was skinny, and had the appearance of being striped! It turned out that she was streaked from having sweated so much from the stress of her terrifying ordeal. Little by little, in the coming days and months, she began to respond to us and the abundance of love and attention. She is now thriving, affectionate, happy and healthy. She is our adored 15 yr. old, Arabian Princess who has been aptly named Mirage for she is truly a vision.
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Prince
Prince is a retired Standardbred trotter (harness racer) who, we have been told, had a respectable career. He was the skinniest of all when he arrived, and had a terrible case of thrush (a difficult to cure disease that eats away the tissue inside the hoof), in addition to having shipping fever. He broke fences and gates and challenged all the other horses, until he was given Mirage as a constant companion. Like many untamed bachelors, he needed a good woman to straighten him out! Over subsequent months, he has been restored to impeccably good health. Prince is our big 20 yr. old mush, who is totally content now that he is back to his proper weight, strength and good looks (see below right photo). Like all of us here at BHFV, he has fallen completely in love with Mirage!
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Laredo
Laredo is a retired thoroughbred racehorse with a big heart and a lot of energy and life left in him. He had found himself in the slaughter pen, like so many racehorses who have outlived their usefulness. One of the lucky ones, 10 yrs young, Laredo was brought to the attention of Christine at Amaryllis Farm Equine Rescue. She raised the funds to save him and have him shipped to her at her Sagaponack farm. When he was being loaded onto the trailer that would take him to safety, he was so anxious to leave, that he bolted, injuring his shoulder horribly on the chute leading into the trailer. Christine was called, and was told to forget about saving him, that he was too injured. She said, "put him in the trailer". She healed his wounds. That was in December of 2007. In the spring, we adopted Laredo and he has finished his healing at home here at BHFV. He is loved and adored and has the most playful personality of all of our horses. He can be seen, when horsing around with the others, kicking up his heels and even sometimes rearing up to the delight of his adoring fans.
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Sir Galahad
This wonderful gentleman somehow had the misfortune of ending up at the feedlot. His misfortune, however, was welcome to a small crippled baby horse that was being savagely attacked by the other horses. When Sir Galahad saw the predicament, he went into battle, and as some onlookers described, it was like a scene out of a Bruce Lee movie. Without looking back, Sir Galahad cleared the fields. He then stood majestically by the foal and protected this small one while he ate and drank. He stayed by him while they continued their journey to slaughter. He was then dubbed the "Perfect Knight" and so, "Sir Galahad" he was named.He was "perfect" in courage, gentleness, courtesy, and chivalry. Sadly, the foal died of his injuries, but Sir Galahad had saved himself, he had gotten himself noticed. Word of him got back to Christine of Amaryllis Farm Equine Rescue, and he was saved. He was shipped to her in Sagaponack and then came to BHFV in the spring of 2008. We also found out that this magnificent creature at 17.2 hands tall is tattooed OTTB (off the track Thoroughbred), with an amazing pedigree and a successful career behind him. He is a decendant of the legendary "Man of War" and he enjoyed a very successful racing career with an entourage in tow. He now has that once again and he is a highlight during our Horse Rescue Tours. He is deeply loved by all here at BHFV – family, staff and guests alike.
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Galahad has found his special someone, Josh Levine. They are kindred spirits, and their mutual adoration is both touching and amusing.
Jemma Noel
Jemma was rescued in December of 2007.After a 3000-mile trek across the county in a major snowstorm, Jemma arrived, scared, quiet and exhausted. Her forelock had been cut off completely and her eyes told of her worries, but she would soon find out she was safe forever.
In the weeks to come after Jemma's arrival, her papers arrived calling her "Smooth Teza Rose", a 15-year-old Quarter Horse/ Arabian from Oregon. More surprises came after we found out she had given birth to a mule in her younger days.
After months of constant care and affection matched with the companionship of her new rescued friends (although Galahad is her favorite friend, Jemma is our ambassador - she gets along with all of our other horses and is always the first to be paired with a newcomer), Jemma decided to love BHFV as much as everyone here loved her. She can always be recognized at BHFV by her freckled face and big round belly... she has been as spoiled here as they all are.
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Sundance
Sundance was rescued as a two year old Chincoteague stallion pony in October 2008. He is a gorgeous addition who was gelded shortly after arrival so that he would be easier to handle and so that he would get along with our growing resident herd. His origin and heritage is a fascinating one...Chincoteague Island, Virginia's only resort island, is beautiful and known for its oyster beds, clam shoals, great abundance of migratory birds and its wild Chincoteague ponies. Sundance is one of them!
The Virginia ponies are owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department. The government allows the fire department to keep a maximum of 150 adult ponies in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island. Although the custom dates back to the 1700s, sInce 1925, on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July, Pony Penning Days are held on Chincoteague. The herds on Assateague are rounded up, and on Wednesday of Pony Penning week the ponies swim the channel from Assateague to Chincoteague. The ponies are held in a pen at the carnival grounds on Chincoteague until they swim back on Friday morning. On Thursday, an auction of most of the foals is held with a few kept as future breeding stock. The proceeds of the auction are used to care for the remaining ponies and finance Chincoteague's fire department. A second roundup is held in the fall for a vet check, an informal sale of the foals born after Pony Penning, and the foals sold in July that were too young to be weaned are picked up by their owners.
Sundance was sold at auction and relocated but unfortunately a permanent home for him was not found. Stallions are always hard to place. BHFV recognized how special he is and saved him from being sold for horse meat! When you see the life and spirit in him and recognize how happy he now is, you will know why we do what we do!
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Sultan and Isis
These two, both 4 yr. olds, Sultan a gelding and Isis a mare, were a very special, private rescue. This pair of Egyptian Arabian horses were acquired in October of 2008, needing much nourishment, grooming and overall care. The Egyptian Arabian breed is considered the champion of all horses and the epitome of equine beauty. Its bloodline arrived from the Valley of the Nile, descendant of the Arabian Desert, when Pharaohs ruled the Bedouins. Seeing the gait on these two beauties is something special to witness when they are not being fawned over by our family, staff and guests. Sultan is shown in the foreground in the below picture with Isis behind him. Additionally, Sultan is shown being groomed and Isis is shown, just checking things out
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Romeo
Rescued in November of 2008, at the age of 5, Romeo is a very special black gelding. He is a true blue blood with lineage that includes Secretariat and Alydar as his great grandparents. Romeo, who raced under a different moniker, won two races and placed in another out of a total of 16 races. He had been recently used by his camp to lead out track horses and he was slated to go to auction which would have more than likely led to his demise. We grabbed him right from Belmont Race Track and he now enjoys one of our prime indoor stalls as well as his own outdoor corral. Romeo is one of our sweetest acquisitions.
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Indy and Miley
In December of 2008, two adorable,miniature horses (no, they are not ponies) joined the herd here at BHFV. Indiana Jones - "Indy", a miniature gelding who was only three years old and Miley, a miniature mare, a youthful thirteen years old. It is inconceivable to us how these little angels ended up in the slaughter pen - they are the easiest of our rescues to maintain and are the sweetest little things imaginable. Indy is only 29 inches tall and Miley, at only 39 inches absolutely dwarfs him! These two are a MUST SEE!
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Blaise
Blaise is a handsome Palomino Quarter Horse whose future was uncertain so BHFV purchased him in the Summer of 2009 so he would be assured a safe and wonderful lifestyle. He is now a featured part of our growing horse family.
Savannah and Sienna
Savannah (left) and Sienna our two beautiful Thoroughbred fillies were rescued in late October 2009. Their names were selected as a result of a contest held in their honor at BHFV just following their arrival celebration. They were saved right from a killing pen in New Jersey, with only one day to spare!
JoJo
In December 2008, when rescuing Indy and Miley from the kill pen in Pennsylvania, we attempted to rescue Jojo another adorable miniature horse, as well. We were told that she had found a home, and so were surprised in April 2009 to see her listed as "desperately needing a home" on a local website. We called and found out that she was five minutes away. It seems she was meant to be ours after all. Jojo is still a little shy around people, but is warming up everyday.
You Can Make a Difference...Take a Few Minutes to Urge the 111th Congress to Protect Horses
The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act (H.R. 503/S. 727) will prohibit the barbaric slaughter of American horses for human consumption, including the transport of horses to Mexico and Canada for this purpose. CLICK HERE to Access The Humane Society Website for a simple to use approach for this purpose.
Please feel free to contact us.
