Kit
Rescued August 2022
Meet Kit. Kit is a beautiful black Arabian mare that came to us recently as an owner surrender. She was having a hard time gaining weight despite the owners best efforts. We have done an intake on her and added her to our feed program which comes from Hubbard Feed. We are excited to see her improve daily. We will be able to give you more information as her condition improves. Kit was unfortunately put down due to health issues.
Jake
Rescued November 13th, 2020
Meet Jake! Jake was rescued from Kaufman Kill Pen in Kaufman TX. We were able to make a trip to Texas to pick up Jake and another horse that was rescued and bring them both back to South Dakota. The other horse was safely dropped off at his new home along the way. Jake is a 12 year old Gypsy Cross Gelding. He came to us un-handled. He had a low body weight and scared of people. We were not able to get his weight when he got here as he was not able to be touched. We had him haltered in the first week after lots of work on trust. He has now been able to be led around, brushed out, and learning to trust. Please follow Jake on our Facebook page! If you are interested in sponsoring Jake please let us know.Â
Update as of August 2022: Jake has been adopted! This is great news, as this is the goal of our rescue.Â
Update for 2024.
Jake is coming back to the rescue due to the adoptive family having some unforeseen family issues. Jake will be once again looking for a sponsor.
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Lady
Rescued December 18th, 2020
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Lady was rescued from Kaufman Kill Pen in Kaufman TX. She is a beautiful palomino mare that came to us extremely dehydrated and a very low body weight of 807lbs and 13.2 hands. She is said the be a Quarter Horse that is bred to a Cremello Stallion. I was able to get in touch with the man who sold her to the sale and he said she was found abandoned with her yearling baby and a stallion. They were found in a pasture in TX with no food or water. She is just the sweetest most gentle mare I have been around and its hard to imagine her in that situation! I am so blessed that she was able to make it to our ranch. She has had her vet check and she has some health conditions that will need monitored along with the pregnancy. Lady is still looking for a sponsor or two to help in her recovery!
Update as of September 2022: Lady has been doing great. She had her foal, Angel, who has since been adopted. We continue to work with Lady daily and encourage her growth in trusting people!
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Lady has been adopted !
Angel
Born June 17th, 2021
Our beautiful baby Angel was born happy and healthy to her mom (Lady) on June 17th, 2021. Angel is very sweet and loves being next to someone. She enjoys being with the others and sneaking up on you when your least expecting it, just to say hi!
Angel has been adopted.
Olivia (Livy)
Rescued December 18th, 2021
Meet our sweet baby Olivia. Olivia was rescued from Kaufman Kill pen in Kaufman TX. She is said to be a nicely bred Quarter Horse that goes back to Drifts Chip x Blue Valentine. She did not come with any papers. She came to us by way of transport from Witherspoon Transportation and then the other half by Rafter M Ranch Transport. Olivia came to us with a great bill of health. The vet says she is doing great. We were able to get her haltered within the first few days. She is currently being sponsored and growing every day. UPDATE: We sent her DNA off to be tested and she is actually a Quarter Horse Thoroughbred Cross.. To Follow her story follow us on Facebook!
Livy has been adopted.
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Rescued October 2021
Tate came from Sturgis as an owner surrender. He's a very opinionated mini, who loves to make sure you hear him! When Tate isn't telling us his stories, he enjoys finding any scrape of hay he can and running about trying to be boss. H's full of energy and spunk. If your looking for a fun little guy to care for Tate is available for sponsorship and adoption
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Bitsy's Carlos (Carl)
Rescued February 2022
Meet Carl (Bitsy's Carlos)Carl comes to us from Lincoln NE.Carl had a history of winning until he was injured on the track. He broke his left leg and was sent to a sale barn. He was lucky enough to be snatched up by a loving owner who did all she could to help him. Carl will never compete again and will need to retire permanently. He is a huge, at 16'2 hands gentle giant who wants nothing more than to get love and enjoy his grain. We are excited to be able to give Carl the relaxing retirement that he so very much deserves. His initial intake went well. We were able to find a few issues we will be addressing over the next few months.Unfortunately Carl was put down due to health issues.
Phoenix
Rescued Valentines Day of 2022
Phoenix is a handsome 6 year old mustang. We received a call early that morning from a young lady in tears and concerned about her horse. She lovingly shared her story with us and what her situation involved. It was clear from the conversation that she loved her horse very much and was concerned for his wellbeing as she could not care for him anymore. She was referred to us by a trainer that said we could possibly help her. After discussing the immediate danger, we had her fill out one of our forms for donation. We reviewed the form and called her back. She then explained the urgency of the situation and we agreed to load up and meet her right away. Once on site we were able to access Phoenix. He appeared to be in good condition other than having some long hooves and in need of a few trims. Once at the trailer we calmly evaluated his fear level to find he was indeed reluctant to go into the trailer. Phoenix however is very food motivated which is great! We were able to coax him in the trailer after about an hour using handfuls of grain. Phoenix is now safety at the Rescue and settling in. Upon his intake and Vitals check we discovered he had a rough case of worms. Thankfully we deworm and vaccinate all rescues upon intake. He will be going through the physical and emotional healing in the next few weeks.
Phoenix has been adopted!
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Stormy
Rescued in 2021
Stormy is an adorable little Miniture that has so much love to give! She was rescued with her Buddy Leo in 2021 from Wyoming. She is calm and loves kids! She is currently being used in our lesson and therapy program. Stormy has been adopted.
Meet Leo
Rescued in 2021
Meet Leo, an adorable little all white Miniture. He was brought in with Stormy, although he was not as friendly as stormy. He didn't mind people once he was caught but pretty skidish. He came in with pretty long feet and needed several trims to hit back to normal. He spent the summer with kids and is coming along nicely. Leo has been adopted.
Victor
Rescued March 2022
What we know of Victor's story starts in December of 2020. A picture of 2 blind horses were posted to Facebook. They were both unlisted at Stroud OK kill pen. He is an ex-Amish horse so he does not carry the normal Standbred brand. It was apparent he hadn't been blind very long. He still had all 4 driving shoes on. As time went on he learned to be a blind horse. Using his nose to feel his way around. Learned the sound of the hose and voices means it's grain time. He does well finding hay and water. He has learned to use all his other senses to make up for his loss of site. He still needs to build some confidence when riding on uneven ground and Crossing obstacles. When he's unsure he will stop, whiny and wait for your reassurance that it's safe to continue. (This is from his rescuing angel.)
Victor came to Rafter M Ranch from Iowa and his angel rescuer would like Victor to find a sponsor here at the rescue and then an adoptive family to call his own.
We are guessing his age at 11 to 12 based off the vet and his teeth. But he's not an old horse. Victor has a very gentle soft personality and a willingness to please.
Victor has been now adopted!
Meet Thunder
Rescued April 2022
Meet Thunder! He is a super sweet approx. 16 year old, 14 hand gelding who loves attention and his food! Thunder came to the rescue due to his owner having some health issues which caused finances to be tough. Thunder came to us needing some extra groceries and love. Thunder came to the rescue with two friends, Captain and Rascal. Thunder has been doing great and has been one of our lesson go tos!
Thunder has been adopted.
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Meet Rascal
Rescued April 2022
Meet Rascal! He is a super sweet 29 year old, 14 hand gelding who loves being brushed and going for walks. Rascal came to the rescue due to his owner having some health issues which caused finances to be tough. Rascal came to us needing lots of groceries and to get his teeth desperately floated. Rascal came to the rescue with two friends, Captain and Thunder.Rascal unfortunately had to be put down due to health issues.