Meet the Horses

We horses taken in by The Horse Shelter arrive with many different issues, and have come here for a wide variety of reasons. One thing many of us share is a life that has not always been easy. Like humans, we are each unique in our temperament, needs and abilities. If you are considering adopting a horse and one of us catches your eye, please contact the Horse Shelter by e-mail or give them a call at (505) 471-6179. Thank you for clicking in to see us.

Alice

Alice is a dun mare of unknown age. She arrived at THS in November 2006 with three other horses. They are called “The Las Vegas Four” - they were found in a very bad situation and were rescued by the New Mexico Livestock Board. Her case was in the courts for more than a year. Now that she has been physically rehabilitated she is still quite shy, but friendly. She will get used to a caring owner.

Annabelle

Annabelle was born in 1983, and is a flaxen chestnut mare. She is only 14 hands but holds her own in the paddock with several males. In 2004 she was rescued by a man who had saved a large group of horses but was unable to rehabilitate all of them. That's how she ended up at THS, which she loves! Annabelle still has a few scars from years of ill-fitting tack and bad riders; she is a bit wary but likes to be groomed.

Brando

Brando is big. He is a gentle grey Percheron cross born in 1992. He and his buddy Patron were found neglected in a muddy junkyard. A man who went to the junkyard to buy a trailer took them and brought them to THS in 2001. Brando is very friendly and loves treats.

Bud

Bud, a chestnut gelding of unknown age, was found abandoned in Gallup. Sena Fitzpatrick, of the Gallup Humane Society, found him and eventually brought him to THS. He was extremely thin and had a leg injury. He is well-trained to handle and groom.

English Breakfast

"Breakfast" is a gray dapple, part Arab gelding born in 1994. In 2007 he came to THS from an Arabian breeding farm in Ocate. He is very shy, but once haltered, likes being groomed. He needs a gentle and experienced person to help him to trust and learn.

Faith

Faith is a 15-year-old grey mare who is blind. She and her companion were rescued from a horse sale by a friend of The Horse Shelter. Faith, who is blind, arrived at THS in March 2008.

Georgia

Georgia is a dark bay mare of unknown age. She made it to THS in late 2006 as part of the “Las Vegas Four.” They were found in a very bad situation and were rescued by the New Mexico Livestock Board. Her case was in the courts for more than a year. Now she has been physically rehabilitated but is still quite shy. She will get used to a caring owner.

Jericho

Jericho was born in 1998; and is a gray/dapple gelding. Jericho is one of the "Lamy Guys," who were purchased by the Rescue Fund. The four had been kept in very small quarters and were badly underfed. Jericho has made remarkable progress, and is ready for more training and an experienced owner.

José

José is an Appaloosa born in 1987. He was near death when rescued, and had infected wire cuts and extremely long hooves. His tendons are permanently stretched and he walks with some difficulty. José was mistreated so badly that he became vicious to protect himself. His initial rescuer helped him to regain some confidence, and since he arrived at THS in 2002 he is still wary, but likes treats and an occasional brushing. He is a good companion horse.

King

King is a rather elderly chestnut gelding. He was seized by the Livestock Board in Las Lunas due to the bad conditions in which he was living. The Livestock Board brought him to THS, where he is doing much better. King likes being groomed and is a good companion horse.

Lilly

Lilly, a bay mare, is one of “The Las Vegas Four.” She arrived at THS in late 2006 with three other horses. They were found in a very bad situation and were rescued by the New Mexico Livestock Board. Now she has been physically rehabilitated and is making a lot of progress with the staff and volunteers at THS. Lilly is friendly and likes working with humans.

Milagra

Milagra is a Palomino mare, born in 1986. Milagra was found starving to death with her stable mates in a backyard right in Santa Fe. By the time Animal Control arrived it was too late for the rest of her herd to be saved (two had already died and one had to be euthanized). Milagra was more than 500 pounds underweight when she arrived at THS in 2003. In spite of this, Milagra is a very friendly horse and loves to be groomed and rubbed. She is a great companion horse.

Oliver

Oliver is a white Anglo-Arabian gelding, born in 1994 and brought to THS in 2003. Oliver had been abandoned in Las Cruces. Oliver was adopted out in 2005, but his new owner did not have the time to train him so Oliver returned to THS. He is a good learner, but needs quite a lot of training.

Patrón

Patrón is a bay Thoroughbred gelding born in 1980. He and his buddy Brando were found neglected in a muddy junkyard. A man who went to the junkyard to buy a trailer took them and brought them to THS in 2001. When Patrón arrived at THS he was in very poor condition but has gained weight and is now doing very well.

Penny

Penny is a 12-year-old chestnut mare who was rescued from a horse sale by a friend of THS and came to The Horse Shelter in April 2008. She was pregnant when she arrived.

Pequín

Pequín is a chestnut mare born in 1991. She was a former Mexican race horse who ended up at an auction and came to THS in 2001. Pequín has a pelvic injury that will probably never heal, so she can’t be ridden. She is sweet and friendly.

Pilgrim

Pilgrim is a 20+ year-old (est.) Appaloosa gelding. He and his companion, Faith, were rescued from a horse sale by a friend of THS. Pilgrim joined The Shelter herd in March 2008.

Ringo

Ringo is a bay gelding of uncertain age. Ringo came to THS in 2003. Over the course of his life prior to living at THS he had lots of insensitive handling and has had a hard time relaxing with people, though he is making progress. Ringo is still somewhat suspicious of strangers.

Rio

Rio is a red roan born in 1987 who came to THS in 2007. Someone from the Livestock Board found him wandering along the river in Pojoaque, hence his name. His owner was located but didn’t want to pay the accrued fines, so Rio came to THS. He is trained to ride.

Rusty

Rusty is a red chestnut gelding born in 2003. He came to THS in 2007. He was very near starvation when the Livestock Board found him and removed him (he made the 6 o’clock news). He is lively and very ready to learn. He needs a patient person who will spend time training him.

Sandy

Sandy is a gray Quarter Horse mare born in 2000. She came to THS from Lamy in 2005. The Rescue Fund purchased her and three other horses. These horses had been severely underfed and kept in very small quarters. Sandy was pregnant, but in poor condition. Her foal lived less than a day.

Shamrock

Shamrock is a gray Quarter horse mare born in 2000. She came to THS in 2005 as one of “The Lamy Guys.” The horses had been underfed and kept in very small quarters. The Rescue Fund purchased her and three other horses. Shamrock was pregnant when she came here; her daughter is Jan B, named for Jan Bandler, THS’s founder.

Taylor

Taylor is a Thoroughbred (we think) bay gelding born in 2000. In 2005, he was reported to THS by neighbors in Pecos. He was very skinny and wounded; his small stall had pieces of metal and barbed wire in the dirt, so he got cut whenever he lay down. Taylor has gained about 300 pounds since arriving at THS, his cuts have healed and he is pretty handsome.

Taylor is not currently available for adoption.

Una

Una is a black mare of unknown age. She arrived at THS in late 2006 as part of the “Las Vegas Four.” They were found in a very bad situation and were rescued by the New Mexico Livestock Board. Now she has been physically rehabilitated but is still quite shy and needs love and patience.

Zippo

Zippo is an Appaloosa gelding, about 23 years old. He was 400 pounds underweight when he was found in Alcalde. The Horse Shelter bought Zippo with money from their "Rescue Fund.” Although he is blind in his left eye, he is a good family riding horse and has no trouble finding his way. He is very friendly and ready for adoption.

Some of our Success Stories (Shelter horses now living in new homes)

Hash

My name's Hash. For years I was a breeding stallion on a farm in Ocate NM. Up until recently, the only handling I'd had was not so good at all. Because of my past expriences I am still pretty much distrusting of people. Thanks to the great humans at The Horse Shelter, I've found out that some two legged folks are not so bad at all. I'm confident that I could be an excellent horse to adopt for a person with very advanced hoseperson skills. I would need a lot of patience because of my past experiences, and a bunch of tolerance (I was forced to learn to be quite independant because of what I've been through). I'll tell you this, I promise once you win me over, I will do anything you ask and give you my loyalty back 100%.

Midnight

Hello, my name is Midnight. My owners left me at a store somewhere between Grants and Gallup as security on a bill they owed. They never returned. Someone finally paid the bill and brought me to our friend Sena at the Gallup McKinley Humane Society. Sena only has room for small animals though, so she sent me here to the Shelter. I have been very happy here, yet I'd be even happier to find an adoptive family.

Laramie & Cheyenne

Hi everyone... I am Laramie (the dark guy), and my girlfriend is Cheyenne. No one knew our names so Bob named us when we came to the Shelter. We were found wandering around just south of Gallup. When our owner was finally located, he didn't want us, so the Livestock Inspector took us to Sena at the Gallup McKinley Humane Society. Sena fed us and was able to bring us up here to the Shelter where we are very happy to be well-fed, and have met many new horse friends. Cheyenne had a baby recently, a boy we named "Curly Bob". (After all Bob got to name us!)

Patrick

Patrick here, and yep I'm a Draft Horse. I lived on the Zuni Reservation for a long time. There were some very nice Missionaries there who took care of me. One day the Missionaries were transferred. With no one to take care of me I wandered around by myself for a long time until a vet took me off "the Rez" and brought me to the Gallup McKinley Humane Society. I was too big for a small animal facility, so they sent me here to The Horse Shelter. I am very happy here and everybody loves to hug me. Nothing wrong with that!

Farley

Hi there! I'ev changed my name from Phil to Farley, a way to put my past behind. I was the youngest of the "Lamy Gang", a bunch of us that were rescued together. My mom is Sandy. I've enjoyed meeting the many horses here at the Shelter, and have had the adventure of trying out membership in other herds now that I decided I'm old enough to move away from mom. You see, I've adopted one of the folks right here at the Shelter. She works here regularly bringing me food. Humans are hard to train, but she's coming along nicely. Soon I'll go home with her so we can both continue our training together.

Ted

Pleased to meet you, I'm Ted. In my former life I was a dressage horse, and a pretty darn good one if I may say so myself. Navicular disease prevents me from being able to do any hard work these days, but I'm so smooth to ride that even a novice can ride me bareback. If you're looking for a horse who can be ridden lightly, and is always the perfect gentleman, I'm the horse for you. Take me home please?

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