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Welcome to...P.
O. Box 6 | Ochlocknee, GA |
501(c)(3)
applied for (all donations will be retroactively tax deductable) |
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On March 1, 2009, in a rare South Georgia sleet and snowstorm, DCFHR volunteers picked up a pitifully starved skeleton of a horse, “Sundance.”
Click here to become a member of Dancing Cloud Farm Horse Rescue
Apache puts up with a lot of "loving" from Fee Shang. Horses aren't the only creatures rescued by Dancing Cloud Farm. Our hearts are open to many animals who come here. (click on the picture for a larger view)
Visit Hearts4Horses - Where our goal is to help create a world where every horse is in the care of a responsible owner.
This pony foal and his mother were brought to Dancing Cloud Farm in November 2011. For the first two weeks that the foal was at DCFHR, we feared the little fellow wouldn’t make it. His mother was starved, wasn't producing milk. Sixteen days after their rescue, the little foal flew around the barn in a full out gallop, full of life and spirit. That’s our paycheck! And that is a better “thank you” to our supporters than our words could ever say. |
DCFHR extends a great big "Thank you!" to our faithful supporter, JEFFERS EQUINE who continues to provide much-needed assistance in our efforts to care for the tremendous needs of the many horses at DCFHR.
What a story this horse has to tell! Five years ago Gus was a high-level competition show horse in Los Angeles, California. The teenaged girl who leased him outgrew Gus’ capabilities and returned him to his owners in Sacramento, who didn’t want him because of his age. Gus was destined for the slaughter house. One of the trainers at the Sacramento barn who had ridden and shown Gus and worked with him for years was absolutely horrified that this perfectly-trained, well-behaved, beautiful horse with so much to offer was being cast off because he was in his teens and no longer profitable for the owners, and she asked the owners if she could have him. They said yes, but he had to be out of their barn. This trainer had already accepted a job in South Carolina, had already loaded her truck and horse trailer for the move; she went home, unloaded furniture, gave away “stuff,” and made a small space in the back of her horse trailer for Gus. He rode cross-country, crammed in the back of that trailer, but it was his ride to life. When they arrived in South Carolina, the trainer found a boarding facility for Gus, but her job was much more demanding and required much more travel than she anticipated. Because she couldn’t give Gus the care he needed, the trainer called us and asked if we would take Gus. After work that day, she drove eight hours to bring Gus to DCFHR. One of our volunteers, Elizabeth, took Gus as her special project and not only brought him back to health and restored his good looks but also mentioned him to Kim, who works at Jeffers Vet Supply in Dothan, Alabama. Kim came to see Gus, fell in love, and Gus has his forever home in Alabama with Kim. He is the star of the show both in Kim’s heart and the front cover model on this Jeffer’s catalog!
Visit any of the following links to purchase:
Dr. Mary Rogers
Freckles the Donkey is sporting her new fly mask. Believe me, this looks a whole lot different at 10:00 at night when we go out to check everything one last time for the night and Freckles quietly tiptoes up behind us and we turn around and see THIS.
Buck! Look at him now! (photos taken September 2)
Buck came to Dancing Cloud Farm Horse Rescue, Inc., not only starved but dehydrated, in colic, and going into organ failure. Veterinarians rate horses on a Body Condition Score of 1-9, with a "9" being obese, a 4-5 is usually the best, and a 1.0 is critically starved. Buck was a BCS 0.5. Of all the starved horses that have been treated here at the farm, Buck was absolutely the most labor-intensive, round-the-clock critical care patient we have ever dealt with. What nearly killed him is that on the morning that law enforcement officers seized this horse, the former owner fed Buck approximately 20 pounds of horse feed. The officers were not aware of that when the horse was put on the trailer for transport to Dancing Cloud Farm. On his first night at DCFHR, Buck went down and stayed down four days. During that time, volunteers tended to Buck round the clock, taking shifts through the nights, cat-napping in the corners of the Crittercal Care Unit, jumping to assist Buck when he sat up. Volunteers bathed his pressure point sores, made sure he had water, moved him (quite an ordeal!) like a person would be moved if they were in a hospital bed; we cleaned IV lines, kept the stall floor clean, and provided 24-hour intensive care. At no time did Buck ever give up or tell us he was too tired and we should just let him go. That horse fought for life, fought to get up on his feet, cooperated with all of us. He is completely used to humans being around him, on him, thumping him, poking him, rolling him over, pulling him on a pad. On the fourth day we were able to rent a sling from a veterinarian in Tallahassee, Florida. And that night we wrote a whole new chapter in Horse Care at Dancing Cloud Farm Horse Rescue. It was do or die time for Buck. Twenty volunteers arrived to help. Buck was rolled onto a thick pad of old horse blankets and with everyone grabbing a corner or a handful of blanket, we pulled Buck out of the CCU, then positioned the sling around him, moved a tractor with a front end loader right over him, attached the sling to the front end loader, and with many prayers we all held our breaths as the front end loader bucket lifted Buck to his feet. At first, there was nothing but silence as Buck’s legs cleared the ground but remained curled up under him. Then suddenly he realized that he was airborne. He never fought or panicked; it was as if he realized he could straighten his legs. He found the ground and although he was wobbly, he stood on his own four feet. This hill was filled with cheers, hugs, handshakes, pats on the back of Buck (who was VERY happy to be standing again!) and yes, tears of joy and relief. Buck went down four more times before he was strong enough to be able to lie down and then get up on his own. Our corps of volunteers got the “lift” process down from a couple hours to about 12 minutes from the time we put the sling on Buck until the time he was lifted to his feet. He knew we were helping him and he knew the drill. It seemed as if he was telling us, “Would you hurry up with this, people? I really want to get on my feet.” Buck has been adopted and recently was gelded. He is living at a foster home, enjoying grass and health. And once again we thank all those who gave financially to help save this horse, who spent hours working with us, and who helped save the life of this beautiful horse.
Shasta:
For the first week, Shasta stayed in our Crittercal Care Unit where she could be tended to round the clock. This rescue was a close call: Her thigh muscles were completely gone and her bodily functions had begun shutting down. Shasta’s tail and back legs were covered in diarrhea. While she was in the CCU, she was in the midst of all the action, was handled, brushed, cared for hourly. Within a week, we could see slight improvements in her physical condition and saw enormous improvements in her disposition as she joined up with her caretakers. When horses are this starved, their internal organs can be damaged beyond repair, but this is almost impossible to observe at first. Shasta has made the most remarkable recovery of any horse ever brought to DCFHR at a BCS 1.0 or below; her recovery has been astonishing. Shasta is now living near Tallahassee, Florida.
“I expect
to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can
show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now,
and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.” An agonizing moment at DCFHR…. During a rescue, one of the first horses led out from an almost pitch-black stall was this older soul. People were shocked at his skeletal condition as he walked into the sunlight, blinking at the sudden bright light after days in that darkened barn. He stood and looked at all the activity – the trailers lined up, all the people, he listened to the hushed tones, and he stood quietly as we measured and photographed him. Then he willingly stepped onto the first trailer leaving for DCFHR for his ride to freedom. Unfortunately, this older horse was so far down that he couldn’t be saved. For twelve days after his arrival at DCFHR, he received care, sunlight, fresh hay, good feed, TLC, respect, a clean stall, kind words, loving touches. On Saturday, March 3, he collapsed and could not get up. For three hours DCFHR volunteers tried everything to get him up, but he was too weak from starvation. The look in his eyes told us he was ready to let go, that he was too tired. Tornado weather was approaching and the rains poured down. It was an agonizing morning at DCFHR. We know, and the vet agreed, that the horse had been too starved for too long to recover. Dr. Mary Rogers of Red Hills Equine Veterinary Services, drove through the worst of the weather, in a tremendous thunderstorm, at 25 mph with the flashers on to come to the farm to take care of this horse. It was a terrible time for all of us because we were helpless and this horse was so pitiful. He left us gently, but the day was much, much darker and sadder. We were all angry that this horse had not been given the senior care that he had needed to finish out his life in a healthy condition. We are posting the photos of this horse’s final moments for one reason: that he did not die in vain, that we will all be motivated to DO SOMETHING when we see animals suffering. No animal, horse or otherwise, should ever be neglected the way that this horse had been. We encourage everyone to get help for animals in need, just like the concerned citizen did when Shasta was discovered and brought to DCFHR. We were able to save Shasta; our hearts broke when we couldn’t do the same for this horse.
NEWS FROM THOMAS COUNTY: Pictures from the latest rescue effort
A little history: Dancing Cloud Farm Horse Rescue, Inc., (DCFHR) , a 501(c)(3) organization, was established in July, 2008 when thirteen starved and neglected horses were rescued and brought to our farm. Before this rescue, we had taken in eight previous rescues, brought to us by owners who could no longer afford to keep their horses or by people who rescued the horses themselves but had no place to keep them. With our world's economy in trouble and with the number of home foreclosures, horses and other animals are being abandoned in great numbers; we saw the need for a horse rescue and sanctuary in South Georgia and committed ourselves to using our farm to help horses. A group of horse lovers joined together to create Dancing Cloud Farm Horse Rescue, Inc. We are funded totally by donations of feed, hay, and finances. Since Dancing Cloud Farm Horse Rescue, Inc., began, FORTY-SEVEN horses have come through DCFHR. Of those, thirty-five have found new homes; we have several who are still waiting for homes; and one (Lil’ Richard, aka General Lee) is now a lifetime member of the Old Geezers Club at DCFHR where he will live out his days as a retiree. In addition, three horses and one donkey went from “old owner to new owner” without having to come to DCFHR because we were able to match them through our database files. Five horses had to be put down because of health conditions.
Requirements for adoption: Please read the information contained in the "The basics on adopting a rescued horse from Dancing Cloud Farm Horse Rescue, Inc." DCFHR requires that anyone interested in adopting a horse will need these items: two reference letters, preferably from your large animal vet and your farrier, stating that you are a responsible animal owner and can afford to take care of the horse; potential adopter must fill out the Foster/Adoption Form. DCFHR will make a site visit and interview the person/family interested in the horse; each horse has an adoption fee that pays DCFHR back for much of the expenses we have invested in that horse. Sir
Lancelot After searching for weeks for a walking horse, a friend of ours contacted an Alabama horse trader who arrived with six horses for us to look at crammed in a stock trailer. The first three horses he unloaded were “already sold,” he explained, but he wanted us to look at horses #4 and #6. But when he unloaded horse #5, we were shocked to the innermost. A frightened, emaciated skeleton of a walking horse stepped off the trailer, its beauty, dignity, and majestic step intact. While the other horses stood tied to the trailer, heads down, eyes lifeless, and the horse trader spoke about the qualities of horses #4 and #6, our eyes were locked on that poor horse #5 and he stared at us. Something in his eyes locked into something deep within us, pleading with us for help. We don’t even remember what the horse trader said about the other horses; we just stared in disbelief that anyone could abuse and neglect a horse like they had horse #5. It wasn’t the horse trader’s fault -- he had just picked up the horse that morning and was taking it to auction to sell for dog food. To the total surprise and dismay of the horse trader, we bought that skeleton of a walking horse and never regretted that decision. We named the horse “Sir Lancelot,” giving him a knight’s name befitting his courage and spirit. “Lance” came to us with thick, heavy walking shoes and scars on his legs where chains had rubbed him raw; every rib showed; his chest was maybe 10 inches wide; every vertebrae showed. It took months of feeding and care to get even a little weight on him, and it took two years to restore him to the sleek black majestic animal he should have been all along. Sir Lancelot served us faithfully, patiently teaching adults and children how to ride. Our hearts broke the day seven years later he had to be put down because of colic. Because of his courage, his faithfulness, and the many hours of service he gave to us, Sir Lancelot stands as the standard of what a horse rescue is all about. Rest in peace, our good and faithful friend, and thank you for showing us the way. Visit our newest feature:
The Library
In The Library you will find articles, essays, poetry, etc. that we believe you will enjoy. You will also be able to submit comments about the featured article if you wish. With your help, we can make a positive difference in our world. |
One morning after everyone had been fed, Jewel the pony disappeared. We looked all over for her. And this is where we found her -- deep in the fig tree, enjoying every ripe fig within her reach.
Visit us on FACEBOOK and join our page: Dancingcloudfarmhorse rescue, Inc. Adapted
by Our Location Click the picture to Just a note: We are frequently asked what the name “Ochlocknee” means as people stumble over its pronunciation. Ochlocknee (oh-clock-knee) is the Creek Indian word for “crooked waters.” The Ochlocknee River begins near Albany, Georgia, and winds its way through South Georgia and North Florida on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. It provided a major trading route for Indians of this area. So now you know! Horse in a Cage
Poison!
Click on the icon below to see how DCFHR has gone green!
Click the picture above to see Gus enjoying his new home.
Our
Hero is coming home!
Click here to see more pictures of this amazing little horse. Please visit Golden Brothers Feed in Thomasville, GA For excellent equine care, click
here to visit
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For questions or
comments about this site, contact the webmaster at:
lmeisen@tds.net |
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Gus
What
a great gift for a friend, yourself or DCFHR!
Please
be assured that all donations are kept confidential and that 
Another big
"Thank you!" to Dr.
Mary Rogers of Red Hills Equine Services 81 Fox Meadow Lane,
Thomasville, GA 31757, who has gone above and beyond
the call of duty in providing much-needed care for the animals
at DCFHR.
Donkeys
love to take dirt baths, so
here they have dug out their own "wallow" next to a ditch bank.
Mama
Cheyenne gave birth to little "Lincoln" just
five days after her rescue. Notice her body condition. This photo was
taken 7 days after her rescue; she had been eating well for 7 days.
