We fostered Tuskaloosa (“Loosa” to us) when he was just three. He was part of the Mille Lacs County humane case and one of the few to be turned over before the whole herd was finally saved. Loosa was thin and injured, but mostly Loosa was afraid. He was afraid of people, afraid of the herd, of swinging gates, the open door, the closed stall – he had no sense of safety anywhere. We nurtured Loosa through his fears, slowly discovering the sweet and gentle soul that he is. We could not resist our desire to adopt and keep him in our lives forever.

We now live in California on a 60 acre ranch in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. Loosa, the crazily spotted pony, is in his element! He loves to roam over the open acreage, but he’s equally eager to give little kids their first pony rides or carry my husband or a visitor down the trail. He has also added “modeling” to his resume, having appeared in a Skodes Horse Treat advertisement. We wanted you to know that all is well; he is happy and we feel so very lucky to be sharing life with him.

– Lisa Alexander

My name is Honeybear and I am a beautiful palomino pony. I’ve been living with my family for a few years now and we have a great relationship. They say I am ‘ornamental’ which must be a good thing. Sometimes I have to remind the boys, Rodeo and Buddy, who is in charge in our paddock but when I toss my mane and stamp my front foot, they remember that I am special.

I used to have a lot of trouble with my hooves; they were a really weird shape because I didn’t get trimmed for so long before I was rescued–but my farrier, Fred, does a good job and now my feet don’t hurt at all and I can run as fast as the wind. Fred is especially proud of how good I stand when he works on my feet—the lead rope isn’t even tied to anything. Once in awhile I look for things in Fred’s pockets, but mostly I just stand and look beautiful.

I would recommend rescuing for any pony that is thinking about getting a new home. My Foster family was very nice and the girls were adorable; I would like to thank them and MHARF for helping me get started on my new life.