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.

A few years ago, I had to make the hard decision to put my 29 year old mare, Sugar, down due to a chronic illness. I had adopted Sugar through MHARF for a pasture mate for my Arab. When I called Drew to let her know, she suggested I take a look at a quarter horse named Charlie. She thought he would be perfect for me. Drew assured me that if it didn’t work out, I could bring him back. After a few months of working on ground manners, trailering, tying, and finding the right tack, I quickly found out what a perfect horse Charlie would be for me and my now retired Arab.

Charlie is gentle, funny, loves attention, and has a trot to die for. He is the clown of the pasture. He loves to chase my other horse with his jolly ball and irritate him with it. He brings me “presents” of sticks and branches up to the barn. He is the first one to greet me at the gate and is always easy to catch. If I’m working on the fence, he follows me around and keeps me company. We have been on many adventures riding down the road, at various state parks and even a bed and breakfast in Wisconsin.

This last year during Charlie’s spring exam, we noticed some suspicious spots on his eyelids. My vet suggested sending a biopsy to determine if there was an issue. Unfortunately the results came back positive for cancer. I called my husband in tears. Knowing how much Charlie means to me, my husband quickly responded by saying, “take him to the eye specialists, he’s a great horse and so young.” Charlie was amazing through his several treatments, wearing special eye masks and even letting me administer his eye ointment and medicine. We even received a letter from the eye specialist stating, “Charlie was an amazing patient”. I’m glad to report that at his spring exam, there was no indication of any cancer! Because of this cancer scare, Charlie wears a fly mask with UV protection year round. Even in the winter when the sun is so bright reflecting off the snow.

How or why anyone would have abandoned and walked away from this horse boggles my mind. Charlie has been the best riding partner that I could have ever wanted. He is my dream horse and I am truly blessed to have been able to adopt this incredible horse. Charlie is an important part of our family and will a part of our family forever. I cannot thank Drew and MHARF enough for letting me adopt this amazing horse. He has given me so much enjoyment and I cannot imagine not being greeted every morning by those beautiful blue eyes and whinny. Thank you, Drew and all the amazing people that foster all the MHARF equines, for giving all these special equines a second chance in life. You are all a wonderful asset to the equine community.