H.O.P.E. Acres Rescue

05/28/2026

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Pete, one of everyone’s favorite geldings. Despite all of the best care from the staff at Charleston Equine Clinic charlestonequineclinic hospitalization, and the prayers of our board and volunteers, his condition (severe and sudden colic) continued to deteriorate and humane euthanasia was judged to be the best choice. It is never easy to lose one of our horses, but losing one so suddenly is especially difficult. We are all a bit shaken, and very much missing his sweet nuzzles. Hug your horses…😞

05/28/2026

Behind every rescued horse is a story of survival.

And behind every rescue story is a community that cared enough to help.

When you attend the 🌊 H.O.P.E. Acres Rescue Lowcountry Boil & Saddle Auction, you become part of that story.

📅 May 30, 2026
📍 Watermark Bar & Grill

Your support helps provide:
🐴 Feed
🐴 Veterinary care
🐴 Rehabilitation
🐴 Safe sanctuary

💙 Thank you for helping us give hope.

🎟️ Tickets:
https://hopeacresrescue.networkforgood.com/events/100541-lowcountry-boil-saddle-auction

A fun, family-friendly fundraising event benefitting the horses and donkeys of H.O.P.E. Acres Rescue.

05/25/2026

05/08/2026

Happy National Donkey Day to HOPE’s resident donkeys!! These three jokesters are not up for adoption, but are permanent residents of our farm. They always have a comment to make, nuzzle to share, or an ear patiently waiting to be scratched. They make our lives better and are a joy to care for. Comment below with your favorite donkey friend❤️🥰🫏🫏🫏 🐴

05/07/2026

It is always a pleasure to have Dr. Powell visit us at the rescue. River and Scarlett look forward to their spa treatments 🥰❤️🐴

05/07/2026

Many thanks to Dr. Rivera and Taylor from Charleston Equine Clinic for coming out yesterday for a scheduled visit. All of our horses receive a checkup twice a year to include spring and fall vaccinations (including Coggins), oral exams, teeth floats when needed, sheath cleanings, and bloodwork as necessary. We appreciate the hard work that all of the staff at charlestonequineclinic puts in to helping us keep our herd healthy.

05/06/2026

Poor Maci!!
Our gentle giant and oldest horse Maci found herself with a corneal ulcer yesterday. At nearly 30 years old and 17hh, she is not an easy horse to medicate😬 Putting eye drops in her eye 4x/day is definitely something we would struggle to do. Fortunately, Dr. Miller and Brittany Carney DVM from charlestonequineclinic came to the rescue!! They sutured a port into her eye so that her medications could be administered using a syringe. Maci will not be stressed, and neither will we☺️
Since this was an emergency vet expense, we will be pulling money from “Honey’s Fund,” our emergency veterinary expense account. If you would like to contribute to Maci’s vet bill, or the emergency costs for future expenses, please click here:

https://www.hopeacresrescue.org/honeys-fund.html
As always, our horses thank you for your generous financial support, which continues to allow us to assist horses like Maci…❤️🥰❤️

​ When Honey came to H.O.P.E. Acres, she was emaciated and suffering from an infected barbed wire wound in her hind leg. The wound would almost cost her life and require multiple procedures to...

05/05/2026

We agree. Donkeys have very specific nutritional requirements and do not need much, if any, grass. Being prey animals themselves makes them poor guardians. Donkeys need to be appreciated for their own personalities and not used as livestock guardians.

There's the saying, that once you know better, you do better. This is implying that once you have education, it's time to rise to the occasion, and do what's best for the situation. In this case, donkeys.

A lot is being discovered about the animals that we live with and keep, and their specific needs. For instance, it is now known that declawing cats is absolutely cruelty. This used to be a common practise and is no longer. It is also well known now that certain pieces of tack and training devices on horses that used to be commonly used and were traditional in showing, are now outlawed in many countries due to misuse, and the fact that the tack wasn't fair to the animal to begin with.

There are many, many examples of how we learn that certain practises are outdated and should be thrown in the trash.

Using donkeys as livestock guardians is one of those practises that needs to go. Between the fact that donkeys do truly need other donkeys in a herd setting, other livestock not having the same dietary needs as donkeys, leading to many cases of obesity and founder, and the fact that donkeys truly are prey animals, not predators, and can oftentimes get seriously injured by predators... It is time to let the livestock guardian donkey myth be just that- a myth.

When we know better, we do better. Let's do better.