The Dorset Equine Rescue Inc.

The Dorset Equine Rescue Inc. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating neglected horses. Welcome to the Dorset Equine Rescue! Thank you!
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If you are new to our page, we are glad you’re here! Here’s a little bit about us and what we do:

The Dorset Equine Rescue is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in the beautiful mountains of Vermont. We were founded in 2012 and our mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and re-home abused, neglected and slaughter bound horses. We pride ourselves on being a very transparent organiza

tion and are rated at the platinum level on Guidestar. We are blessed to have a wonderful team of volunteers, staff, and Board of Directors who help out in various ways behind the scenes. Our awesome team evaluates every incoming horse at our organization and provides vet care, rehabilitation and training to better prepare him/her for adoption. To date, we have helped about 400 equines from various neglectful situations. We are proud to be accredited through the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and also be an EQUUS Foundation Guardian. It truly takes a village to do what we do and we are so glad to welcome you to our page so that you can join us on this incredible journey of helping horses in need. If you would like to learn more about The Dorset Equine Rescue and keep up to date on all of our events and activities, please sign up to receive our emails through this link (Don’t worry...we don't send out too many):

https://dorsetequinerescue.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/connect-with-dorset-equine-rescue

Please also visit our website to learn more about us: dorsetequinerescue.org

Our organization runs 100% on donations made by caring animal lovers just like you. Without this support, we wouldn’t be able to help so many horses in need. Contributions are always greatly appreciated and can be made through our website, or a check can be mailed to:

The Dorset Equine Rescue
P.O. Box 92
East Dorset, VT 05253

Whether you are new to our organization or have been by our side for a while, we are so grateful to share our stories and progress with you. We appreciate your support more than you know. Jen Straub
Founder/Executive Director

Our three newest residents, Shelby (the donkey), Spice (the mini) and Blue (the full size horse) are settling in very we...
02/27/2025

Our three newest residents, Shelby (the donkey), Spice (the mini) and Blue (the full size horse) are settling in very well. They arrived on Sunday through an owner surrender. They will be staying at our trainer Tiffany’s house until space opens up at the rescue. Their personalities are starting to come out and we look forward to getting to know them better in the coming days. 💕💗

The three Standardbred geldings are doing well and are half way through their 30 day quarantine. Tech’s bloodwork came b...
02/26/2025

The three Standardbred geldings are doing well and are half way through their 30 day quarantine. Tech’s bloodwork came back and he is positive for chronic Lyme Disease and started treatment last week. Prayer was given a body condition score of 2.5 by our veterinarian at arrival. He was also very weak, but is starting to gain much needed weight and regain some of his strength. He takes regular naps so it’s clear that he needs a lot of rest during his healing process. But he is slowly improving a little bit more every day. All three are super friendly and have wonderful ground manners. They are all settling in very well and we are so glad they are here. Thank you to everyone who contributed to make their rescue possible.

02/25/2025

This 2 1/2 year old baby (Ulysses) is putting his active brain to work! He is learning to ground drive and taking it all in stride! This training exercise is great for teaching young horses their directional aids, desensitizing them to having things touch their sides and hind legs, and to stay soft in the driver’s/rider’s hands. It’s a great way to start any green horse and makes the transition to mounting much easier.

Happy Tuesday from Symkje!
02/25/2025

Happy Tuesday from Symkje!

02/24/2025

Panike 💗

We welcomed three new local owner surrenders yesterday afternoon. The full size horse’s name is Blue, the mini horse is ...
02/24/2025

We welcomed three new local owner surrenders yesterday afternoon. The full size horse’s name is Blue, the mini horse is Spice and the donkey is Shelby. They came from the same home and will be staying at our trainer Tiffany’s house until space opens up at the rescue. They are settling in well and we look forward to getting to know them better in the coming days. Helping our local community is always our number one goal and we are happy we could be there for these three equines and offer them a soft landing.

Did you know that it costs The Dorset Equine Rescue approximately $450/month just to cover the basics for one healthy full size horse? This does not include staff, or any medical costs above their routine vaccines and dentals. This also doesn't include their training. But most incoming horses who arrive at our rescue usually have special needs in one form or another and need more medical attention above the basics and cost far more than $450/month.

Please consider a donation today to help us offset the cost of care for our three newest residents. Your contribution will go towards their hay, grain, vet care, medications, farrier, bedding, and any additional supplies needed and much more. Donations can be made by check or through our donation link here:

https://dorsetequinerescue.networkforgood.com/projects/60596-donate-now

By check:
The Dorset Equine Rescue
P.O. Box 92
East Dorset, VT 05253

Thank you for caring! 💕

Phoenix and Valiant 💕
02/23/2025

Phoenix and Valiant 💕

Do you love coffee, tea or hot chocolate? If so, check out our ceramic logo Dorset Equine Rescue mugs which are great fo...
02/23/2025

Do you love coffee, tea or hot chocolate? If so, check out our ceramic logo Dorset Equine Rescue mugs which are great for either! They are $25 each which includes shipping to anywhere in the USA. All proceeds go to support The Dorset Equine Rescue! Please use this link to purchase and please allow 2 weeks for delivery:
http://paypal.me/dorsetequinerescue
*Don’t forget to leave your shipping address in the notes in PayPal!
Or you can mail a check to:
The Dorset Equine Rescue
P.O. Box 92
East Dorset, VT 05253
Thank you for your support!

Happy Saturday from Ulysses!
02/22/2025

Happy Saturday from Ulysses!

Good morning from Valiant and Phoenix!
02/21/2025

Good morning from Valiant and Phoenix!

Sweet dreams from Duke and our awesome staff member, Bre.
02/21/2025

Sweet dreams from Duke and our awesome staff member, Bre.

We’ve had a lot of crazy weather this past week. Thank you, Jesse, for keeping the farm road open so we can access the p...
02/20/2025

We’ve had a lot of crazy weather this past week. Thank you, Jesse, for keeping the farm road open so we can access the paddocks and pastures easier! Shown is what we call “pasture 1”.

We’ve had an exciting couple weeks here at the rescue! We recently announced Huey’s adoption and we are so excited to al...
02/20/2025

We’ve had an exciting couple weeks here at the rescue! We recently announced Huey’s adoption and we are so excited to also announce that Cooper has been adopted! He is settling well into his new home. He not only has two little kids of his very own to love on him, but he also has two horse companions to live with. Hannah is a very experienced horse woman who knew Cooper would be a perfect addition to add to her family. This sweet little pony deserves this quiet, loving home to live out his days in and we couldn’t be happier for him and his new family.

Exciting news! Huey has been adopted! We are absolutely thrilled for Huey to join Emmy and Stacy’s animal family. Emmy a...
02/19/2025

Exciting news! Huey has been adopted! We are absolutely thrilled for Huey to join Emmy and Stacy’s animal family. Emmy and Stacy are repeat adopters of ours and Huey will be sharing a pasture with two DER alumni, Beau and Memphis. 💕

Please read this beautiful Facebook post written by one of our adopters, Ivy. She adopted Violet from us several years a...
02/18/2025

Please read this beautiful Facebook post written by one of our adopters, Ivy. She adopted Violet from us several years ago and has done a wonferful job with her. Thank you Ivy for loving her. 💗

“Stolen ❤️

Once every equestrian’s life, they will meet a special horse.

This horse wont necessarily be a Badminton winner or dressage champion. They won’t always carry multiple titles or be the most talented with the best breeding.

Very often, these horses are nothing more than ordinary. They might have the odd lump here or a strange marking there. They probably won’t tick all the boxes for conformation and they will probably have some character “quirks” that not everyone will be able to see past.

You don’t find these horses, they find you. They can come to you by accident or hide in plain sight. They are the one rescued from the meat man or the one in the last stable at the dealing yard. They are the last horse you go to see before you give up searching or the scruffy three year old stood in a field of mud. They are the horse you never even knew you needed.

People will raise an eyebrow when you say this is your “best horse”. Not everyone will see what you see and that’s ok because this horse will be special to you. They will unlock little things inside you and make you feel more at home than you’ve ever felt anywhere else in your life.

They may not always be easy, in fact they might be anything but easy, but it doesn’t stop you loving them. I’m not saying the will follow you round the arena with no lungeline, or that you can ride them tackless down the beach... but you’ll have your own connection that is hard to describe and even harder to explain.

There is no rhyme or reason as to why this horse is so special. You don’t have to have won at every event or defied death together to validate your relationship, it just happens.

You won’t feel this way about another horse. Sure, there will be ones that come close and it doesn’t stop you loving any other horse just as much as this one, but this one is special. This is your heart horse.

Some people stumble across their heart horse early on in their life, others wait a lifetime to meet, but somewhere out there is a horse that was made for you, so if you haven’t met them yet... be patient, they will find you.

They might not always be the horse you want, but they will always be the horse you need.”

(Photo of Ivy and Violet)

Renegade enjoying a nice roll in the snow. There are only 31 more days until Spring! But who’s counting…😜
02/18/2025

Renegade enjoying a nice roll in the snow. There are only 31 more days until Spring! But who’s counting…😜

Good afternoon from Phoenix and Valiant. These two guys are like brothers. They are always goofing around and playing. W...
02/17/2025

Good afternoon from Phoenix and Valiant. These two guys are like brothers. They are always goofing around and playing.

We couldn’t be more proud of Phoenix. When he first arrived at The Dorset Equine Rescue a year and a half ago he was just four years old. To say he was “unhandled” was an understatement. He was dumped at a kill pen by a rodeo company along with 25+ others. Most of the horses in this herd had been used as bucking horses in rodeos and were traumatized or feral. Phoenix was so traumatized when he first arrived that it took several months before he would let us touch him with one finger. It took several more months before we could get a halter on him.

Now he is easy to halter, leads, lets us brush him and he picks up all 4 feet. Our trainer worked with him very consistently and gained his trust. We were all so proud of him when he allowed her to put blanket on him for the first time a couple of months ago. We are all so proud of how far he’s come since he first arrived.

Valiant is a 7 year old gelding who came to us mid-December through a Vermont owner surrender. He had lived alone without an equine companion for most of his life and didn’t have much handling prior to coming to us. He’s now up to date on all of his routine care and doing great with his training. He is so happy to have horse companions to spend time and play with.

If you or someone you know is a Vermont horse owner and going through a hardship and in immediate need of hay to feed th...
02/16/2025

If you or someone you know is a Vermont horse owner and going through a hardship and in immediate need of hay to feed their horses, our hay assistance program can help! All applications are confidential. Please visit our website for more information and to find the Vermont Hay Bank guidelines and application:
www.dorsetequinerescue.org

Below are two of our awesome staff members, Tiffany and Emily who are loading the Gator up with hay. 💕

Address

P. O. Box 92
East Dorset, VT
05253

Website

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Videos

Ulysses
Ulysses

This 2 1/2 year old baby (Ulysses) is putting his active brain to work! He is learning to ground drive and taking it all in stride! This training exercise is great for teaching young horses their directional aids, desensitizing them to having things touch their sides and hind legs, and to stay soft in the driver’s/rider’s hands. It’s a great way to start any green horse and makes the transition to mounting much easier.

The three Standardbreds arrived this evening!
The three Standardbreds arrived this evening!

They are here! The three Standardbred geldings arrived this evening! They are doing well and settling in. We will share photos tomorrow! 💗💗💗

Kick up your heals, it’s Friday! Sianna is a three year old Friesian who loves to play. She was feeling quite frisky yesterday.

Huey
Huey

Huey is still available for adoption! He is doing great with light ring work and trail riding. He is an 18 year old Appaloosa gelding who is physically in great shape. He is not suitable for beginners as he is still in the training process. Please reach out if you are interested in Huey! Our adoption requirements and application can be found on our website: dorsetequinerescue.org

Cooper
Cooper

Cooper is 10 days in of his 30 day quarantine. As you can see, he is settling in quite well and enjoying his hay pile. This seems to be his new mid-day routine. Thank you everyone for your generous support and making his rescue possible. 💗

Ulysses
Ulysses

Ulysses enjoying his ball which is filled with chopped forage.

Lachlan
Lachlan

Lachlan is a three year old gelding who was surrendered to us recently after a two year legal case following being seized by law enforcement. He is doing great with his training and we are excited to watch him blossom.

Huey
Huey

Yesterday was a beautiful snowy day here in Vermont. The forest was so peaceful. Tiffany and Huey (and Aspen the dog) enjoyed a quiet ride through the snow. Huey is available for adoption and would love to find his forever home in time for Christmas. 💗

Huey
Huey

Huey went on his very first trail ride today and did great! This handsome guy is available for adoption! He is 17 years old and stands about 15 hands tall. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to learn more about Huey. dorsetequinerescue.org

Huey is a 17 year old Appaloosa gelding who was surrendered to us due to his previous owners health. He was very well cared for his whole life but was never trained to ride. He is currently learning to be brave and secure in all aspects of handling and has just learned to ground drive. He has never pulled a cart and is not trained to ride yet, but will remain in training as long as he is with us. Huey would do best in a small herd and with a competent handler. If you are interested in adopting Huey, please read our adoption requirements and fill out an adoption application, both found on our website. dorsetequinerescue.org

Legacy farm
Legacy farm

It was a beautiful day to visit our new property today. We are so grateful every day to watch our dream become a reality. Thank you to everyone who helped make this a reality. 💗

Ulysses and Phoenix having a grooming session (Poe in the background). Thank you for supporting us so that we can continue to provide a second chance at a better life to horses in need. Not only are we grateful, but the horses show us how grateful they are every day.

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