Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue

Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue Gentle Giants was formed to facilitate the rescue of draft horses from slaughter, abuse, and neglect. horses for human consumption.
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Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue facilitates the rescue of draft and draft cross horses from slaughter, abuse, and neglect. Gentle Giants is one of the loudest national voices fighting to permanently end the slaughter of U.S. We’ve rescued over 1,000 horses who have been adopted into permanent, loving homes. We house over 150 horses at our 300+ acre Maryland facility, and offer lifetime sanctuary for those horses who are less likely to be adopted.

Othello is kicking up his heels over the great news coming out of his home state of Vermont today! Yesterday, the Judge ...
08/13/2025

Othello is kicking up his heels over the great news coming out of his home state of Vermont today!

Yesterday, the Judge presiding over the highly publicized case of 20 horses seized from the Friesians of Majesty breeding operation in September 2024 ruled that 19 of the 20 horses seized will be forfeited to the rescue partners that have housed and cared for them over the past 11 months. 7 of the Friesian stallions from the September seizure have been here at Gentle Giants, and now, they can *officially* call 'GG' their home!!

Many many thanks to our dedicated partners in rescue, The Dorset Equine Rescue Inc., the New Hampshire SPCA, the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals, and each of you who have passionately advocated for these horses. We are holding strong in our hope for the best possible outcome for the horses still involved in ongoing litigation and will continue to offer our unwavering support for those who remain at the facility, ready to stand by them should the time come.

So what happens now? We will be forming an Advisory Committee of uninterested third-party experts to help us make the most informed and ethical decision regarding the future of these esteemed stallions. While we undertake this important task, we ask that those of you who are eager to adopt please be patient and refrain from any adoption inquiries at this time.

08/10/2025

Pearls and Lawless made it to Lost Meadows Mule Refuge in Texas!! It looks like they’re both already settling in and getting comfortable! We’re incredibly grateful to Lost Meadows for partnering with us and helping to give these two special mules a chance at finding their forever home!

08/07/2025

Today Lawless and Pearls headed off to their exciting next chapter, at Lost Meadows Mule Refuge in Caldwell, TX!

Here at GG our smaller mules have a harder time finding adopters, as most of the people that adopt from us are looking for large draft horses. At Lost Meadow, they’ll be surrounded by mule lovers and adopters specifically looking for mules, giving them a much better chance at finding their perfect forever homes!

We’re so excited for what’s ahead for Lawless and Pearls, and incredibly grateful to Lost Meadow Mule Refuge for welcoming them with open arms. Safe travels, sweet friends!

ROMAN UPDATE: Roman is still in the hospital. His body is weak from muscle damage caused by the extreme and prolonged st...
08/05/2025

ROMAN UPDATE:

Roman is still in the hospital. His body is weak from muscle damage caused by the extreme and prolonged starvation he experienced combined with metabolic and likely genetic issues. The team has observed that when Roman lays down his heartrate is in the 40 bmp range, but once he stands, it jumps up to 60+ bmp. (A healthy/normal range is between 28-40 beats per minute).

It’s suspected that his heart has been compromised as well and right now the team is waiting on the results of his cardiac troponin test to determine the extent of the damage and what that may mean for him. Roman’s prognosis is unclear at this time and we are all concerned about his ability to travel home without collapsing. Roman is a young c**t that should be running around his pasture with friends, not struggling to stand without exhausting himself. We hope to receive his test results later today or tomorrow and will let everyone know as soon as we have some answers.

Thanks for keeping this sweet guy in your thoughts ❤️

Friesian Update!Roman, one of the stallions that arrived in late June, has been transported to the Virginia Tech's Mario...
08/01/2025

Friesian Update!

Roman, one of the stallions that arrived in late June, has been transported to the Virginia Tech's Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center for further evaluation and testing.

Roman arrived in critical condition and has been residing in our Healing Barn where he has been under the care and supervision of our Veterinarian. He has significant hind-end weakness and muscle atrophy that make him very uncomfortable and unstable. In the time he's been with us, we've run multiple blood tests to track his muscle enzyme levels, treated a mild colic, tested for Lyme (results pending), and tested for anhidrosis (inability to sweat), which was positive. Since we have not seen the improvement that we would have expected, we made the decision to transport him to the hospital, where he could receive additional testing and diagnostics to help us get closer to identifying what may be ailing him. We'll keep everyone updated as we get more information!

It was a scorcher today in Maryland but horse care never stops! We spent the day pampering the herd - lots of grooming,...
07/30/2025

It was a scorcher today in Maryland but horse care never stops! We spent the day pampering the herd - lots of grooming, fly spray, and cool shady breaks. For our more heat-sensitive horses, like these two beautiful Friesian mares, Karissa (left) and Karoline (right), a gentle hose-off was just what they needed to stay comfortable. Stay cool out there, and Happy Wednesday from the barn!

Some people wake up with bed head, some with motivation for the day... Eclair wakes up with opinions. This beautiful 2 y...
07/29/2025

Some people wake up with bed head, some with motivation for the day... Eclair wakes up with opinions. This beautiful 2 year old mare was born right here on the farm. So, of course, she thinks she runs the place. She has opinions on her meals, her scratches, her water, even which field she is in! But no matter what gets her little tail in a twist, we can't help but laugh when she loudly voices her thoughts for the day! Happy Tuesday from Eclair and the rest of the Gentle Giants herd!

Need a little Monday pick-me-up? Judd’s got you covered with a little bit of silliness! This photo was snapped just afte...
07/28/2025

Need a little Monday pick-me-up? Judd’s got you covered with a little bit of silliness!

This photo was snapped just after he finished his morning feed, clearly feeling quite pleased with himself. Judd has been doing an excellent job keeping his best friend, Flint, company while he recovers from his tendon surgery, which you might remember from all the way back in February. We are happy to report that Flint is recovering beautifully with Judd right by his side.

With his quiet, quirky charm, Judd is perfect for the role of professional friend and morale booster!

Titus update! Titus is one of the Friesians that arrived on June 21st. He was skinny and scraggly with knots in his mane...
07/24/2025

Titus update! Titus is one of the Friesians that arrived on June 21st. He was skinny and scraggly with knots in his mane, ribs showing, and chunks of dirty hair coming off his entire body. Over the past month, he’s had a bath, two meals a day, and an all you can eat buffet of alfalfa that he eats while his fans keep him cool 🥰

He’s already looking and feeling better! Check out his weight gain so far!

June 21 - arrival weight of 645 lbs.
July 7 - 738 lbs. (up almost 100lbs.!)
July 16 - 793 lbs.
Pretty soon he’ll be in the 800 lb. club! Go Titus!

07/15/2025

Welcome home Posey and Preacher! These two lovely Belgians joined our herd yesterday after being rescued from auction. They have settled right in and are loving all the care and attention they are getting! Stay tuned for more updates about these two!

Did you know that after each run to auction we do a full decontamination of our trailer? Horses from all over are sent t...
07/15/2025

Did you know that after each run to auction we do a full decontamination of our trailer? Horses from all over are sent to these auctions, and their medical care & history are often completely unknown. Many are sick with contagious illnesses, may have never been vaccinated or dewormed, and are almost always crawling with mites and lice. This is why quarantine and proper decontamination of all people and equipment is so important to keep disease and creepy crawlies from spreading! To ensure that the next horses that get on this trailer aren't exposed to anything, we do a full ‘decon’. That means we get all the hay, manure, and shavings out, remove all hay bags to be soaked in bleach water, rinse the whole trailer down with the hose, then finally spray the entire trailer with a super powerful (but safe for horses and the environment) disinfectant called Virkon. We even decontaminate the muck tubs, shovels, and hose!

Of course, we know everyone is eager is learn more about the two Belgians that were rescued yesterday but don’t fret, we’ll be introducing them both later this afternoon! Stay tuned!

Address

Mount Airy, MD

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 6pm
Tuesday 8am - 6pm
Wednesday 8am - 6pm
Thursday 8am - 6pm
Friday 8am - 7pm
Saturday 8am - 7pm
Sunday 8am - 6pm

Telephone

+14432853835

Website

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