Seahorse Ranch Rescue

23/04/2025

It was mani-pedi day! Everyone got their tootsies done except for the donkeys and Cannoli. Hudson's white line is almost completely gone, and the chunk that broke off has grown out. He's got some nice-looking feet now! It's so nice having a barn full of horses that fall asleep during farrier visits.

The donkeys' hooves were good, and we need to reassess Cannoli's pain management.

We have hay coming today as well and could use your support. If you'd like to sponsor a bale of hay ($17), or a set of shoes ($120), we have

Zelle
[email protected]

Venmo


PayPal
https://www.paypal.me/seahorseranchrescue

We are a 501(c)(3) in good standing with the IRS and donations are tax deductible.

20/04/2025

As we were talking about needing to find another riding volunteer since we've all been hit with some medical issues recently, one of the OGs, a friend who volunteered with us waaaay back when we first started, reached out saying she needed some horse time! She's been mainly riding ponies in barrels/ranch over the years, so watching her on 17hh TBs for the first time in almost 9 yrs was fun. The dismounts were the best! Freddie and Hudson both enjoyed meeting her today. They'll love all the extra attention and will get back in to shape in no time!

While I remembered to take photos, I forgot to focus 🤦🏼‍♀️ Freddie got some nice photos (it's not hard with him), but poor Hudson only had photos in focus where he looks like a potato with legs... We'll make sure better photos will be taken next time, lol.

15/04/2025

See that cute old man face? Don't let it fool you. Behind that mashy mustache and innocent facade lays a sharp and devious mind. As I pulled up to the gate to feed, Gumby was standing at the fence, just off to the side of the gate, watching me. Was I going to unlock and get through the gate with no problems? Was he going to make a run for it? Was he going to calmly stand there and follow me to the barn? We started a staring contest for the ages. I stared. He stared. The dog stared. The neighbors stared (wondering what the heck was wrong with us). Finally, Gumby looked away! I WON!! HA!!! Yeeeaaaah... I should've known better. I barely get the gate unlocked and open when he makes a break for it. At 35-36, he can still move fast! I barely made it back in my car with enough time to block the gate. He stared at me like, "How DARE you have the audacity to stop me from roaming the neighborhood?" He galloped up to the barn for his dinner and grooming as if he didn't just remind us all why there is still a lock on the gate.

He's shedding out very well, but we might clip his chest and tummy to help him along. The darker spots on his shoulders and flanks are where he's fully shed out. The lighter spots are where there seems to be a never-ending supply of hair (it's considerably thinner now). And an AI muppet version of him because... why not? Lol!

06/04/2025

It has been brought to my attention that although I share Gumby's shenanigans on my personal page quite regularly, I seem to forget to share them with all of you. I am so sorry! His naughty escapades should be shared with the world! Here are a few of my favorites as well as some of what it's like having this grumpy old man run the rescue! I promise I'll do better at sharing his tomfoolery! - Caroline

03/04/2025

The other day, someone tried riding Freddie over the tires and he had no idea what she wanted. That's when we went, "Huh. We've never bothered with that before." It's Freddie. We should've known! It took him less than 10 minutes to go from staring at it blankly to putting his front hooves on it to calmly walking over it as if he's done it for years. Next, trying it under saddle.

Old man Gumby is shedding like crazy! We need someone shorter than Caroline to get the bottom half of him. You can tell where she stops since he goes from sleek to fuzzball at that white line on his tummy 😂 He's also shed out a beard to go with his mustache. If you'd like to grow your own Gumby, we can send you a Gumby Starter Pack for only $9.99 plus S&H!!

02/04/2025

Before we gave up on working Hudson in this wind today, we decided he should be a movie horse. Not because he's particularly good-looking or has cool tricks. No. He likes whinny for no apparent reason at random times. He'd save audio departments a lot of time and effort adding in unnecessary whinnies anytime a movie shows a horse 🤣🤣

01/04/2025

🚨 BREAKING: Scientists Stunned by the Discovery of the Legendary Donkicorn! 🚨

In a world first, researchers have confirmed the existence of a mythical, snack-loving donkey breed: the Donkicorn. Originally dismissed as nothing more than an equine fairy tale, this rare specimen has been officially documented munching on Skittles, MoonPies, and Twinkies—claiming that hay is for the ✨ ordinary ✨ equines.

The Donkicorn was first spotted grazing beneath a double rainbow, its shimmering mane glowing in direct proportion to the number of treats it consumed. Experts report that its mood can be measured by the color intensity of its coat—brighter shades, which indicate excessive happiness due to snack overconsumption.

Skeptics argue this is an elaborate hoax, pointing to the Donkicorn’s suspiciously well-documented snack preferences and impossibly radiant mane. However, eyewitness accounts and highly scientific (and not at all exaggerated) reports continue to emerge, confirming that this creature is as real as the MoonPies it devours. Recent studies also suggest that excessive sugar intake may be granting the Donkicorn brief teleportation abilities—early evidence includes blurry photos of its sudden appearances near unattended snack tables. One thing is certain: the equine world will never be the same.

As much as we'd love for the Donkicorn to be real, this is, in fact, an April Fools’ Day hoax. Sadly, donkeys can not survive on Skittles, MoonPies, and Twinkies—such a diet would be highly detrimental to their health. Please feed your donkeys proper forage, not snack cakes (no matter how much they try to convince you otherwise).

26/03/2025

For those of you who were here with us last summer as we desperately tried everything we could think of to keep Pokey's temperature down will be THRILLED to hear he is not only sweating, but is shedding like a black cat when you're wearing all white for a formal event! We got nervous when the temperature hit 95° today and immediately reached out to his foster. She said he is doing great and everything is working as it should. She's been brushing buckets' worth of hair off him. He definitely picked the perfect home for his retirement ❤️

21/03/2025

We had a great day with some volunteers from City National Bank. They came last year for volunteer week and had so much fun, they asked to come back for a couple of days this year ❤️ That gave Caroline time to work with Hudson (with Gumby supervising, of course) and get on for the first time! He's nicely responsive and bends beautifully. He's out of shape after having all those months off for his hoof to grow out, but he should come back pretty quickly, and we'll start getting him out on the trails. He should be available fairly soon! We finished our volunteer day with Freddie's favorite: grooming! The boys thought he was stinky at first, but after they got off all the gunk he rolled in, they didn't mind! We can always count on Freddie to occupy the kids and make the adults laugh. Best personality 🥰

21/03/2025

The cases this rescue takes in make our oddities seem commonplace. This is their newest intake and this little guy is truly amazing! He had a vet visit today and is doing everything a 1 week old foal should be doing. He runs, he bucks, he plays, and he gets up and down for naps. I debated sharing his post because we all know there are strong opinions on what is right for this little guy. For now, he is happy and pain-free. They'll know when it's time, but for now, he's having probably the most enjoyable start to a life as possible ❤️. Rocking R Ranch and Rescue, Inc. has shared several updates and we recommend hopping over and take a look at this cutie.

Oddly, shortly after we first saw Rocky's post, we were sent a video of another 3 legged foal in another country running and bucking and having a grand time. We've gone from never seeing this to seeing 2 in just a couple of days 🤔

I’m struggling to find the right words and how to introduce this sweet baby. There’s so much to discuss but today we have just tried to process, address immediate needs and then we will go from there.

I know I said earlier the baby was a girl, which is what we were told but he is a precious little boy, and he was born with only 3 legs.

Once we picked him up he was taken immediately to Dr Longoria’s. She drew blood, did a full assessment and X-ray of the shoulder where his left front leg should be. There is actually the start of a very tiny underdeveloped leg there, it just stopped growing for some reason. This is not something she has ever seen nor the other professionals we have consulted today. Due to that, there are more what ifs and maybes than there are “we can do this or thats”. What we do know is today, he’s a fighter and has a very strong will to live. At only 3 days old, he’s learned to compensate and can walk, and get up and down on his own. He’s bright and curious just as a foal should be, and incredibly sweet.

I don’t think anyone would have faulted us for euthanizing him today, and many will fault us for not doing so today as well. We held off on making any decision about him until we could see him for ourselves and see what Dr Longoria felt as well. This is also why I did not post what his birth defect was or a photo in my earlier post. I like to come to you all with as much information as possible and be prepared to answer questions to the best of our ability. I feel I’m prepared to do that now.

We made the decision to bring him home to the rescue as TODAY, he is thriving. This could change at any time, and we will not allow him to suffer or prolong any suffering he may have in the future. Being there is no research to look to, no professional we have found with any previous experience, this was a somewhat hard decision partly in knowing that there will be some outrage but having this precious baby of my arms and knowing he wants to live, it’s the decision we made.

There is no hope of a prosthesis so let’s please not get deep into that. We contacted the best in the world before we ever took possession of him, and it’s just not an option. There is nothing there to attach a prosthetic to, and if there was, it would likely fail due to not bringing able to bend it, inhibiting him further from laying down or getting up.

He is drinking very well from a bucket and caught onto that pretty quickly. The best I have ever seen a foal do. This was encouraging. We do believe his quality of life would greatly improve with a nurse mare and that is in the works. His life most likely will not surpass a few months or at least weaning age as he will gain weight and become heavier and that’s when more problems will arise, but we would love for him to have the very best life possible while he is on this earth. What things do you put on a baby horses bucket list when life is just not fair sometimes but you want to make the best of it? Nature is wild and things happen, but he made it here and we want to chose to celebrate the time that he has however long that may be.

We take in a lot of hospice cases, but a newborn hospice case is a first for us. How special it is to get to provide this for him though, and as worried as I was, I was very joyful after being with him. All God’s creatures ❤️.

I will update more as we know more. For now, what should we name such a special little boy? I will not name him anything to do with him only having 3 legs.

09/03/2025

It was redhead appreciation day at the rescue today! Gumby is shedding like crazy and, apparently, has enough hair for 3 horses. Fortunately, that doesn't apply to his mustache 🥸 We have a young volunteer that absolutely adores Stevie Wonder. What better way to make a kid's day than letting him ride his favorite horse! The kid is a natural, and Stevie is Stevie. That horse came with a halo ❤️ We let him and the donks roam the yard for a bit. Watching Stevie navigate around things is amazing. He must have echolocation! We also caught Roseann working with Cannoli. She's usually here when nobody else is, so we always miss it. Since he's not rideable, she's been working on liberty training with him, and he loves it! He likes having a job. We really wish there was a way to fix the nerve damage in his back, but he's really enjoying ground and liberty work.

If you'd like to sponsor any of our redheads, or if you think Cannoli might just be your perfect partner, reach out!

06/03/2025

Hudson has been doing nothing but eating, letting his hoof grow, and making us laugh! The last farrier visit had some great news: his hoof has grown fast, and he didn't need the bar shoes as expected. In fact, his hoof is looking so good we're comfortable starting to get him back in shape and under saddle! The last 2 pictures are of his hoof today.

Photos of the rest (minus Cannoli) because they're cute, lol. It was a bit of a struggle convincing Freddie to keep his head out of the hay long enough to get a decent photo, but we managed one. The same couldn't be said about Cannoli. He decided he was too busy for pictures.

18/02/2025

Most of you won't remember or even know about Kaz (JC Just Recherche), who we rescued with assistance from another rescue from Mike's Auction back in June of 2015. He was adopted and went to an incredible home with Melanie at . He started having more and more issues with soundness, and eventually, it was decided that it was in his best interest to be retired. He was accepted at as a part of their veterinary undergrad program and has been doing PHENOMENAL! The first photo was just sent to us showing how well he's doing and how he's modling for the students (the rest of the photos are from his pre-med life). This is what we've been told about his new life:

"He’s found his calling in life. Apparently, the U of A had some difficult horses in their herd, and they used to have to go in with a dressage whip to feed. Now Kaz keeps them all in line and makes them wait patiently for people to feed. The staff love him! He also stood patiently for two hours being haltered for the students’ haltering exam."

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to get him safe 10 years ago. Thank you to Mel for taking him on and finding him his true purpose in life! We are so incredibly grateful that he is able to help future generations of veterinary students ❤️❤️❤️

15/02/2025

We've been letting everyone out to roam the property the last couple of days, not always intentionally... 😒 In true donkey fashion, Wonky and W***y decided they'd rather run OUTSIDE of the arena than inside this morning when going for their turnout time. Stevie Wonder had a momentary panic attack before realizing we snuck him some alfalfa while his buddies were galloping around like idiots, lol. Yesterday, Hudson had a fun time running with Caroline and Stacey's horses, and even old man Gumby got into the action! The video of them is hysterical, but too long for Instagram. We'll see if we can trim it down (and take out Caroline's peroidically not so family-friendly commentary) and get it posted. Hudson yelling at everyone is just too cute to not share if possible!

14/02/2025

Happy Valentine's Day! Which one(s) of these appropriate candies would your horse give you?

09/02/2025

Everyone join me in telling Caroline to stop being lazy and pull up her breeches, dust off her Dressage saddle, and ride Freddie in that instead of her horse's trail gear! It was very busy at Central Arizona Riding Academy (CARA) today with horses being ridden in all the arenas, a young thoroughbred being a young thoroughbred, and kids all over the place. It felt like being at a schooling show. Freddie started off looky and a bit tense, but he settled down and focused on work. We're going to keep taking him places to get used to lots of activity. We also saw the first ladybug of the year!

Freddie is available for adoption. He has quite a bit more training than Caroline and would be a great horse to take you from intro to 2nd level. Even when stressed, he's level headed and safe. This handsome boy is 11 yrs old and approximately 17hh (we need to restick). If you'd like more information, message us!

09/02/2025

We had a great volunteer day with Order of the Arrow Apache Trail and Gila River chapters this afternoon! They got so much done! Our teeter totter now teeters AND totters, the sunken area in the tires and all the ground squirrel holes were filled, stalls and water troughs were cleaned, and all the horses got a good grooming and loving. Freddie was everyone's favorite with his big, goofy personality, lol. We were able to use Hudson to teach about hoof health. Stevie Wonder and Cannoli's missing eyes were fascinating, and we answered a lot of questions about enucleation. Gumby's age amazed everybody. Fun and educational! Thank you, guys, for the great day!

02/02/2025

Fun times with Freddie! Caroline looked at the English saddle she used to ride him in, looked at the 4.5 yrs of dust on the cover, and decided western wins, lol. He didn't care and happily went along with it. The chiro adjustment has made a difference in his gait and flexibility. He was bending nicely and freely. He occasionally even lifted his ribcage, allowing his hind end to come underneath him for a floaty carriage. It took Caroline a hot minute to remember any of her dressage training, but she almost, not quite, eventually remembered a tiny bit! She said he's just as fun, probably even more, than he was years ago. He's looking for his next partner. Will it be you?