HoofBeats Stable Ambassadors

Meet the horses and ponies!

Sparrow intake photo

Sparrow

Sparrow is a young, spirited chestnut 14.1 hand 2013 pony mare. Sparrow came in as an emaciated and very sick 2 yr old on July 30th 2015. She had run through an auction with a loose lot of young horses and been sold for slaughter, but was unable to cross state lines showing obvious signs of illness. That earned her just enough time for us to arrive and find her locked in a tiny pitch black isolated stall at the auction-house and purchase her on the spot.Sparrow didn't have proper nutrition or turnout as a youngster, and has a whole slew of genetic issues. At intake, she could barely walk due to severe upward fixation of the patella (locking stifles) causing her to drag her hind legs behind her when she walked. She also has hyper-mobility in all of her joints and carries long term effects of chronic Lyme, EPM and is a Strangles survivor, which almost killed her in her emaciated state.

Through years of proper care and nutrition plus dietary support and surgery, Sparrow is around 80% sound most days. Her lameness is mechanical and not pain related, and she adores having a job.Sparrow has some gaiting in her genes and will pace and perform the running walk at times, but mostly trots and canters. She is an absolute joy to ride and is currently schooling and competing successfully at First Level dressage. Sparrow is the best at teaching students rhythm and consistency, if you don't set the pace she will switch gaits on you! She's a favorite to learn to canter or practice canter work, as she has a lovely uphill and rocking horse like canter. Sparrow's known for her mountains of personality and is as goofy and playful as they come.

*Sparrow is at HoofBeats satellite site in Jefferson MD and is currently available for care and training lessons only*

Mochi

Mochi (Smokey Black Horizon) is a 2014 15 hand Arabian gelding. Not all of our horses had a traumatic past, but each of them was in need of a new home. Mochi's former owner loved him very much but life had changed he found himself looking to rehome him. While Mochi originally had a job and other horses to interact with, all of the horses at the farm where he boarded had been sold off. He was rarely if ever ridden anymore and had developed extreme obesity from boredom as an only horse. Lone horses quickly develop depression as well as behavioral issues from only interacting with members of other species. Imagine how awkward you might be if you hadn't seen another human in years! Mochi has lost most of his extra weight and is working on reshaping his hooves and learning to balance his body. His former obesity and constant wearing down of his toes as he grazed caused him to have club feet and confirmational and movement defects. While a smaller size compared to our other horses, Mochi is a great weight carrier due to his short strong back.

Mochi is fantastic at being exactly the horse you want for the occasion. He's slow and steady for beginners but has the speed and agility when you're ready for it. Mochi competes with his owner and students in Dressage, Combined Training (dressage and jumping) in hand classes and western speed games.

*Mochi is available for riding, care and training lessons*

Mochi Arrival Photo

AppleJack Intake Photo

AppleJack

AppleJack is a 2006 model 11.2 hand pony gelding. He's of an unknown cross of breeds, but we think Halflinger is a major genetic contributor, due to his big bones and lots of feathering! AppleJack was abused as a young pony and broke to ride at 2 years old by very harsh means, leaving scarring in his mouth on both his teeth and tongue. He was then sent through auction and purchased by well meaning folks who turned him out on their large farm and were unable to catch or handle him due to his fearful behavior.He lived in a field for the next 9 years and when he came into HoofBeats he was in poor shape. Overgrown hooves so long he was walking on his heel bulbs and covered in a fungal skin infection, he also had wounds inside of his mouth from tooth neglect causing the points at the edges of his teeth to dig into his cheeks causing painful open wounds. He suffers from allergies and his eyes were left untreated, so he only has partial vision left due to chronic inflammation.When AJ first came in he was so fearful of humans that he was dangerous and explosive. He would hide against the back corner of his stall and rear and strike if you approached him.

Through years of careful training AppleJack has learned that humans are a good thing! He now gladly accepts human interaction. Although his eyes don't work so well, his other senses are heightened so he gets around his world quite well (except when he first walks into the barn out of the bright sun and bonks his head on the wall he didn't see!) It's taken years of careful confidence and trust building to bring him to where he is now, but he's slowly becoming a great asset to the lesson program. For the first few years he would listen to and follow only one person, Rebecca. He's begun to let others catch him in the field, and begun to let students ride him without dragging them into the middle of the ring to stand next to his human! AppleJack is still a true pony and he will keep his riders in check. If the riders leg moves too far back he will stop short to unseat them! If their hands are too bouncy or reins too short, he drags them over to the instructor to "tell on" them and have the reins properly adjusted. Don't let his small height fool you, AJ has the same bone size as his much taller companion Sparrow and can carry children of any size and even small adults.

*AppleJack is available for riding, care and training lessons*

KnightShade

KnightShade is an April 2020 mini mule. He joined HoofBeats in June 2020 when he and his mother Rarity were removed from a bad situation. Rarity and KnightShade were locked in a tiny mud and trash filled stall with a number of other ponies, plus a stallion and a donkey jack. It's widely known that donkey jacks will kill the offspring of a mare from another stud so that they can breed her more quickly themselves. Rarity was thin and terrified of humans, but she was tough as nails against the stallion and donkey jack and spent all of her time fighting them off to protect her baby KnightShade. We received a message about them from a concerned client and were able to strike up a deal to remove them from the situation.When KnightShade first arrived we presumed that he was not well. He hardly moved around at all and would stand in the stall looking defeated. His bones were still very soft and bowed from lack of movement and proper care. When they first arrived at their new freshly bedded stall which they had all to themselves they both layed down to sleep and barely even got up once for 48 hours!! The vet came out and they were found to be in decent health, but utterly exhausted.

Their health improved quickly and within a few weeks KnightShades legs were already straighter and he began to play like a baby!KnightShade has been retained as a program mule and hopes to grow up to be a service and therapy mule. He was rescued just in the nick of time and is not afraid of humans in the least! Rarity spent the next 8 months raising her son in our care, and when she turned 4 she was broke to ride and was adopted out to another equine educational program who has lots of small students just her size!KnightShade is a big part of the program because mule training and care is slightly different than horses and ponies. There is always something to be learned about sweet Shade! He participates in groundwork lessons and is in training to be a therapy mule.

*KnightShade is available for care and training lessons, riding lessons and is in training for offsite theraputic visits and driving*

KnightShade Intake Photo

Astoria

Astoria is a March 4th 1999 15.1 hand Lusitano/QH/Percheron cross mare. Her mother was rescued by our Executive Director when she was a growing up. Astoria's mother had been used as a nurse mare (leased to farms to raise their babies so those babies mothers could be re-bred and return to work) and each of her own foals were seperated at birth and sold to the highest bidder. Many of the foals died of stress/depression, starvation and neglect before being sold off and the farm was closed for animal cruelty.

Astoria's mother was allowed to have one more foal after her adoption which she kept and raised to adulthood, and that foal was Astoria! Born to heal a grieving mother horses heart, Astoria is a very special soul. Her willing nature and kind willing attitude together with smooth gaits and many years of dressage training make her a fantastic choice for confidence building. Many students have their first canter, first bareback experience, or first jump on Astoria.

At 23 and after sustaining a catastrophic injury in the field a few years ago, Astoria is mostly retired. She moves between a retirement barn a few miles away and the Seven's ranch where HoofBeats is located and fills in when another lesson horse needs a short break.

Astoria has earned herself the nickname "Astoria the Unicorn!"

*Astoria is at HoofBeats Satellite facility in Jefferson MD. She is mostly retired, but is available occasionally for riding, care and training lessons. She is also a favorite of the photographers and brings in funds to support HoofBeats Stable. *

Humboldt Ink

Humboldt Ink (aka Inky) is a 2007 model and the newest horse to join the educational program. Her story is slightly different than the rest. Inky is a registered American Paint Horse mare who was originally purchased for the daughter of the executive directors of another rescue, February Star Sanctuary. Inky (currently registered with the name Sparkle Buttons) was not the horse they originally planned to purchase but was at the same farm and when they met her they fell in love. Who wouldn't? Inky is a large, intelligent, athletic and very sensitive mare who commands attention and has loads of presence. She's a really exceptional mare, but you can imagine that she was a lot of horse for a then seven year old child when she was just seven years old herself!

It became apparent with time that Inky and her little girl were not the best match. The family did everything right, signed the girl up for riding lessons, put Inky in training, and encouraged them to keep trying one another out. After 9 years of trying out different riding styles, instructors and situations it was clear that Inky and her owner were never going to become a perfect pair and since the rescue and sanctuary was growing and needed the paddock space for incoming horses the decision was made to sell her.

Just as they were making this hard decision, it became apparent that Sparrow would need to retire from the riding portion of the educational program much more quickly than expected, and Astoria who was filling in for her was no longer able to carry the torch, even temporarily. While we generally bring in a new rescue horse and take the time it takes to rehabilitate, train and see if they are a good match for the riding program, time was of the essense. It was spring and a huge portion of our donations and riding lessons happen during the summer. We needed another riding horse, and fast!

We evaluated a couple of their horses who were partly through rehabilitation as a potential rescue transfer. None were quite right, but Inky was! Bringing her in would free up much needed space, time, and resources for February Star Sanctuary. Since she was originally a purchase and not an impound she would have to be sold, so she was bought (for an unreasonably low amount) by the executive director.

Does a purchased horse who never faced neglect really count as a rescue? All are welcome here. She needed a new home and we could provide it. Rescues helping rescues means more horses saved.

*Inky is available for riding, care and training lessons*

High Q

High Q has had a long and storied past, from being a Thoroughbred born to greatness, to suffering neglect, to being rescued, narrowly escaping death once again and finding herself at HoofBeats in sanctuary care!

High Q was born in 2001 to a Thoroughbred breeding farm where she started her life, was sold, and began training for the track. She was registered with the Jockey Club under the name Capp the Peak. Before her first race High Q was abandoned with a group of other thoroughbreds and left to die, with her track shoes still hanging off her feet.

A good samaritan alerted the authorities who seized the horses, all of whom were emaciated and suffering from hoof and dental neglect.

They were rehabilitated and many of them found their forever homes while at her previous rescue facility. High Q had quite a fan club there, as she is brave and willing to put in 110% every day, exceptionally well put together and an extravagant mover. High Q's one downfall, if you can call it that, is that she requires that you put your ego aside and believe her in her communication.

She worked her heart out all the while communicating that something was amiss for many years. She was tried in a variety of disciplines and with a variety of trainers, some of whom loved her and some of whom did not get along with her well. Eventually after being at the previous rescue for over 10 years she was scheduled for euthanasia. They are a rescue and rehab facility, not a sanctuary, and High Q was proving very hard to place. She was labeled as "dangerous and unadoptable" and quietly removed from the records.

A fellow well respected trainer found out and was able to move mountains to pull her out of there the very day before she was to be euthanized, and she was offered a home for life with HoofBeats. Our executive director was one of the trainers in her past who adored her.

High Q was restarted and communicated the same as she always had. Something isn't right. Our beloved vet donated time and services to crack this very hard case as nothing could ever be pinpointed before. Never dismiss speed aversion and anxiety as a personality trait, it is unlikely that any horse is just naturally "that way."

Eventually it was found that she had quite a bit of remodeling in her spine from her withers to her croup. Kissing spine in areas, remodeling from old track injuries in others. She likely has nerve pain, and definitely has musculoskeletal pain when asked to work. With a back like that it's amazing that she was never aggressive or malicious! High Q is perhaps one of the most patient and kind mares we've ever met.

Q was granted her permanent retirement in sanctuary as the companion to the other HoofBeats horses and ponies who take time off or semi/permanently retire.

*High Q is available to gaze upon enviously, what a pretty horse she is! She is not available for riding or care and training lessons, but has participated in photo shoots to support HoofBeats Stable equine.*

High Q was the model for our logo!

Ankara

Ankra is an Appalachian Brumby born in the wild in summer of 2021. Appalachian Brumby is the name given to the horses who've been running wild for generations on the strip mines and public lands of Appalachia, with her herd being from the border of West Virginia and Kentucky.

The wild herds are watched, tracked and documented by a few organizations and one of them had found a number of mares in her band to be struggling to nutritionally support themselves and their foals, while also being rebred for another foal in the next year. After a number of devastating injuries from accidents on the road as the horses strayed further from safe lands in search of grass, mares dieing while foaling due to weakness and malnutrition and foals developing neurological disorders from the lack of available minerals in the mined lands her band was rounded up and placed in rescues to be tamed and rehabilitated. Ankara as well as two colts from her herd were separated entirely so that their mothers could focus on their own nutritional needs before foaling again.

Ankara was the skinniest of the group and our vet shared later how he wasn't sure how she made it but hadn't wanted to share his full concern early on! She had fluid and infection in her lungs, a high parasite load and significant trace mineral deficiencies. Of all the foals in the group she was quite sedate and likely wouldn't have kept up with the herd much longer.

We're glad she was caught when she was!

*At nearly 3 yrs old Ankara is not in any ridden work yet and is available for occasional care and training lessons.*