For many years John and I did horse rescue
on a limited basis, buying horses in need from horse sales and
individuals, rehabilitating them however needed, then giving them or
selling them at cost to approved homes.
Then after a second placement went bad, we
vowed to get out of rescue altogether.
But that was not to be. Over the years
we've taken in needy equines--a few rescues, some special needs
individuals--and kept them ourselves or placed them with friends or
friends of friends. Homes we were absolutely sure
of.
Now these last few years a half dozen +
special horses have come our way. We find as before, we love working
with these horses...but how could we accept so many new ones without
ultimately having to place some of them?
Thus was born Tir-na-Nog Horse Haven...a
permanent retirement facility for rescued and special needs
horses.
Why
'Tir-na-Nog'? Read about our
name choice HERE.
Being a low-income couple, John and I have
learned to make our pennies count. We purchase hay out of the field
and haul it ourselves. We buy and administer wormers and vaccines
from
vet supply houses. And we do every bit of farm, house and horse
maintenance and upkeep ourselves. John even learned (years ago) to
trim our horses' hooves. When he injured his back 23 years ago, we
thought his farrier days might be over. Not so! He learned to trim
while seated on an upended 5 gallon bucket. Our new horses and our
homebred foals quickly accept this novel approach.
At Tir-na-Nog we favor a holistic approach
to horsekeeping. We use the services of a good allopathic
veterinarian but supplement her treatments with Reiki (we are both
certified practitioners) and herbal medicine (I am a long time hobby
herbalist specializing in native botanicals) as well as acupressure
and flower remedies. We also clicker train and use TTOUCH on all of
our animals--horses, cat, and dogs.
We have a few stalls for foaling and
emergencies but for the most part keep our horses outside 24/7, with
access to sturdy field shelters. Most of our older rescues and
special-needs horses have deeply ingrained stall vices, which are
alleviated by constant turnout. We separate our horses into small
groups of compatible individuals, taking care to keep friendships
intact. Old Lonnie is so meek she needs her own special turnout but
she's kept alongside other horses for company.
The animals you see on this page are
several we rescued in the past.
Griselda, the very geriatric Appaloosa came
to us snake thin and with barely enough energy to eat. After
rehabilitation she spent the rest of her life with a friend who loved
her as much as we.
Maudeen, the large donkey getting the
pedicure was well into her 30's when that picture was taken in 1986.
Barren, she lived with us for the rest of her days and is buried on
our first farm near Pine City MN.
Shai, the handsome black half-Tennessee
Walker filly was an untouched 3 year old still nursing her dam. She
was wild--and fierce! If we hadn't purchased her, she was to be sold
to an area kill buyer. With quiet, sympathetic handling and loads of
TTOUCH and TTEAM, she quickly gentled and was easily trained to ride.
She eventually found a loving, lifelong home in
Wisconsin.
Nowadays most of our rescues are elderly
Arabians. We love these old aristocrats and hope to eventually
welcome several more into the Tir-na-Nog herd.
Come visit us! Bring along a carrot or two
and scratch old Lonnie's back (you'll make a friend for life!). Our
horses--and that's our five Wolf Moon Curlies too--would love to meet
you.
So would we.
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