HOME Haven
HOME Haven is a part of our rescue that provides long term sanctuary to minis that will have a harder time finding their forever future. This program was started in honor of HOME’s dear friend Caren McMillen. Caren was the heartbeat of this organization. She spent many hours a week helping get the facility ready and safe for these little equines. When Caren wasn’t replacing fencing and helping to prep the farm, she was building our website, designing HOME’s logo and doing all the online presence for this organization. To know Caren is to know laughter and joy. When we say she was the heartbeat of this organization, we mean this literally. HOME Haven was started in her honor and is a program to sponsor our mini equines that are unlikely to find a forever home. Right now, we have 8 animals in this program. All of these animals have some kind of health issue making them unlikely to be adopted. For example, two are blind, one has allergies to everything except Orchard grass and another has shoulder pain that requires medications and body therapy. While we are planning to keep these equines for the remainder of their lives, we welcome applications from experienced horse owners who can make accommodations to give the level of care and comfort we provide.
Sponsorships
When you sponsor one of these animals for $25.00 each month, you will receive a cute plush mini horse and a picture of the horse you are sponsoring. This pays for this equine’s monthly grain and vitamins.
When you sponsor one of these animals for $50.00 each month, you will receive a cute plush mini horse, a picture of the animal you are sponsoring, and a HOME T-Shirt. This will pay for farrier or hay for this equine for a month.
When you sponsor one of these animals for $100 each month, you will receive a cute plush mini horse, a picture of the animal you are sponsoring, a HOME T-Shirt, and a HOME mug. This will pay for both hay and farrier for your sponsored mini for a month.
cochise
Cochise came from a bad situation but is HOME now and receiving the care he has deserved. This boy has a big personality and a huge heart. We named him Cochise because he is truly a warrior.
We will continue to share updates on this sweet guy and the amazing future we are creating for him. We appreciate all of your support!
bronco
HOME was contacted by a lovely 85 year old who had a pair of late 20 year old gelded mini donkeys that were looking for a new home. While he has had them since they were quite young, this owner knew that his ability to properly care for these fine gentlemen was diminishing and the winter weather ahead would be problematic. His daughter found HOME on the internet and he came to visit and make sure we were worthy of taking over the future of his dear donkeys. Several weeks later, cuddle monsters Bronco and Ferrari joined our HOME family. They received oh, so much love and care that was needed.
Unfortunately, Ferrari began to flare up with some neurological issues and had to be rushed to the vet. Bronco went to keep him company and “hold his hoof” while he went through various tests and attempts to get him back to comfortable. The vet ultimately decided that the best result for Ferrari was to let him cross rainbow bridge comfortably.
We are so grateful to have the “donkey den” on the farm with Maggie the hinny, and duo Annie and Oakley, to help Bronco grieve and heal from his loss. This group of 4 very close knit equines are living a life of attention, hugs, and cuddles as we continue to nurse them to their optimal health.
Napoleon
Napoleon was an 8 year old owner surrender in January 2022 who came to us with a lot of “unknowns”. We did an allergy test and discovered he is allergic to just about everything EXCEPT his hay! Despite his jealous looks at his pasture mates enjoying their grain, he truly is loving life on the farm. He is bonded to Juniper, and he makes sure to let her know he’s still there during her training sessions.
spitfire
Spitfire is a 21 year old mini who came to us in July 2021 blind in both eyes. He has taken everything in stride since coming to the barn and is bonded closely with HOME Ambassador Merrylegs. They are best buds and she is his “eyes” for getting around their paddock. Because of his special situation, he is a permanent resident of HOME.
maggie
Maggie came to us from another rescue, where she was only there for a short time. We welcomed her with open arms here at HOME! Our goal for her was to give her a sound and long term place to land where she could fit in with other mini friends and build strong connections. She is actually a hinny! Not to be confused with a mule – Maggie has a donkey mother and a horse father. A rare find not only in her breeding but also in her gentle personality! If you can tell in her picture – she likes to store food in her cheeks to “save for later”. We are excited about her progress with warming up to humans and making other equine friends on the farm! She is currently bonded with Annie & Oakley and staying in our HOME Haven program for her long term health needs.
annie & oakley
Annie & Oakley came from Eugene, OR in November 2021. They were sold at auction from a petting zoo. Fortunately, they were brought into the sale ring together, but clearly frightened. We were able to buy them and discovered that Annie had a significant shoulder issue that caused her significant pain. Pain meds, massage, laser and acupuncture treatments have helped her settle into a comfortable life. They have returned from their foster home and became instant buds with their hinny friend, Maggie. They will continue to stay in HOME Haven and enjoy life on the farm.
Curly
This sweet girl came to us from a “free to a good home post” on Facebook. She had been purchased a couple of months earlier by a family who wanted the perfect mini horse for their young child. Curly was surely that, however, she also had severe pain in her eye due to glaucoma. Along with that, she is missing a number of teeth and has to be on a very constrained and specific diet of soupy grain fed 4 times a day. While her other eye is comfortable for now, the diseased eye needed to be removed. This $2,000 surgery was deemed critical for Curly’s quality of life and her owner knew that was a requirement for her new future. HOME stepped in and was able to arrange and pay for the surgery and ensure that Curly not only recovers in comfort, but also gets the ongoing dental and medical care needed before she will be a candidate for adoption.
lola and kimber
These two girls came to us in their 20s in extremely rough shape. They were abandoned in a field for approximately 15 years, fending for themselves with no care or attention. Fortunately, they’ve had each other through it all. They were a local intake and while we specialize in taking in mini equines, the desperation of their situation caused us to welcome them into the HOME family immediately. They have made so much progress from the feral state they came in, with still some work to be done. Due to their age and the medical attention still needed, they will be staying on the farm.
HOME Ambassadors
These two started it all! These been-there-done-that minis help spread the word about HOME.
sampson
Sampson is an ambassador for HOME.
merrylegs
Merrylegs is an ambassador for HOME and the eyes for Spitfire, one of our HOME Haven minis who lives on the farm and is blind in both eyes.
courageous companions
delilah
Delilah is leased by Courageous Connections for their therapy program.
ode
Ode is leased by Courageous Connections for their therapy program.
home CARES
orion
HOME Cares is a new HOME program offering therapeutic connection through our mini horses. Orion is our first member of this program, as his training has come along well and he absolutely loves people! His luscious mane and big personality won him the “GQ’s Gelding of the Year” award. (A title crowned by all of our volunteers of course). With his unlimited love to give and kind energy, we are looking forward to him being our first mini in this program!