Meet the horses - the story so far…

Daisy

Daisy is a beautiful young grulla mare who missed her path and got into an argument with a barbed wire fence, losing the sight in her left eye as a result. Careless ownership like this causes many problems for horses. Worse still: Daisy’s herd rejected her when she became impaired.

Daisy’s eye trauma led to her developing a condition called uveitis - an inflammatory disease of the eye which is irreversible and usually ends up taking the sight in both eyes. Sure enough, around eight months after joining us, Daisy’s uveitis came back and left her completely blind. We worked around the clock with our vet to try and ensure she didn’t lose the eye itself…

Fortunately, Daisy is in the best place she can be: a small, manageable yard where she always has her bearings; a low stress herd who don’t seem to mind her blindness; and a constant equine companion in the form of Annie the Mini horse (who you’ll meet further down the page!)

But looking after Daisy is an ongoing commitment. As well as the usual expenses, she needs drugs to manage her condition and regular checkups from the vet, which is where your support is invaluable.

Melodie

Melodie is a stunning Belgian/Quarter Horse cross who was originally owned by the Amish. She has problematic “conformation”. In her case means that she’s “pigeon-toed”, meaning that her hooves turn inwards much more than they should.

As a result, Mel will be prone to developing arthritis as she ages. But she missed her path because her owners saw her impairment as an advantage: a horse with hooves that point inwards has better purchase on a track, so they made her pull a cart - even though they knew it would likely shorten her life and make it painful in the process.

We rescued Mel and worked with our excellent trimmer to mitigate the problem as far as we were able, trimming her hooves in ways that - over time - have helped her to plant her feet more normally, and which will hopefully reduce the chance of her having problems in later life. And of course, she also has a much easier life here at the sanctuary than she did as a working horse.

At around 1300 lbs, Mel is a big girl! Keeping her fed and keeping her hooves in the shape they need to be as she ages are her main requirements. And of course, your contribution helps to ensure she stays happy and healthy!

Sundance (“Sunny”)

Sunny joined us in March of 2022. Marc really wanted a horse that could do cool things and give him his “Roy Rogers and Trigger” relationship. And from what we saw prior to the online auction, Sunny seemed to fit the bill…

But when he turned up it was clear he’d been badly abused in the training process (as we now realise is all too common). He has a scar where his tongue was tied and nearly ripped out during his training; he was covered in whip marks, cuts and bites; and his skin was so thin and fragile that he bled every time he bumped into something. It’s truly heartbreaking what some people will do in the name of “horsemanship”.

Sunny may have missed his path, but now he has humans who love him and care for him, and who work to try and reestablish his trust in people. He’s an inquisitive boy, and we’re always finding him going through the grooming bucket or doing some “remodelling” of the fence bars. He and Mel are paddock companions and spend their days on the mountain eating hay together.

Annie the Mini

It’s not necessarily that we’re saving the best till last, but we do have a special place in our hearts for Annie the Mini Horse! Annie was our first rescue, arriving at the Missed Path Sanctuary in late 2020.

Annie was the head of her herd of thirteen mostly full-sized horses, just a few miles from us. She wasn’t abused, but had fallen into neglect as her aging owner became less and less able to take care of the horses he loved. Sad though he was, he was happy to see her go to a good home.

When she arrived, Annie’s halter had been left on her for several years, so it was in the process of growing into her face. The first thing we did was gently remove it. The pictures here show her recovery and were taken a year apart.

Annie is a happy, healthy mare who’s always whinnying to us from across the yard. She’ll walk anywhere with just a hand placed gently on her shoulder. And now she’s a companion animal for Daisy, so our blind horse always knows she has a friend nearby.

Annie is fairly low-maintenance, but she has the same needs as a full-size horse in terms of food, vet bills and keeping her happy and healthy. We hope you’ll agree she’s worth every penny!

Who’s next…?

Hands up - it wasn’t our original plan to rescue horses or to start a sanctuary… But the horses we met and took on ended up being rescues for one reason or another, whether or not we knew that going in.

At this point we’re at capacity and have been funding the sanctuary entirely out of our own pockets for four years. As we strive to help more horses those pockets are no longer deep enough, so we’re asking for your help. We’d love to be able to do more, but we need support and funding to expand the sanctuary to help more horses in need.

If the stories here have touched you, please consider how you might be able to contribute and support our mission. That could be in the form of a one-off gift, a sustaining membership donation, incorporating us in your Estate Planning, or even by volunteering and getting hands on at our beautiful facility in Candler. We’re at the base of Mount Pisgah, just 20 minutes from downtown Asheville, and we’d love to share what we’re creating!

Please lend us your support today. Your contribution helps ensure the future of our mission to look after these amazing animals - and to expand to help even more horses in the future!