Refuge Farms Horse Rescue & Sanctuary
3035 Highway 29
Spring Valley , WI 54767

Refuge Farms was established in 2002 to provide a safe home for horses that had previously been significantly abused and/or neglected by their owners. Over the years, 100 horses have found a safe final home at The Farm. Of the 17 horses currently in residence, many are blind or have some other untreated ailment that left them ?useless? to their previous owners. One such resident is our large Belgian gelding, ?Handsome?. He arrived with a cancerous tumor growing on his left eye, the result of a whip flick during his days as a competition puller. You can read more about him as well as the stories of our other current residents on our website, www.refugefarms.org.



In addition to being a sanctuary for the resident horses, Refuge Farms has recently been directed by its Board to take on the role of rescue organization. With the increase in food and gas prices and the downturn in the economy, some horse owners can no longer afford to feed their herds and either neglect them or abandon them outright, as was the case with Windsor, who was left behind when a local couple went into foreclosure. The thought of the growing number of horses starving dictated that it was time to reform our mission to take on this additional task and do our best to help re-home as many horses as we can. In 2008 alone, we rescued and re-homed over 180 horses that were in need of our assistance, and we expect the need to increase dramatically in 2009.



Refuge Farms also gives back to the community. We are the home of ?Horses Helping??, the name for our horse assisted therapy program. Our rescued and recovering horses help teach about trust, patience, tolerance and forgiveness. For example, each year 2 classes from a school for young adults with disabilities visit The Farm to aid in their transition to college by learning how to deal with stress in unfamiliar surroundings. For the past 4 years, our horses have attended Kids Ventures, a camp for troubled youths, in an effort to teach them how to become contributing members to society. In addition, The Farm is open to the public for people seeking an answer to their troubles, who find that bonding with a horse through brushing or just spending time together provides relief from stress and emotional pain.