The process of adopting a horse from MHWF
is simple, print out the application. Send that in along with a $5.00 processing
fee and photos of your farm. Once it is received we will get in touch with you
via telephone and will answer any questions you might have, whether they be
about our program and policies or a particular horse in our program.
If after that phone call both parties feel like one or more of the horses is a
possible match, we will set up an appointment for you to meet the horses. If the
horse is a match, you may choose to adopt it and take it home after a little
paperwork.
1. You must have an application on file to inquire about adoption horses, no
exceptions.
2. You must call during our posted hours and not on off hours.
3. You must set an appointment via telephone with us before planning on coming
to the MHWF farm. Calling or emailing to let us know you are coming is not
setting an appointment and will not be honored.
We try our best to make adoption as easy and fun as we can make it. It is for
that reason that we have set these policies. Everyone at MHWF has a regular
daytime job and we must make good use of our limited time as this is a volunteer
job and the people who take their time off to spend with the horses and
[potential adopters do it because they love it and believe in it.
MHWF Fall Raffle
The Midwest Horse Welfare Foundation is proud to announce its second
fundraiser raffle. We are offering some great prizes and also have incentives
for people who help us sell tickets. Click on the ticket image below for prizes
and details.
2010 Hay
DrivePlease help in whatever way
you can!
This page is always
current and updated immediately after an adoption takes place.
Liza -
21 yrs.
Tentatively Adopted
$400 - Liza is a 21 year old
molly mule. She stands at 15 hands tall and is current on her shots, wormers and
trimmings. Liza is very sound and very well broke to both saddle and harness.
She has been used as a pack mule out west and as a trail mule more recently. She
is an animal that just about anyone can ride and is a trail veteran. She has
also been used for drill team. Do not make the mistake of saying that at 21 she
is getting old, she is in excellent shape, is an easy keeper, is very sound and
very strong. Liza has a lot of good years left in her and is not an old mule in
any sense of the word. She is also super sweet with big soft eyes. She leads,
loads, ties and stands for the vet and farrier like a pro. Liza has no special
needs as far as health and diet are concerned. Her only bad habit is that she
will occasionally pull the lead rope from your hands and trot off to eat. It is
not often that she does this and if you win that battle once or twice, she won't
do it to you at all. This is a super mule with the looks, training and
personality that anyone would enjoy.
$400 - Medora is an 11 year old American
Saddlebred mare. She stands at 16 hands tall and is a sound healthy horse.
Medora has excellent ground manners and is pretty easy to get along with, not
your typical hot Saddlebred. She is great for the vet and farrier and is easy to
catch, loads, leads, ties...you name it. Medora has had a lot of ground work and
knows a few pretty cool tricks. She bows, smiles and does the Spanish walk. She
is not broke to ride, but has worked a great deal on everything up to a rider on
her back. She has been saddled and lunged and knows walk, trot, canter on
command. She is very smart and taking her the rest of the way is going to be
very easy, all the hard work has been done and she is a very willing student.
Medora does have metabolic syndrome, so her
adopter will need to make sure she does not gain too much weight and will need
to keep her off the super lush grass in early spring. She has always gotten some
very affordable supplements which keep her condition at bay. They are simple
pills you can get at any local Walmart and cost under $20 a month. Medora is a
super horse, beautiful with very simple needs.
$400 - Quintessant is a 21 year old
registered Haflinger mare. She is 14 hands tall, very sound and healthy and not only is she a
veteran trail horse, but is also a very accomplished driving horse as well. She
has competed in and won in many driving competitions. Do not let her age fool
you, she is strong and built like a tank and super healthy. If we did not tell
you up front, you would think she was a 5 year old. Tess has many good years
ahead of her yet and she is nowhere near the end of her riding years. She is
good for the vet and farrier, current on all her shots and wormings and is ready
for her new home. This is a beautiful mare with a lot to offer, driving, trail
riding...whatever you want to do.
$400 - Jericho's Bold Lad is a double
registered 13 year old Morab gelding. He is 15 hands tall and is a beautiful
horse with big soft eyes. He is current on all of his shots, wormings and
trimmings and is a very sound healthy boy. He is super sweet and very willing to
please. Lad was not handled or trained until last year, so he has not been
worked to death and should have a long riding career ahead of him. He has very
good ground manners, is god for the vet and farrier and has done a lot of work
at the walk, trot and canter. He also loves to jump and excels at it. Lad's only
issue is that he has not really seen a lot in his 13 years and does lack some
confidence. He needs a confident rider willing to work with him and give him the
time to learn and mature. The pay off is going to be a spectacular horse with
all the looks and ability in the world. He has had a lot of very good training,
but just needs the time and patience to become more confident.
$300 - Bob is a 19 year old Belgian gelding.
He is sound and healthy and stands at 16 hands tall, so he is not a giant draft
horses, just the right size. Bob is current on all his shots and wormers and
will get his feet trimmed in the next week or so. He also just had his teeth
floated this past winter. Bob is well broke to saddle and has done a lot of
arena work and trail rides. He very much feeds off his rider, so with a nervous
rider, he will be nervous, with a calm rider, he will be much calmer and
quieter. Bob is pretty easy going and prefers to stand out to pasture and eat
all day, so no need to be worked with or ridden every day. He is still very
sound and very capable of work though and can handle your trail rides etc. Bob
is pretty well broke, but should still have a rider with a little experience and
confidence. He's not a horse for the nervous, timid or green rider.
$500 - Athena is a registered 5 year old Paso
Fino mare out of Ocala, Florida. She is sound and healthy and stands at 14 hands
tall. Athena has world class bloodlines and has just come out of 6 months of
training in the hope that she might make her mark on the show circuit. While she
has shown huge strides in her training, it does not look as though her gait has
the perfect timing needed to win in the big time shows. That perfect gait may
come out in her as she matures, but it will take time and work. As we stated,
Athena has exceptional breeding and has had a lot of training. She does all the
things you would expect, leads, loads, ties, you name it. She has a lot of time
under saddle and a very solid foundation, but will need continued work on her
confidence, maturity and of course, her gait. Athena would best be described as
an ultra-hot, very well bred Paso mare with names on her papers that Paso people
would certainly recognize and appreciate. She will need someone with the time
and patience to keep working with her and not put time constraints on her
progress. She has all the potential in the world and was bred to be a champion.
Athena is current on all her shots, wormings and trimmings. She is a beautiful
mare with as much flash as you can pack into a 14 hand horse. She is also very
sweet and respectful of her handler.
$100 - Harley is a 10 year old pony gelding. He stands at just a hair under 14 hands tall and is a solid stocky guy
with tons of experience under saddle. He is best suited to an intermediate
rider. He is very sound and healthy and is current on his shots, wormers and
trimmings. The nice thing about Harley is that he is small
enough not to intimidate the kids, yet plenty large enough for mom and dad to
ride as well. Harley's only issue is that he is sick to death of being worked in
the round pen or arena. He gets himself worked up in these areas and can be a
handful. He loves to trail ride though and we are going to find him a home as a
trail horse only. On the trails he relaxes and enjoys himself and will be a
wonderful trail horse for his new adopters. This is a heck of a nice pony
gelding and someone is going to love his training and happy go lucky
personality.
UPDATE:
Harley is easy to catch and is good for the
vet and farrier. He also gets along well with the other horses in pasture. His
ground manners are okay, but he needs some work on standing still to be mounted.
He also is a horse that needs to be ridden on a very regular basis as he tends
to get naughty after long periods of not being ridden. As of right now Harley
needs more work and is a horse for a very confident rider and someone with some
time to spend with him working on standing still to be mounted.
Most of you are already
aware of the rescue we were involved with in Trempealeau County. Baby and Grace
are being rehabbed and it will be a very long road for them both. Until their
arrival here, they were not getting any food, very little water, no vet or
farrier care and were unhandled. They had never been in a shelter and had never
seen green grass at all. They are the size of yearlings, maybe smaller, but are
actually almost 3 years old. They are untouched, anemic, terribly thin and sick
little mares who have been though living hell. They will remain here throughout
their rehab and we will update you on them as often as possible through our
discussion forum. Their rehab is not going to be only of body, but of mind and
soul as well and it will almost certainly be a long road ahead.
UPDATE:
Gracie has come a long way
in the past 8 months and we now finally feel like we can begin the search for
her new home. She is now both healthy, sound and current on
shots and wormers. Grace is looking great and has come around to the idea that
people are ok. She is showing improvement every day.
We have done out part, spent
a lot of time, money and resources to get these horses out of the situation they
were in and to get them healthy. It is now time for someone to take over from
here and do their part. We are always asked to help out in situations like the
one these horses came from. The problem is that when we do, there is an
outpouring of support at first, then after some time, nobody willing to step up
and take on the horses that were rescued. That is exactly what we are asking for
and looking for now. If we cannot find homes for the horses we rescue, how can
we continue to help in these rescue situations? Their journey is not complete
without you and our efforts are in vain if we cannot find them good homes.
UPDATE:
Gracie is a very nice looking, sound and
healthy horse who has come a very long way. The kind of person we are looking
for to give her a new home should be someone with plenty of time and patience to
work with her and take her the final steps. This is not a horse for the
inexperienced or for someone who will put time restraints on her training. She
is ready to begin her training under saddle. We will not entertain inquiries for
people simply looking for a pasture buddy. Her future needs to be secured with
good training in her new home.
Dude Bar Deal or DJ as he is known is a rescue from VilasCounty. He is a 29 year old QH
gelding. DJ is a pasture buddy only. He is ready for his new home for someone
with the willingness to continue his care. DJ's diet is somewhat expensive and
it will take a very special person to give him the care he needs. DJ has been
here with us for quite some time now and is looking great. He is in full weight
and a happy healthy old man.
Figaro is a 6 year old Bashkir Curly gelding. Figaro stands 14.3 hands tall and is a sweet guy, super
friendly and easy to work with. He stands nice for the vet and farrier and gets
along well with the entire herd. He leads, loads and ties and is current on all
his shots, wormings and trimmings. We are sad to say that Figaro will never be a
riding horse. He is going to have to live out his years as a pasture buddy.
Figaro went into training. Shortly after his training began, it was discovered
that he was sore after workouts and his training was stopped. X-rays were taken.
The x-rays showed that the cartilage in many of Figaro's joints never formed
properly and because of it he will never be able to be ridden. He is doing well
out on green pasture with no extra grain or supplements and we feel his is ready
to look for his new home. He has no special needs and is not a lame horse when
you see him move, but we do know that he cannot be ridden. Hopefully someone
will come along and offer him a nice retirement as a pasture buddy. You can't
ask for a sweeter horse, very respectful of his handlers with no special needs
other than to be fed and loved. If you can provide this home for Figaro, please
let us know and we will be happy to have you meet him.
Danny is a 5 year old registered Friesian
cross gelding. His sire is a Friesian and his dam a Morgan, which makes him a Moresian. Danny stands at 16 hands tall, solid black with the typical big
Friesian head. Sadly, Danny was born with veyr low pasterns which will prevent
him from ever being a riding or working horse. He is a pasture buddy only. He is
still big and beautiful. He loves to play and is very much a happy kid at heart.
Danny will make a very entertaining and beautiful pasture ornament for someone
with a little extra pasture space.
$400 - Dolly is an 18 year old Arabian mare.
She stands at an even 15 hands tall and is current on all her shots, wormings
and trimmings. She is super quiet, easy to catch and handle and has wonderful
manners, both on the ground and under saddle. Dolly came to us have not been
ridden in 3 years, so we did not know what to expect. When she arrived we did
her paperwork, took her photos and turned her out into the herd for
introductions. A couple of hours later we found the time to pull her back out of
the pasture and test ride her. She performed way beyond our expectations,
especially for a horse who had not been ridden in at least 3 years. She was
super super quiet and polite, she stood nice and still to be tacked up and
mounted. Under saddle she was as close to perfect as we have seen in quite a
while. She was calm and slow, but moved out when asked. She stops on a dime and
backs as good as we have seen. After a few minutes we felt confident enough to
bring her out of the round pen and take her out and about, up and down the
driveway and around the yard. She was not at all spooky, even being in a brand
new place after being with the same owner for 15 years. We cannot say enough
good things about this mare and her willingness to work and be ridden. She does
have a small bump on her leg and some minor swelling there, so we need some time
to watch and evaluate that, but are confident we will be able to make her
available soon.
UPDATE:
8/20/2010
We have now had some time to watch and
evaluate Dolly as well as have the vet out to have a look at the lump in her leg
and are very sorry to say that Dolly will not be a sound riding horse any time
soon. She came to us with a soft lump half way down her left front cannon bone.
We have now discovered that the lump is a badly ruptured tendon. This does not
automatically end her riding career, but it does mean that she will have a very
long rehab and a little luck. So for now we cannot make Dolly available for
adoption. We are cold hosing the injury as well as putting DMSO on it along with
a pressure wrap to get the swelling down. We will post updates as her condition
heals, which will be over a period of months.
$400 - May's White Casper is a 15 hand
Spotted Saddle Horse gelding. His adopter's job got transferred to Michigan and
Casper could not go with her, so he is back and is looking for a new home. For
those of you that remember Casper, he is about as sweet and easy going as they
come. He is very well broke and a horse that anyone can ride. Casper is current
on his shots and wormers. He is very well broke and is a horse that has spent
countless hours under saddle and on the trails. Casper has had occasional
flare-ups in his right eye and we would like to get that eye looked at before
making him available for adoption. Other than that, Casper is a wonderful horse
that can be trusted and that loves to be doted on.
Hailey - 12 yrs.
Long Term Reb: Not Available
Hailey is a 12 year old Arabian mare. She is
sound and is current on all of her shots, wormings and trimmings. She is a very
sweet mare with lots of good training and time under saddle. Before coming to
MHWF she had been used a lesson horse and ridden on trails, by both children and
adults. She is a very laid back mare with great ground manners and lots of time
being ridden. She is good for the vet and farrier, leads, loads, ties....you
name it. She is stunning to watch move out in the pasture and has a very likable
personality to go along with her looks. Hailey has a dental tumor on the upper
left hand side of her jaw. We have spoken with her vet, but would also like to
have our vet look at it as well before we make her available. Basically is a
mid-sized lump on the left side of her face. She will have to be ridden without
a bit and we want to get a better look to make sure it will not interfere with
her ability to chew etc. This is a super mare, we just want to get all the
details before sending her off to a new home.
UPDATE: 8/20/2010
We have some very sad news to share
regarding Hailey and her condition. The dental tumor on her face is cancer and
does involve bone structure. It has also spread to other parts of her body and
so far we have found two other tumors, one on her neck and one on her right rear
flank. Who knows how many there are internally that we cannot see. This is not
something Hailey is going to recover from. We will make her as comfortable as we
can for as long as we can, but eventually her dental tumor will make it so that
she has trouble eating and breathing, along with a host of other complications.
We knew she had this condition when we took her in, but she needed a place to
live comfortably in her final weeks and months and felt we needed to give her
that dignity and home. It is for that reason that we will not be looking for a
new home for Hailey. She will stay here at the MHWF farm, hoping for a miracle
that this will go into remission.
Further Update: 8/27/2010
We have some news to report on Hailey. Dr.
Jan has very graciously offered to care for Hailey during her final weeks,
months or years. Jan recently lost her older mare who served as a pasture buddy
to her adopted MHWF horse, Star. Even though losing her mare has been very hard
on her, Jan offered Hailey a place to stay while she goes through her remaining
time. Although we did not plan this, we cannot think of a better person to take
her in as Dr. Jan is also a veterinarian. In our eyes this is a very good thing
for Hailey. I know we have said that Hailey would stay here with us, but
sometimes people come into your life for a reason and we can think of no better
situation for Hailey. Thank you Dr. Jan for your very selfless offer and thank
you for giving Hailey a place to stay and the good care we know you will give
her!
