Sophie is a striking Bay Mare born in 2008. She is a Dutch Harness Horse, a Warmblood breed originally developed in the Netherlands for driving. Despite her refined breeding, Sophie’s life was hardly a glamorous one. For years, she was used and driven hard by the Amish as a Buggy Horse. By the time she was fourteen, she had sustained several serious injuries including bowed tendons in both front legs. As she was no longer physically able to work, she was dumped at a low-end Pennsylvania meat auction and sold for slaughter. Miraculously, as she was in a kill pen scheduled to be loaded onto a trailer to a Mexican slaughterhouse, she was rescued by our good friend Gerda Silver of Gerda’s Equine Rescue. Gerda sent Sophie to Horses With Hope, an organization that helps to train rescued equines for riding. However, x-rays showed that Sophie had a spinal deformity and other physical problems that prevented her from having a rider on her back.

Sophie needed to be retired at a sanctuary. As they say, “Timing is everything!” When Gerda contacted us about Sophie, it just so happened that we had a gelding at the sanctuary who needed a mare as a companion as he did not get along with other geldings. On April 12, 2024, Sophie arrived at Equine Advocates and was introduced to Randy, an equine veteran who was retired here from the U.S. Army after serving as a Military Working Horse with the Caisson Platoon. We hoped that they would bond, and they did! It was absolutely the best possible situation for both of these wonderful horses.

As we do not know Sophie’s exact date of birth, we will celebrate her birthday each year on April 12, the day she arrived at Equine Advocates.

Sophie is proudly sponsored by supporters from Louisville, Kentucky; Rensselaer, New York; Valatie, New York; Cottage Grove, Oregon and Houston, Texas.

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Photo credit: Kristen Hegedus

Sylvia, we believe, is an Arabian/Quarter Horse Cross Mare born around 2010. In September of 2018, she was standing in the Kaufman Kill Pens in Kaufman, Texas, and was less than 24 hours from being shipped to Mexico for slaughter. A friend of Equine Advocates found her photo online among equines bound for slaughter. Because no one stepped up to bail her out, we did, and with the help of a good friend with great connections, we located a farm in Louisiana where she could be quarantined.

Sylvia remained at that facility for 40 days during which time she was examined by a veterinarian, vaccinated, wormed, and had her feet trimmed and teeth floated. In early November, she traveled to New York and was sent to a foster home where she stayed until we had the room to accommodate her. She arrived at the sanctuary on May 21, 2019. We named her Sylvia because she looked like a silver horse in the first photo we saw of her. Sylvia is a gem!

Sylvia is proudly sponsored by supporters from Kingsburg, California; Averill Park, New York and Hudson, New York.

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Photo credit: Melissa Murray

Tom Petty is an unraced Registered Thoroughbred Gelding born in New York on April 6, 2021. He was surrendered to us by a trainer at the request of two Thoroughbred aftercare organizations after he was diagnosed with chronic lameness issues. Since he did not have a name, we named him after the late, great rock musician who kindly added his name to a petition calling for a national horse slaughter ban. We presented that petition to the office of then-Vice President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C. in 2016.

When we learned that “young Tom” needed to go to a sanctuary, we felt we had a good spot for him in a large pasture occupied by four geldings with one extra stall. He arrived at Equine Advocates on March 1, 2024. Within a few days, we began the introduction process gradually, where the horses met over a fence that separated two sections of that pasture. In this case, the intro only took a couple of weeks as Tom was eager to get to know the other geldings and become part of the herd. They were interested in getting to know him as well. Tom is as handsome as he is kind. He is also extremely frisky and loves to run and play. In other words, Tom Petty rocks!

Tom Petty is proudly sponsored by supporters from Waterford, Connecticut; Cape Coral, Florida; Averill Park, New York; Valatie, New York and Green Bay, Wisconsin.

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Photo credit: Melissa Murray

Vince is a Grey Appaloosa Gelding whose estimated birth year is 2000. When first looking at him, it’s obvious the tips of his ears are missing and consequently are much shorter than those of a normal horse. Given that both ears are similarly affected, his veterinarians suspect they may have been damaged due to frostbite and that the injuries appear to be old ones. We first heard about Vince during the fall of 2023 when we were contacted about a cruelty case involving him and two mares in upstate New York. One of the mares, Perla, was surrendered to us by the owner on November 20, 2023. We shipped her directly to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Saratoga Springs, NY. Vince and the other mare, Bea, were seized by State Troopers two days later at which time we were asked to assume their care, which we did. We immediately sent them to the same equine hospital for evaluation and treatment. After more than three weeks in the hospital, all three were released on December 13, 2023. They were shipped directly to the sanctuary where they continued their respective recoveries. Exactly two months later, Vince and Bea were also surrendered to us by that same owner after he was charged with animal cruelty. Vince shares a two-horse barn situated in a huge pasture with his longtime friend, Perla. (Bea, who has special needs, lives in another part of the sanctuary.) Vince is extremely friendly, outgoing, and beyond adorable. He seems to be very happy and content with his new life and especially loves to take off and run across the pasture with his friend.

Vince is proudly sponsored by supporters from Loudonville, New York; Palenville, New York; Wynantskill, New York and Burlington, North Carolina.

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Photo credit: Alex Valverde