I get that question all the time! We have a few new faces at the rescue and if you have room in your pasture and your heart for a new friend check out our adoptables page. We need to find good permanent homes for our adoptables so that we can bring in a few needy horses to care for here as we have limited space. If you are interested in the adoption option just give me a call or send me an e mail and we will discuss the benefits of adoption vs. buying on the open market. Our main focus here is rehab and retirement but we do have the occasional adoptable horses and right now we have a few!
What else is new? Little Debbie the mini filly. Ok - she is not exactly “new” but she is two months old now and every day brings something new with her. She discovered the joy of a summer shower yesterday. She was not overjoyed but in fact tried to hide under her mother’s tail! She is learning to lead and the real challenge was finding a mini foal halter small enough for her. She is a smart little cookie and is going to make someone very happy when they take her home sometime down the road.
Not exactly a flattering picture of her fuzzy little head but admit it - you smiled!
We had a wonderful time at Jay-Mar’s Amazing Animals event held on 8/21/10 in Plover, Wisconsin. We were able to raise $91.00 for our hay drive and we are grateful. Thanks to Tony and the gang at Jay-Mar for thinking of us yet again. Jay-Mar is sponsoring our recovering mare, Katie, with supplements and Katie is doing very well.
This coming weekend is the Rosholt Fair Parade and we will be participating in that along with a few riders and walkers. On Sunday there will be five adopted horses from SFHR participating in the 4H show which is always a lot of fun. It’s good to see the old familiar faces and to make a few new friends also. The kids work so hard on their horses and it is fun to see them take home the ribbons. Next blog I will have pictures of that to share.
Bill and Mark leading the way with our banner in the 2009 parade
Our hay drive is coming along and we want to thank you for your donations of hard earned dollars to help the horses. We not only buy small squares and large round bales but we also purchase a product called Chaffhaye for our seniors who can no longer chew hay. It is a chopped alfalfa product and they are thriving on it. We still need to raise $4,100.00 for Bill’s equine food pantry to meet our goal of $9,000.00 this year. Any amount you can spare is greatly appreciated folks.
In closing we hope you will have a good Labor Day weekend as we say good bye to summer. If you get a chance to come and visit us we would love that as would the horses! Don’t forget to bring the treats!
Blessings and positive thoughts from:
Mary, Bill and the gang at SFHR!
Beautiful Pepito - photo by Karen Bayerl
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We have an open house scheduled for September 25th and we hope you will mark your calendars to attend.
UPDATE: Due to a family type conflict, we must postpone the open house at this time. We will reschedule!!
Before I go any further I want to share a bit of news from a local fair called the Amherst Fair and this year we set a record with adopted horses from SFHR. There were five horses shown by five wonderful young people and we could not be prouder!
Congrats to Kimi (riding Rayne), Courtney (riding Gaston), Cassi (riding Ed & Flash), Austin (showing Scarlet) and Alexis (riding Flash) on your hard work, ribbons and great horsemanship and showmanship. I was not able to attend the fair but I know I will see you all at the Rosholt Fair this fall! Here is a cute picture I wanted to share!
Kimi, Cassi and Courtney enjoying their class
Our annual hay drive is well underway and we are happy to report that we are already half way to our goal of $9,000 to feed the herd this year! We appreciate all the support more than you can imagine. Thank you!
UPDATE: Our hay drive is going well but we still need donations. We are at $4,800.00 and we need to raise the $9,000 before the end of the year. We appreciate your support!
We have some new adoptable animals listed here on the website and we hope you will consider the adoption option for your next best friend. As the “fair girls” would be happy to tell you: Rescue horses Rock! 
On a personal note I would just like to mention that although the economy is still struggling and times are very tough for a lot of folks right now, we appreciate all the positive support and kind words coming our way lately! We are very grateful and humbled. Thank you!
Blessings and positive thoughts from:
Mary, Bill and the gang at SFHR
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It is a very busy time of year here at SFHR so I will keep this blog very short. We are in the middle of haying season. The small squares have been delivered from our local hay grower and now the wagons come in from our hay man in Mosinee. In between that we get our beautiful round bales also grown and baled right here in the neighborhood. That means our hay drive is underway and we have collected $3500 of the $9000 that we need to pay for the SFHR hay. Any amount that you care to donate is appreciated and is tax deductible as always.
Here is our little arrival! Rosie the mini mare delivered her healthy and adorable filly on June 30th at 8:45 p.m. Welcome Little Debbie!
She weighs a whopping 20 lbs. and is such a sweet foal. This was our second rescue within a rescue and we are relieved that all went fairly well although the mare was overdue to deliver and came from a backyard breeder situation which unfortunately is all too common. Bill happened to be present for the birth and was pretty excited to witness/assist Rosie and Little Debbie. Some day both of the mini ladies will be available for adoption to the right people. Six months down the road that is!
We hope you will have a safe and happy 4th of July celebration and enjoy your family and friends. As always, we hope you will visit us at some point in time. We are having a big open house here this fall and I will have a date set on that very soon.
Stay positive! Blessings, folks!
From: Mary, Bill and the gang at SFHR
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A few blogs ago I told you about the Belgian mare we had heard about at horse fair. Devin and his mom Julie came to our booth to ask if we could make room for this beautiful horse.
Devin had rescued her at auction and she was in horrible shape. Devin knew he had to do something right on the spot as he is an animal person and his heart just ached for this horse. We won’t even go into the abuse that this poor gentle giant of a mare suffered. There is no point because we must move ahead. May God bless you Devin! He bought her and brought her to his mother Julie’s farm in
Julie & Devin
In time it was obvious that Katie was in foal. With good food and careful attention to her foot problems Katie delivered a healthy filly and another relative of Devin’s took her in when she was weaned. She is safe. Katie is here now at SFHR. She needs some weight on her big frame but first her feet need more care. What Devin started, we must finish. We have already x rayed her front feet (her back feet look pretty good) and our farrier is developing a plan to support those feet and trim her properly. She is thin which right now is a good thing because of her foot problems but she has a very good appetite and we are hopeful for a recovery.
Katie & Devin
We would love a sponsor to help out with Katie’s expenses. You will get pictures of her on the road to recovery and you can certainly visit her if you are in this area and give her a good grooming. She loves that. A lot of things impress us about this gal. Bright eyes and curiosity are in there. As Neal was looking at her worst foot, she was gently nuzzling my shoulder. She is 17 plus hands of sweetness! Yes, she is home now and Katie knows she is rescued! There are so many more that need us……
Now we need to talk about our annual hay drive. We are starting it right now and we are going to need $9,000 just for hay. We have already collected $3,300.00 thanks to the Pewaukee Horse & Pony Humane Society and from the Deb Martin Memorial Fund. Also a donation from our friend Janet was greatly appreciated! This is where we beg! You knew it, right? If you have a spare $5 or care to give a bit more, all your donations are tax deductible and we are so grateful for the help in feeding the herd! The local hay growers get paid on time and you get a warm and fuzzy feeling! Come on, you know that you do!!
I also wanted to post a very special picture of our hard working fun loving BOD member and great friend, Doug.
He was teaching a little girl from the
Blessings and stay Positive!
Mary & Bill
(We are still awaiting the birth of a mini foal here courtesy of rescued mini mare, Rosie)….to be continued……….:)
Green. Green fields, yards, trees of every variety and you name it and it’s green it seems! This is a beautiful season in spite of the mosquitoes and ticks and because it just flies by every year we are determined to make the most of it this year. Sort of like every other summer I suppose! 
Another determining factor is … horse shows!! We have a number of “rescue” horses participating in horse shows in this area. 4H shows, open shows, dressage shows are all so much fun to watch and for the adopters to participate in.
I just happen to have a new picture (from May 15th) of Cassi and Mr. Ed Mega competing in a local dressage show. They did very well. Ed’s first time with dressage. What a pretty sight!
Then there is always the Camp Hope visit which happens twice a year here, May and October. We had this celebration on May 16th and we had a record number of children attending. Everyone who wanted to safely ride a horse got that opportunity. Some played soccer with the giant horse soccer ball and some of the children just walked and met the residents here handing out treats and hugs as they went! Oh, what a feeling one gets from helping others pain end as that is what Camp Hope is all about. Visit their website to learn more: camphopeforkids.org Our volunteers did a great job as usual and the smiles were everywhere. See our group below!
Gathering for a few “rescue” stories at SFHR
And just one more sign of spring: we are waiting for a mini foal to be born. Little Rosie (the rescued mini mare) came to us “in foal” and we are anxiously awaiting this SURE sign of spring. When the little bundle arrives, I will post pictures here on the blog. In time, both mare and foal will be available for adoption. Look for that later this fall when baby is weaned.
So, enjoy your spring and summer and stay safe folks.
Stay positive!
Mary, Bill and the gang at SFHR
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She was quiet and respectful and had a smile that could light up a room or a barn. She quickly befriended us, our other volunteers and every single one of the horses at the farm. She was one of the hardest workers we ever had here and all the while she had a little grin and when you spoke to her that beautiful smile would overtake her entire face.
Years ago, with her permission, I wrote a little story about her for a booklet describing SFHR but she didn’t want me to use her real name. It was embarrassing she said. The only name I could think of that would fit her was “Sunny” and sunny she was!
I had to have a surgery and her husband, Bob, appeared at the door with some of her delicious chicken noodle soup. She was just that way. If there was a need, she met it. If there was a problem, she solved it. Oh that beautiful smile of hers! It was not at all reserved for people however. One special horse we called “Buck” was lucky enough to see that smile every single time she came to volunteer here at SFHR. “He just needs a little work” she would say. “Oh my! I think he needs quite a lot of work!” was my usual reply and she would smile that smile. I really wondered if she knew what she was saying as this horse was a force of nature to say the least. In a very short time I discovered that she did indeed know what she was talking about and the picture below attests to that!
It was a chilly but sunny winter day and I opened the door to see Buck saddled, bridled and quite docile about the entire event. See, just a little work….and a little faith I might add! This little bit of work continued on until Spring of that year. Deb got a huge surprise at the Midwest Horse Fair when her husband surprised her with the adoption of the mustang gelding, Buck. “I can’t let my wife be disappointed” was her husband’s explanation as other people were asking about that buckskin pinto horse. And so she took that horse home and with countless hours and endless patience she turned him into a good driving horse and renamed him Handsome Jackson. Never once did she consider giving up on him although I know they had a few setbacks (I recall a story about Jackson running off into the woods with a brand new harness)! She had the help of an excellent trainer, Derrick Dupler, and she amazed him also with her spirit.
We were aware that Deb was fighting cancer during the time we knew her and we also were aware that it was serious. I hope she will forgive me for putting this information up on the blog as she was a private person.
I’m doing this, Deb, because you were an inspiration to all who met you and I don’t know if you knew that. You were special to me for so many reasons but I guess the main reason is simple: You fought. You fought this battle with a disease that seldom takes prisoners and all the while with such grace and beauty. Your advice was so precious and you were so honest and kind about it! There are people in this world that make a huge impression on us and you were one of those people.
That smile!
Deb’s last radiation treatment damaged her brain and ultimately that treatment took her life on May 9, 2010. We send our condolences out to her husband, Bob, her parents and the rest of her family. This loss is huge we know. Our prayers will be with you all.
Brighten up the heavens, Deb. Your smile can do that!
Deb’s obituary is copied and pasted below. It is just a small description of a very big life.
Debra A. Martin, age 54, of Waupaca, WI., passed
away on Sunday, May 9th, 2010 at her residence.
She was born in Wisconsin Rapids, WI., on July 22,
1955, a daughter of Kenneth W. and Dorothy (Toni)
G. (Locey) Martin of Wisconsin Rapids, WI.
Debra married Robert J. Welch on August 3, 1996
on the farm prairie in the Town of Dayton, Waupaca
Co. Debra was a former active member of the Fox
Valley Sierra Club, active member and board member
of the Timber Wolf Information Network, Northeast
Wisconsin Land Trust, St. Francis Horse Rescue.
Some of her hobbies and interests include, her
boy, Jackson (mustang horse), trained by Deb for
driving sleigh and cart, her pet dogs, Tanana,
Ilaya and Bradley, her cats, Roscoe, Timothy,
Silver, Tootsie, Ashley, Smokey and Shelley. She
also enjoyed knitting, travel and trekking into
remote wilderness on expeditions, reading and more
reading.
Survivors include her Husband: Robert Welch,
Waupaca, WI; Parents: Kenneth & Dorothy (Toni)
Martin, Wisconsin Rapids, WI; Brother: Greg
(Jeanne) Martin, Lisle, IL; Niece: Gracie
Martin, Lisle, IL; Nephew: Mason Martin, Lisle,
IL; Mother-in-law: Kathleen (Kathy) Welch,
Waupaca, WI; Sister-in-law: Mary (Bill) Ferreter,
Overland Park, KS; Niece: Elizabeth (Brandon)
Hennefer, St. Anthony, ID; Niece: Rachel Ferreter,
Overland Park, KS; Niece: Sarah (Jim) Oman,
Olathe, KS; Nephew: James Ferreter, Overland Park,
KS; Niece: Jennifer Ferreter, Overland, KS;
Brother-in-law: James (Kathy) Welch, Hortonville,
WI; Niece: Katie Welch, Hortonville, WI; Nephew:
Ben Welch, Hortonville, WI; Horse: Handsome
Jackson, on the farm; Dog: Tanana, on the farm;
Cats: Timothy, Silver, Tootsie & Dick, on the
farm.
Memorial Services will be held at the Holly
Funeral Home in Waupaca at 11:00 AM on Saturday,
May 15th, 2010, with Father Paul Vanden Hogen
officiating. Memorial Visitation will be held on
Friday, from 4 - 8 PM at the Holly Funeral Home in
Waupaca and on Saturday, from 10 AM until the
time of the service at the funeral home. In lieu
of flowers, memorials can be directed to St.
Francis Horse Rescue, Rosholt, WI.
Perhaps you are too young to remember it but when I was growing up in a little town in Wisconsin called Mattoon every May 1st meant an annual ritual of making up a little basket of goodies and then hanging it on a boy’s front door, knocking on the door and running. If they caught you, you got a kiss which was pretty yucky in the day! We made them in school and I remember that it was so much fun. Of course the boys had to make them also and they didn’t really look all that great. Plus those boys never ran after they knocked on the door……
As an adult I spend my time making up food “baskets” for the horses! Some have pretty normal type diets but lots of our residents here have special needs and require meds, supplements and that little bit of extra effort to keep them healthy and happy. I usually do not have to drop them and run but there is always that one food aggressive horse that sort of makes you wonder……:)
We have a few changes here at SFHR! First of all you may have noticed that we removed our message board. With most of the posters being on facebook and with spammers attaching themselves to the board constantly we decided we really did not need it. Any big news will be posted here (near the bottom) under “Updates”. I think we will manage just fine without the time wasting message board. If not, we can always bring it back although that might cause our webmaster to tear her hair out also….hmmmmm!
We had a darn nice April here! It was dry but what a nice spring. We attended the Midwest Horse Fair in Madison from April 16 - 18 and this was our fifth year with a booth in the non-profit section of the coliseum. We had a terrific time down there! There was a very positive feeling this year as if people think that the economy may be picking up and that the horse rescue booths were the places to be! It was busy, fun and the horse crazy kids were adorable. Our friend, Cassie, made horse treat “ice cream” cones for us to sell and this brought a $200 windfall for the rescue. E mail me if you would like that recipe and construction advice on them! We’d be happy to share. We made some new friends and we loved seeing the familiar faces. Julie, Doug and I worked the booth while Bill stayed home and held the fort. Lots of horses to care for and he does a very good job of it. He even managed to mow down some new areas for pastures and groom a few horses during that weekend. I am not sure if he reads this blog but a “thanks honey” is in order don’t you think? ;) We were also thrilled to watch Courtney and Gaston compete in the Wind Rider Challenge. They were fantastic and placed in the top 10. Courtney has done an excellent job of training Gaston and her hard work showed there big time. Congrats Court!!!
You may also have noticed that we have two adorable yearlings up for adoption. Echo is one year old now (you will recall he is the foal born to one of the Trempeleau County mares) and little Sunny is around 10 months old (he came to us from MHWF for rehab) and if you think either (or both) of these boys would make a nice addition to your equine family, send me an e mail and we will talk! They are lively little guys!
We are awaiting the arrival of a mini foal courtesy of our little donated mini mare named Rosie. This should be interesting! Rosie was donated by a rescue minded lady (Nurita) who took in Rosie and her last baby from a back yard breeder and when the foal is weaned (moving ahead five or six months there) both mother and baby will be available for adoption. Rosie has some special needs (one back leg appears to be longer than the other) but will make a sweet pet for some lucky person. We can only imagine how cute the foal will be!
So, in closing, I’d like to offer up an invitation to visit the rescue if you are able. We have had quite a few visitors this spring and we love to give tours and exchange rescue stories. Most folks we know are doing a little rescue work themselves and we are very happy about that. We will soon be taking in a draft mare who was on her way to a kill buyer when a young man named Devin stepped up and bought her and brought her back from near death. She foaled and he found a great home for that baby and now she will be coming our way for retirement or possible adoption. More on Katie later on!
We hope you are enjoying your spring!
A little Irish wish for you from Bill and I:
May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life’s passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!
Blessings! From: Mary, Bill and the gang at St. Francis Horse Rescue & Retirement Farm, Inc.
]]>To us, April is like a promise. We know that the green grass will be coming up as soon as we get our much needed rain. The hay crop will grow. We also know that donations will pick up this time of year. We need a little help now more than ever as we have the spring dental checks and floats, vaccinations and the expenses of the Midwest Horse Fair booth.
Remember that all your donations are tax deductible and as always it is all about the horses here. We are doing very well with our new focus here. The horses that we have in for rehab and training are looking great. Our retirees are peppy, shedding like crazy and really “feeling their oats”…and their senior feed. They feel young again when the warmer weather comes. Recent placements are going great!
We hope you will have a blessed Easter. It is a time of renewal and we wish the best for you and your families.
We hope to see you at the Midwest Horse Fair in Madison on April 16, 17 and 18. We will be in our usual spot in the non-profit section of the coliseum and look forward to chatting with you all. It’s a fun time and we will have a few items to sell (like Cassie’s horse treats) to help with the expenses here. We will also be taking orders for SFHR sweatshirts and we will have a beautiful new item…let’s keep that a secret for now!
So….from the herd and Bill and Mary - Happy Spring and stay positive!!
Happy trails from Julie and Jazz!
Adopted draft horses Winn and Cephey enjoy the snow day!
Oh those March winds are going to blow! It wouldn’t be March without them, would it? And here at St. Francis Horse Rescue & Retirement Farm, Inc. the winds of change are blowing also!
We are practicing the three “r”’s……rescue, rehab and retirement! It is going very well indeed! We changed our focus a bit here at SFHR by putting our energies on the three r’s and backing off (just a bit) on the adoption part of our operation here. We will have horses available for adoption but it will be quite limited. I am getting many phone calls and e mails asking me, “Why the change?” I will try to explain that here!
There are quite a few horse adoption facilities out there. The best one that we personally know of is Midwest Horse Welfare Foundation (www.equineadoption.com) and they do a fantastic job of matching up horses with adopters. While we here at SFHR have had many successful placements and we admire and respect our adopters, we mainly want to take in the elderly horses who through no fault of their own need that one last home to live out their days and the very needy horses that need time and space to get back on their feet (sometimes literally!) and then go on to a forever home or else stay here with us.
Our new (yet old) focus seems to be working. If you look over our list of recovering and retired horses you will see what I mean. There are a few new faces and yet a few more will be coming in as space allows and that means, in a nutshell, we are very pleased to be providing this service!!
So now, my question to you all! Are you coming in like a lamb…or a lion? Either one looks good to us! If you are meek and quiet yet very concerned about the plight of horses in this world or if you roar in outrage about people and their unfair treatment of animals, we welcome you here! In fact we are not ashamed to say that WE NEED YOU and THE HORSES NEED YOU. We would love to have you join us here to do our best to help the animals entrusted to us.
Would you consider sponsorship of a horse or horses here? All your donations are tax deductible and we assure you that 100% of what you donate goes directly to the care of the horses. No one draws a salary here or benefits from your donation. Only the horses benefit! Horse people know how expensive the care of an equine is but other folks might not be aware of it. Call or e mail us and we would be happy to discuss this further.
Join us on this journey and you will absolutely love the feeling that giving to these animals gives right back to you!
You will soon notice that we are putting up a new page for each of the animals here. It will take some time as I would like new pictures on everyone but it is a way to update sponsors on how “their” animal is doing here showing both progress and possible set backs with their health and quality of life. It will be an honest and POSITIVE outlook on their lives! I think you will enjoy this new feature.
Blessings to you all and let’s hope for that much anticipated spring thaw!
Stay positive!
Mary, Bill and the gang at SFHR
Are we there yet??
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Here at the rescue it is always great to get January behind us. Typically it is our coldest month in Wisconsin and when February comes around we can begin to think of spring or at least the promise of spring!
The horses do not seem to mind winter. They are not wild about wind and freezing rain but even the cold temps do not bother them like the rest of us. If it is below zero, the stalled horses usually stay inside to munch their hay and pester each other. Today, it looks like winter and feels like winter but every horse has turnout and they seem very content. Hay, water and shelter and a little bit more. Love!
OK - so February is that month where we think of Valentine’s Day and all that it means. Bill and I are very blessed to have love and respect for each other. We are a team here and we (usually) pull in the same (right) direction. We are pulling for a herd of horses that depend on us and our volunteers for everything that they need. We will not let them down. This is where the rest of you come in (you didn’t think I would forget you all, right?)
We are still trying to collect funds for our hay drive. We are very close. We only need to raise $1,490.00 to get this behind us. That is not the end of our need however. This is a new year and with it we need to pull coggins on all the horses (done), have dental checks on every horse here (coming) and spring vaccinations (also coming). Of course there is always farrier visits as well. Any amount of money you can donate to SFHR to help the horses is appreciated. Thank you!
UPDATE: A VERY GENEROUS DONATION HAS COME THROUGH AND OUR HAY BILL IS NOW COMPLETELY PAID IN FULL. IT IS BEHIND US FOLKS AND WE ARE SO GRATEFUL!!
We are a retirement farm. We have retirees! Bonzo, Rainbow, Goldie along with the rest of our recovering horses need your support. Retirees have special diet requirements and they also can not eat hay so they get a bagged alfalfa product called Chaffhaye along with beet pulp, senior feed and loads of supplements. It is pricey to keep them going but so worthwhile. These old timers have so much wisdom and kindness in them. They also have the wisdom of a groundhog: If you can see your shadow (clear and cold) - stay inside and wait for spring to happen…it is right around the corner!
Enjoy your day!
Blessings from Mary, Bill and the herd at St. Francis Horse Rescue & Retirement Farm, Inc.
Congratulations to Deb M. and Bob W. - 5 years of great care gives them ownership of Jackson (f/n/a Buck) !!
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