SUCCESS STORIES
“True love is a hop, skip, and an equine rescue away” - Unknown
As hard as it is for us to see a rescue go, it is also a heartwarming, rewarding experience. For a horse to get adopted means they get “their person”, they will know love for the rest of their life! We keep our rescues in our “Rescued for Life” program, which means we get annual updates on their progress, and love that we get to watch the partnership with their adopter grow.
May 3, 2024
NWR WYATT RIPP (Rebel)
Rebel’s Progress Photo December 7, 2023
Rebel’s Listing Photo November 7, 2023
REBEL FOUND HIS FOREVER HOME
Rebel came to us November 8, 2023 from a pen in Minnesota. Rebel was said to be 5 months old, who came from a South Dakota Reservation. He seems to have had limited contact with people and is very nervous, in fact, he just hid behind his “brother” Chief. We seperated the two for a little while, and Rebel quickly became attached to Gregory (Valorie’s son). Gregory was the first person he touched, and Gregory was the first one that he took a treat from. After that Rebel became VERY social. He loves attention, and he loves to smell your breath. When we listed Rebel for adoption, Gregory was very upset and we discussed him adopting Rebel. Another horse had always been “in the cards”, but not a baby. But when you see that type of bond - you can’t NOT nourish it. So, Rebel is now part of our forever family. He will be part of the North Winds Healing program, and Gregory’s horse. Welcome to the family Rebel!!
March 24, 2024
NWR WAYLON WILLIAM (Chief)
Chief’s Progress Photo December 7, 2023
Chief’s Listing Photo November 7, 2023
CHIEF FOUND HIS FOREVER HOME
Chief came to us November 8, 2023 from a pen in Minnesota. When we got Chief he was about 6 months old, and believed to come from a South Dakota Reservation. He came to us scared, unhandled, and untouchable. When we got him to the rescue, it took us a while to even get him off of the trailer. He very quickly showed us that he was curious, and very smart. He was the first to let us touch him, and we quickly gained his trust. From that day on, he decided he absolutely loved attention. He is usually the first to meet us at the gate, and the first to come for his neck scratches (his favorite scratch spot!) Autumn met Chief when she and her family came out to volunteer, and it was love at first sight! We are so excited to watch the two of your grow up together, we are so happy you found each other!
March 8, 2024
NWR ATHENA RAE (Athena)
Athena’s Progress November 2023
Athena’s Arrival June 28, 2023
ATHENA FOUND HER FOREVER HOME
Birdie (who we are calling Athena- she did not know her name) came to us June 28, 2023 from a kill pen in Colorado with Maverick. We had actually paid for a different horse with the kill pen who we were told was her daughter (Zera), and when the 2 horses arrived, we had in fact received Birdie instead of Zera. Through DNA Test we found out that they are NOT mother and daughter. She was said to be a 12 year old, we do not have any reason to believe otherwise, as teeth seem to be fairly consistent. Coming from a kill pen we did not have any information on her. What we have seen, she is very sweet, but stands her ground with other horses, especially around grain. Once she settled in, she was the first to meet you at the gate, and loves to just be in your presence. Christina said that she fell in love with her through our telling of her journey on social media, and she knew immediately when she met her, that she was the one! We can not wait to see their relationship bloom!
November 11, 2023
LIVE IN LOVE (Libby)
Libby’s progress September 2023
Libby’s Arrival May 2023
LIBBY FOUND HER FOREVER HOME
Libby came to us May 31, 2023 from a private owner in Michigan. She is an 18 year old, 16H Standardbred, ex-racing mare. Her registered name is Live in Love. She won her people over $156,000, had a couple babies (two of which also raced), and then went to the Amish for a while. The Amish sent her to auction, and she ended up in a kill pen. Her previous owner pulled her from the Wisconsin kill pen, she was very skinny and said to have been exposed to a ‘Morgan’. The previous owner said she was so skinny she didn’t think it would take, but it did, and the owner did not have a facility with the means for a mare to foal. She lost her baby between March (when the previous owner did an ultrasound) and May (when we received her). Libby is very calm and well mannered, she takes everything in and not much bothers her. We started riding her and she did really well, just needed to work on her flexion. She was doing great when her adopter, Lindsay came and met her. She immediate fell in love with her sweet demeanor. We can not wait to watch them grow together. Congratulations Lindsay and Libby!
October 12, 2023
NWR MONARCH MERRIT (Archie)
Archie’s Progress September 2023
Archie’s Arrival March 2023
ARCHIE FOUND HIS FOREVER HOME
Archie came to us March 25, 2023 from a private owner in Mississippi. He was said to be a 12 year old, 15.1H Appendix gelding. The vet said he was probably closer to 15. He did not seem to be an abuse case, but did seem like a neglect case. He was kept in with goats who fought him for food and chewed on his tail. He was as docile as they come, and is willing to do whatever we asked of him. With some groceries and patience his foster mom in Florida nursed him back to health. She worked with him until building muscle, and endurance over a couple months and it wasn’t long before he was ready for his forever home. Becky and Linda met him and loved his sweet and gentle personality. We can not wait to see him continue to improve, and what enjoyment you bring to each others lives. Congratulations Becky, Linda and Archie!!
October 6, 2023
NWR RAMILI ROSE (Ramili)
Ramili’s progress September 2023
Ramili the day she arrived April 19, 2023
RAMILI FOUND HER FOREVER HOME
Ramili was pulled from a feed lot in Mississippi in April of 2023. From the feed lot she went straight to her foster family in Tennessee where her foster family worked to put weight on her, and work on training. Ramili’s previous owner had used her extensively for trail riding, and endurance trails. She is broke to ride, but will receive refreshers for training while she is with us awaiting her adoption. While in TN she had a 10 year old riding her, and starting her on the barrel pattern. Ramili came to Wisconsin when her foster family’s situation had changed, and we were excited to finally meet her. When she arrive one of our volunteers (Kayley) and her kids met her, and instantly fell in love with her sweet and affectionate disposition. A week and a half after Ramili’s arrival, and a long time of waiting for her first horse, Kayley (and her husband) decided that she would be part of their family. Congratulations Kayley! We can not wait to watch your bond continue to develop!
September 23, 2023
NWR MAVERICK WILDER (Maverick)
Mavericks progress August 2023
Mavericks arrival June 28, 2023
MAVERICK FOUND HIS FOREVER HOME
Maverick came to us June 28th, 2023 from a Colorado Kill Pen. We were only told that he was young, when we got him we verified that he was about 4 years old. When he got to us we found him to be curious, playful, and sweet as can be. When we had the chance to evaluate him, we found that he did have some training under his belt, but was still very green. His potential adopter came to meet him, and immediately fell in love. She had been looking for a horse that had that puppy dog personality, and a fairly clean slate - and she found that in Maverick. Congratulations Emma! We can not wait to watch you grow together!
July 18, 2023
MAGNOLIA JUNE (Fancy)
Fancy’s arrival June 30, 2023
FANCY FOUND HER FOREVER HOME
Fancy came to us on June 30, 2023 as an owner surrender. Her owner had rescued her years ago, and just needed to downsize her herd. She knew we would find Fancy the perfect forever home to live out her days. When Fancy came in we evaluated her level of training, to find what type of home she would be suited for. We quickly found that she had great ground manners and behaved beautifully around kids. We had met a potential adopter at the Midwest Horse Fair in April that we thought she would be a perfect fit for! Fancy was welcomed with open arms on July 18, to a wonderful family. She will be living out the rest of her days with a horse friend named Lady, and getting love from grandkids and giving pony rides in return.
March 24, 2023
NWR Ranger Luxe (Ranger)
RANGER’S ARRIVAL JANUARY 2, 2022
RANGER”S PROGRESS NOV 2022
RANGER FOUND HIS FOREVER HOME
Ranger came to use while we were in Florida, from a Texas killpen in January 2022. We were told he was 4 and started. Once he actually arrived we learned a lot more about him very fast. He was actually closer to 8 years old (vet said teeth looked like 6-10, so we naturally went with 8), he had been severely abused, and if he was started, he wasn’t started properly. When we tried to pick up his feet, he would literally “hop” out of it. When we tried to go anywhere other than up by his head be would back up, he was terrified of a blanket, and he was convinced that fly spray was absolutely going to kill him. After trying to work through all of the issues, and what felt like 1 step forward and 3 steps back we decided to start at square one. We worked on connection first in the round pen. After what felt like forever in around pen we got him to join up. After that, the rest of the steps went a lot smoother. We learned that being firm with him didn’t always work. He required patience and understanding. In the summer, we body clipped him as his hair was so thick and he was so warm. That body clip showed us that he had a rough start. A big scar on his leg with some other small ones led us to believe he had a run in with barbed wire. A big scar and scar tissue on his neck led us to believe he may have been impaled by something at some point. A lot of scars on his but led us to believe that he had been whipped to submission. This poor boy went through so much, no wonder he was nervous. Over the span of a few months after that we started making real progress. We got probably 30-40 rides on him, and he moved with the rescue to Wisconsin in August 2022. He adjusted to the temperature and continued to work on building a solid foundation. March 2022 we started riding again, and he was absolutely amazing, soft in your hands, and attentive as usual.. That week a sweet family, with a little girl came to meet him and seeing their instant bond, we knew that this was his forever home. Congratulations Addy! We can’t wait to watch the two of you become a team and win ribbons at the shows you attend in the future.
Cool Preview (Dreamer)
February 18, 2023
DREAMER’S ARRIVAL AUGUST 13, 2022
DREAMER’S PROGRESS NOVEMBER 2022
DREAMER FOUND HIS FOREVER HOME
Dreamer came to us in August 2022 as an owner surrender. His previous owner got him from an auction, not knowing anything of his background. All that was really shared about him was that he is papered, his birthday is February 2015, he is sweet on the ground, and willing. The owners realized that he needed more training than they were able to provide at the time. They asked that we take him, work with, and set him up for success with a forever home. After working with Dreamer, it turned out that his left stifle showed mild lateral trochlear ridge lucencies and irregularities consistent with OCD. With his case being so mild he was a great candidate for injections, and it was so mild, that just treating the inflammation may be all he needed. We gave him his injection, and found him his forever home the next day! His new owner is aware of his “condition” and will love him regardless, and can’t wait to work with him. Congratulations Savannah and Dreamer, we can’t wait to watch you grow together!