Hello Katharine,

Our late summer, easing into autumn, has been interesting; full of challenges to face with grace and compassion. We repaired damage from the windstorm, dealt with a few equine health issues, kept going in record heat and had a visit from our beloved Michelle who was with us from the very beginning.

New volunteers, lots of work improving electric fences, a lovely intern during the summer and a recent, new intake (an estray pony) have kept us busy and purposeful. Mark and I have both wanted to do good in the world and be useful in our "retirement years". We couldn't have chosen anything better than running this Sanctuary.

Roofers came as soon as they could after the wind ripped roofing off of two buildings. They had stabilized the buildings with barriers in case it rained (it didn't, we are still in a drought here).

It has been a long journey to finally having it all finished. They did an amazing job. It was definitely unique having so much activity and so many people all around!

The hay barn with a brand-new roof.

The house with a brand-new roof.

Hay for Annie - again! Billy and I made a run up north to Lemitar, NM to get the Orchard grass hay (the only hay Annie, the mare, will eat). A friend loaned us their flatbed trailer and our GMC truck made the trip easy and comfortable.

Billy is a great traveling companion and co-pilot! The farmer loaded the hay for us and back home, volunteers helped unload and stack it. It is gorgeous hay. Annie has good taste - and thank goodness we found hay that she will eat. We do the best we can for every equine in our care.

Andy colicked this month! We even took X Rays to figure what was impacting him. We reckoned it was sand (he tends to pick around in the sand) and Dr. Heather tubed him with oil and psyllium water.

We began sloppy mashes and even blocked the aisle to the Medicine Room with a panel, then opened his Infirmary pen to the grass that grows there. I dosed senna pod infusion every few hours for a few days. It all worked. We got him eating moist foods, continued treatments and floated poo in water (in a bag) often to watch for sand.

He is fully recovered.

Breezer and Dream Cat got their teeth floated. We did blood work on Breezer because I wanted to see levels - he's fine, but he had lost some weight (I think it was the awful heat). Now, he and Juniper take turns sharing a pen and being on the track so I can get alfalfa in them.

The mares in the herd on the track are "air ferns" and do not need to get any legumes!

At DH1, the original facility, we now trim Gita's hooves standing. Billy stays beside her to give her comfort. Diane carefully reassures her. Gita is in her 30's, is blind and has DSLD. As long as she whinnies for treats and meals and is happy, we will support her.

Meason trims Comet and Murray's hooves. We have a team of professionals who treat these horses with kindness and understand our principles.

We opened up and reconfigured pens at DH1 to create a track there! Sage is living there now, sharing the track with Comet and Murray.

New Intake, Jasper!

He is a 15-year-old pony who was an estray. We don't know his full story. All we know is that he was running loose in the mountains and he had a couple of years' worth of overgrown hooves. He's a gelding. He was very hard to catch for the authorities and was held for 5 days as he was bid upon. As a state licensed Rescue, we won the bid and brought him home.

Our first duty was to actually saw off the massively overgrown part of his front hooves so he could walk better and lie down - and get up! After a few days, our Veterinarian came, sedated him and took X Rays of all four feet. Then, she floated his teeth (in dire need, full of sharp points), vaccinated him and stayed with us for the hoof trimming!

Jasper is a sweetheart. He is a pony, trying to figure how to escape his quarantine pen! But he comes up to us now. He tries to "help" with mucking. He is wearing a leather halter (it will break if he gets it caught on something) because we need to be able to catch him easily... and we don't know him all that well yet. When he breaks quarantine, we will see how he gets along with other horses - with a fence in between to start with.

Welcome home, Jasper.

LOVING HORSES - it's what we do.

VOLUNTEERS are the backbone of this institution! THANK YOU everyone who volunteers. THANK YOU to our Veterinarians and hoof trimmers! THANK YOU to our body workers and donors! Without all of you, we couldn't provide this level of care.

Dharmahorse Blog:



We rarely know anything about the background on a new horse or mule. Often an estray has been dumped in the desert and if they were once loved, they feel betrayed and confused. All we can do is make them comfortable and start from scratch, making this their home... READ MORE

Our Store

We have these three designs (art by Linda, Billy and Katharine) available on mugs, shirts, toddler clothes and more:

THE DHARMAHORSE STORE

All proceeds go to the horses! Great gift ideas!

We see each horse here as an individual with physical, mental and emotional needs that are dynamic and fluctuate with the weather, the seasons, their changing bodies as they age and who they live with as a herd.

If you want to help a specific horse, you can sponsor his or her hay costs for a month:



Sponsor a Horse

Scroll to the bottom of the webpage for details on how to donate/sponsor.

We appreciate everyone who helps us help these horses. Donors, Volunteers, Foundations and those who "spread the word" about Dharmahorse. Thank you all.

You can use this DONATE button to access our website & donate from there. If you want to send a check, the address is 6874 Coyote Road, Las Cruces, NM, USA, 88012. Make checks to Dharmahorse. We are a 501c3 nonprofit, so donations are tax deductible.

We wish you well. We hold this planet and all who fly with her in love & light.

Mahalo!

Katharine, Mark, the DH Team & the Dharma Horses