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Current Fundraisers
Our foundation will always be transparent with where donations are going. Our board members do not receive salaries nor do donation dollars go to paying for vehicles, trailers, power bills, etc.
100% of your donations go to the horses medical care, feed or anything the horses might need.
Rescuing a Belgian Gelding and a John Donkey from
Wish Upon a Horse
On March 4, 2025, it was brought to my attention on Facebook that this Belgian Draft horse gelding and John donkey needed to be saved! We are doing a fundraiser to raise the funds we need to save these two lives!
Update 3/5/25 - We are taking an extra traveler! When I went to pay bail for the Belgian gelding and donkey, I was informed that the donkey was bonded to another donkey that came in with him...we can't leave his friend behind so we added the cost of lot# 0184 to the fundraiser! We are almost there!
We can use your support!
Our website will only allow for 2 fundraisers at a time...I am going to manually keep an update on what has been raised for this fundraiser.
$3,000 raised towards goal of $2,900
Fundraiser to include:
Bail
Lot# 0183 John Donkey - $490
Lot# 0184 John Donkey - $450
Lot# 1106 Belgian Gelding - $1250
Transport - $150
Initial medical for gelding - $500
Total fundraiser - $2,900
Additional donation links below
Medical Fundraiser Details
Since the beginning of September, we have rescued 47 Belgian Draft horses, 7 Percheron and 8 donkeys from shipping to slaughter. We did not include medical care into our fundraisers for all of these horses or donkeys because we knew some had medical conditions but to what extent was the question. We wanted to be financially responsible with donation dollars and get the exact amount for medical before we started a fundraiser.
Below is a spreadsheet with a breakdown of what care each new horse received along with a copy of the actual bills from Mobile Veterinary Practice. Some of these horses have never received medical care and it definitely showed! We have treated all the new horses for a variety of medical conditions such as arthritis, 3 with EPM, 3 with eye cancer, colic, heart condition, laminitis, surgery, jaw fracture, infections, etc.
These horses will only receive the best medical care for the rest of their lives here on our farm!
We need your support to cover the costs of the recent medical bills (over $44k) and still rising with Persephone still being hospitalized. Our medical fund is almost completely depleted and if we have an emergency with a horse we need to be able to cover the expense.
Please consider making tax deductible donation to help cover the most recent medical bills.
As always...we appreciate your support, kindness, love and generosity!
Did you know?
Horses and Donkeys, on average, should consume about 1.5% to 3% of their body weight in hay per day. This means that a 1000-pound horse would eat approximately 15 to 30 pounds of hay daily; for a 400-pound donkey that’s 6 pounds per day. Since our horses weigh 1500 to 2000 pounds these calculations show just how much hay we go through!
Currently, 77 horses and 10 donkeys, formerly abused and neglected animals are living on the farm enjoying retirement life filled with only love and kindness.
For their most basic needs of feed, we need approximately 65 round bales of beardless wheat per month (approx. 16 bales per week, 832 bales per year). These figures do not include alfalfa that the horses and donkeys also eat per day.
Round bales of Beardless wheat are $140 per bale with our local supplier HF&C Amarillo
Every bit helps, even if that means just sharing this on social media!
If you would like to send a donation of feed direct through HF&C Amarillo you can contact them at
(806) 622-9800
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Don't want to use PayPal...Donate via credit card using
Zeffy or Givebutter
These are the 62 lives you have helped save from shipping to slaughter since the beginning of September 2024!
On October 11, 2024, while we were at Bowie Texas Livestock picking up a group of horses, King, sat in the back lot at the livestock yard.
He had come in on a truck the night before and was one of the horses that would not have gotten a chance to live because he was direct ship to Mexico.
We had room for one more so we squished him on the back of the trailer and took him with us as well!
King is living his best life now!
Another rescue group had rescued a Belgian Draft horse mare and she was placed in a home with a new family.
The Belgian Draft horse was taken back to Bowie as few months later because the owner couldn't afford medical after she accepted the horse when she found out the horse had eye cancer. The horse was neglected and went without medical care for months.
When we found out she was back at Bowie and scheduled to ship to slaughter we couldn't let this poor horse suffer being at the kill pen for a second time!
So we brought her back with us as well! We named her Opal.
Opal was missing her right eye and after getting her to the veterinarian her cancer in her left eye was already invading the bone leaving her in a lot of pain. The eye was horribly infected and the cancer was eating away at her eye.
We gave Opal probably the best few weeks of her life filled with horse muffins, food, brushes, painting, love and kindness.
On October 7th, we set Opal free from pain with the last act of kindness.
Run Free sweet girl, you deserved so much more!
Buddy and Luna
Another rescue here in Texas had rescued Buddy and Luna.
Buddy, was rescued from Bowie on November 11th, 2023. He is a Belgian Draft horse gelding approximately 18 years old and stands about 17.5 hands tall.
Luna, a 15 year old Percheron mare who was surrendered with her Mom, Stella, from a transport from Missouri on April 10th, 2024. Unfortunately, Stella passed away due to severe hoof displacement.
After Stella passed, Luna bonded to Buddy.
The rescue group that hd them needed to find a home together for them where they could be with other draft horses because these two picked on smaller horses.
We offered to take them too!
Equines Saved since 2022
107
With your support, we have saved 84 Belgian Draft Horses, a quarter horse, a standardbred, 7 Percherons and 14 Donkeys from shipping to slaughter and have given them a loving retirement home.
Currently, 77 horses and 10 donkeys are living on the farm and enjoying retirement.
Help save " Big Hoof " Horses
The Big Hoof Foundation is dedicated to saving Draft Horses that have spent their entire lives working only to be neglected or abused when they can no longer work and are eventually sold to slaughter or abandoned to perish.
Our dedicated volunteers and board members work to rescue, rehabilitate and if possible re-home these beautiful gentle giants to nurturing pastures while advocating for more humane treatment of the draft breeds through information and enlightenment.
By saving abandoned Draft Horses we are providing them a loving, humane environment free from pain and suffering as well as restoring their trust in humanity.
Our orginization will do everything we can for the horses we rescue. Most of the horses we have rescued have medical conditions and can not be re-homed. They will receive the best medical care and alternative treatments we can offer them with help from our amazing veterinarians.
Our Mission
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To rescue, rehabilitate and rehome Draft horses.
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To provide a facility where no animal will endure the pain and suffering caused by a life of abuse, neglect or abandonment by giving the horses the proper medical care required to live a healthy life.
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To sponsor or host events that promote awareness of the neglect and abuse of the Draft Horse Breed.
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To create an equine therapy program to assist people suffering with mental illness.
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To bring awareness to the community about horses being released into a slow feral death or dropped at a dealer who sends them to auction then slaughter.
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To form relationships, share information and work towards a collaborative effort to solve problems that lead to the inhumane treatment of these big hoofed gentle giants.
Our Board of Directors loving each and everyone of these horses!
Julie Fletcher
President/Founder
Cory Fletcher
Vice-President
Michelle Raney
Development Director
Jeannine Residori
Treasurer
Kara Starkweather
Secretary