Bright Futures Farm is an equine charity whose primary focus is off the track Thoroughbreds...horses that can no longer race due to disinterest or injury.  Our dedication has grown to include horses that are difficult to find homes for...older horses that are unwanted after their "useful years" are over, and older stallions that cannot be gelded due to the risk of complications.

We are always in need of foster homes.  When you foster a horse you help us save one more from harm.  Fostering expenses are tax-deductible.  If you have room, please ask us about our foster program.

FANS OF BARBARO

As I write this, I have tears in my eyes.  This thank you is long overdue.

You all know who you are.  You have become such a large part of our "family" here that you deserve an entire page devoted to "your" horses that have made a home either at or through Bright Futures Farm.

I thank you, and the following horses thank you.  Without you, they literally would not be alive today. 

Hy Wynne Shaiman (Shaiman)

Arrival 11/21/08                                      2/03/09 after proper care

Shaiman is a 1976 Arabian stallion. 

He was age 31 when we rescued him.  The facility that was boarding  Shaiman and the owner of Shaiman had a disagreement about the terms of their contract.  Shaiman was due to ship to a slaughterhouse in Canada when we were called to step in.  Thin and not receiving anything close to the proper diet for an elder horse (add...an elder horse with literally 1 1/2 molars), we didn't know if Shaiman would make it.  He's got the heart of a two year old and the strength of a ten year old.  With the help of the FOB's, Shaiman now lives a very happy life at a boarding facility run by a friend in New York. 

Barefoot Osborne (Tessa)

Arrival 6/16/08                                  Four months later 10/14/08

I walked Tessa off of a kill buyers trailer at the New Holland, PA Livestock auction on 6/16/09 ...10 days from foaling (we had no idea when she was due) and very thin.  She had been at the kill buyer's feed lot and was covered with bite marks, had a huge tear of her right nostril and was very scared. She has two old bows, and while she did very well at the track in her earlier years, her last owner obviously felt she was a throw away as she had been an Amish buggy horse just before she shipped to the kill buyer's.  She's a very sweet, kind, gal who is currently being fostered by friends near State College.

Pistol (Tessa's baby)

      Pistol 6/24/08 Day of Birth                      Pistol 1/28/09

What a beautiful baby boy.  And, to know he was two days away from never seeing this world is unconscionable.  Who in their right mind sends a pregnant mare to slaughter?  The same person who sends camp horses, family pets, former racehorses, and former work horses...one of them could be your neighbor!

Amanda, Doc, Paddy and Queen

  Doc & Amanda in their new home             Queen

  Paddy before (see LH leg)                    Paddy after...LH remarkably smaller

Doc, Amanda, Paddy and Queen were owned by an older couple who could no longer care for them.  Their daughter in law asked Bright Futures for help.  We had to purchase them or were told they'd be taken to auction.  Once again, the Fans of Barbaro helped us get these four precious souls to safety.  Queen and Doc were both 23 when rescued (November 2008).  Linda F or Texas rescued two additional elder horses and two younger ones, bringing them all to her home in Texas to live in her private sanctuary.  Paddy and Queen are approximately 8 and 10 years old respectively.  Paddy had a condition  called elephantitis in her LH leg.   It is often due to an incorrect diet.  Upon arrival at Kathy's friend's farm, her diet was changed and Kathy treated the leg daily.  In just a month's time, the swelling was reduced dramatically.

Sweet Lips

Sweet Lips is an aged (approximately 30) Morgan stallion who we don't know much about.  He was allegedly rescued by someone in New York, but when her friend, where the horses were kept, decided to sell them or send them to auction, he had to be rescued again.  A friend alerted us to his risk of going to auction, and with the help of the Fans of Barbaro, we purchased him for $50, and moved him to the same friend's farm who cares for Shaiman.  Sweet Lips has some possible neurological issues in his hind.  However he does very well and is a true gentleman, and a favorite of everyone who meets him.

Storm Berry

photos arriving soon

Berry is a 21 year old former broodmare.  A beautiful Thoroughbred, she is the son of the famous Storm Bird (sire of Storm Cat).  Berry's owner was culling his herd.  Berry didn't make the cut and was headed to the New Holland Livestock auction when Christy Sheidy stepped in.  She was going to take Berry and euthanize her if a home could not be found in a very short time.  It was a far better fate than the auction and ultimately slaughter. I found Berry a temporary home and the Fans of Barbaro helped with her care while I continued to search for a home for her.  Friends from LA said they would take her and the FOB's helped with her transport as well.  She is now enjoying the retirement she so richly deserves.

Hafs

Hafs is a 1983 Arabian stallion.  His owner was no longer able to keep him and asked me for help.  We had two months to find him a home as she could not continue to provide board for him.  Fans of Barbaro helped with his board for an extra month and a half while we searched for a new home for him.  Finally, in January 2009, Cassandra S. said she had room for an extra horse and agreed to give Haf's a new lease on life and a new home.  He now resides in Pennsylvania and has settled into his new home.

 Cupid

Cupid is a 2007 Haflinger colt.  He currently stands approximately 1.2 hands.  Cupid was at a broker's lot in Pennsylvania.  Fans of Barbaro wanted to save him from going to slaughter in three days, but had nowhere to put him.  I said we'd take him.  They paid for him and paid for 1 month of quarantine for him as our quarantine facility is now a barn.  He will ship to Bright Futures sometime in March where he will be gelded and then begin schooling for a new career.  He will be offered for adoption at a later date.

Dap (Layla)

Layla is a 2004 grey Thoroughbred filly.  She was originally rescued in 2008 by the Fans of Barbaro.  Sent to what we all thought was a legitimate rescue in Pennsylvania, she soon had to be rescued again.  Layla is a beautiful mare with a wonderful personality.  The Fans of Barbaro have stepped in again to help us get her to her new temporary home in New York where she will receive the care she needs to get back into shape.  She will also have a complete veterinary exam to determine if there are any racing injuries as she appears to have a suspensory injury in her RF and possibly an ankle injury.