Our Purpose
is To Help Horses Be Happy
Body & Soul
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Our Commitment
is To Protect, Heal, and Provide a Happy Home to Hurting, Unwanted, and Problem Horses
and
Inspire and Motivate People to Strive for Dignity, Confidence, and a Willing Partnership in their Relationship with Horses
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we are an IRS 501(c)3 public charity
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Howdy!
Thank You for visiting our website. We are a small, non-profit horse rescue located in Georgia and Florida. The horses we have helped usually come from county animal services (after they have been either abandonded or abused) or from folks who can no longer afford to take care of them. Since, it is mostly me (MIchelle Akers) and a few much loved and appreciated volunteers, we can only take care of one or two horses at a time... and during their stay with us, I am the one who provides most of the hands on care and maintenance of the property and horses.
Once a horse arrives, I work to rehabilitate them in whatever area is lacking i.e. food, medical care, behavioral issues, training, etc, integrate them into the herd, and when they are sound and thriving, I begin searching for their new home where they will be loved, cared for, and part of a family. I give my heart and soul to these guys and spend many hours worrying over them, working with them, coaxing them to trust again, and allowing them to be horses again with the respect and freedom each one deserves. It might look like they are the lucky ones...but for me, I am the one who is blessed with their quiet dignity, strength of spirit, and powerful presence of being. I am continually amazed and humbled at how they can go through the worst abuse and in a moment, if you let them, they open themselves up again to connect and trust another human being. To be a part of that is truly a blessing.
This is why I chose to start a horse rescue. I love almost every kind of animal, but something about horses is special. I invite you to read about the ones who have crossed my path over the past couple years... and I thank you again for your interest and support.
Sincerely, Michelle Akers and The Horses
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The Best Christmas Present
Tony DiCicco, my old coach from National Team, called me to say there was a guy interested in helping me... he is a good guy, give him a call back, he said. I called him and the guy on the other end of the line told me he could come down for 4-5 days and fix whatever I needed fixing. My initial thought was oh, please God, let this guy be for real... and then, I started talking to him about the flood damage, my property, the barn, etc. Over the course of a few weeks, we decided he'd work on several things in the barn and he'd drive down from Jersey the day after Christmas. My husband thought I was nuts letting this guy come here with out knowing him... he could be an ax murderer after all, but I wasn't worried. I had a good feeling about him.
Mike Lyons and his wife Gina and three (out of their six) kids showed up on the 27th and with out even unpacking their car, they began cleaning up my garage which had stuff thrown all over, piles everywhere, and full of chaos from the floods and then started moving the goat shed out of the back yard and swept all the goat poop around the pool area off the deck (thank you God). I was in awe and completely stunned at the whirlwind of activity... and Cody, my 4 year old, was in heaven with their kids for the next 5 days, playing star wars on the Wii, jumping on the trampoline, driving my Gator up and down the road countless times, and slumber partying in his room. Thankfully, they weren't ax murderers at all... and I wound up making some new friends and getting a lot of stuff in the barn and in my home fixed.
Specifically, Mike had concrete poured in one of the stalls that got flooded really bad and had been completely gutted... and reframed two stall doors, one into the aisle and the other out to the sacrifice area/pasture. He also built me a loft in the hay room to raise my hay storage out of future floodings way and his wife, Gina, and kids helped wheelbarrow and shovel 57 rock on the floor in there as it was mostly mud covered by wood pallets. He also fixed the furnace in my attic, rebuilt my desk drawer so it could close, leveled my armoire, cut new slats for under the queen guest bed (which collapsed like a taco and trapped him, Gina, and my dog Lola in the middle of it)... and tons of other stuff that took only minutes for him, but added up huge for me.
Anyway, these folks spent their Christmas vacation at our home working their buns off and that was the best Christmas present ever! Thanks Mike Lyons and Your Family. You guys are the Greatest.
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| Mike and Gina Lyons Dec 2009 |
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CLICK HERE OR ON PHOTO ABOVE TO SEE MORE ABOUT MIKE AND GINA'S VISIT AT OUR FARM
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Cold, Cold, Go Away.
January 6, 2010
My buddy Hades, tells me it is all my fault. The weather in Atlanta is awesome she says, "It's not too hot in the summer, the fall is gorgeous, mild winters with a few 20's or teens here and there." Liar, liar. Pants on fire is what I say... all I've seen is a Florida-like summer, flooding, torrential rain and now bitter, arctic cold that won't stop. She steadfastly claims I brought all the craziness with me. Now, my foot deep, mud-slop around the barn and the saturated pastures has all turned to frozen jagged ice. I admit it is nice to be dry and clean, but now I am starting to want my mud back. The cold is ridiculous. The water in the barn freezes every day and I had to a blow torch to thaw it. I've bought stock at Tractor Supply in de-icers and bucket warmers. The circuit breaker trips multiple times a day when I forget and turn on one too many lights or plug in one too many de-thawing devices. My poor son needs to put ear muffs on to keep from hearing my muttering (yelling) as I walk back up the hill to the house to hit the breaker switch. I wear my Carrhart insluated overalls and arctic chore boots 24/7. Good thing my son is only four as he doesn't yet seem to notice I am the only mom picking him up from school in my dirty Carrharts, boots, and hay in my hair. Anyway, aside from the laughing, I am also crying as my Zoe girl got injured on the ice the other day and is crippled and confined to her stall. Her feet hurt her so bad, she lays down most of the day and when she is up (looking for a treat from me), she stumbles to turn a 360. The vet has visited and we found she had foundered at some point before I got her. She has mild rotation in both front feet which explains why she is so ouchy on hard ground, but until now it has only showed itself as thin soles, poor hoof walls, and tender feet. Apparently, the rotation coupled with the frozen landscape has hurt her bad. She is on pain meds and eating fine, so I have some hope. After two days of trying, I finally got one foot padded. The other I am hoping to get done tomorrow if she can stand long enough on one foot to let me do it. I am not sure what will happen with her yet... she is one tough girl, so I am not with out hope, but my heart gets close to breaking when I think this one might be too much for her. Please keep her (and all of us) in your prayers. I am keenly aware there is a lot to be thankful for and I am thankful for a lot, but I also have those moments where I think if only I could have 5 minutes back on the soccer field to take out my frustration on some viking norweigan, that would surely make me feel a whole lot better. Wine also helps. So does a good game of Star Wars on the Wii and a roaring fire in our beautiful brick fire place. Thank you also to everyone who has been so kind to send a note of encouragement and/or a donation to help us out. You also I am thankful for and appreciate your encouragement. It is supposed to snow here tomorrow. I will take some pics and post them here for you. The white will give us a whole new perspective and me and my Carrharts are looking forward to it.
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THANK YOU!
Many thanks to the incredible folks who are donating to help us recover from major flooding in September 2009. I am floored and humbled by the generosity and thoughtfulness by so many of you. I will be posting the latest numbers and news in our goal to raise $50,000 to fix and prevent flood damage to our Georgia farm.
CHECK OUT THE THERMOMETER BELOW TO TRACK OUR PROGRESS
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Funds Donated to Our Rescue to Repair/Prevent Flooding as of January 6, 2010.
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| September Flood |
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Rain, Rain, Go Away.
December 2009
In September, three months after moving to Cobb county, Georgia, the Atlanta area received unprecedented amounts of rain and our farm experienced major flooding and water damage. After 2 weeks of steady rain, one night we got over 20 inches and our saturated pastures began to flood and fill with water. I kept watch all night and with each lightening strike I could see the water getting higher and higher. I had put the horses out in the pasture thinking they would be safer there, but as the rain poured down, the pasture soon became a lake, so I decided to get them all in the barn. I waded out to where the horses were with a flashlight in water up to my belly button hoping I wouldn't step in a hole and see a water mocassin. Finally, I reached the horses and put my hand around Handsome's cheek and asked him to come in. The water was swift in places and I had to hold on to him as we made our way back in. I was praying the other horses would follow and no one would lose their minds and start running like wild banchees. God forbid I got hurt in the process. Who would rescue me? When we made it to the barn, my heart was pounding and I hugged Handsome grateful for his cooperation.
At 3am I called a reliable friend in Florida and asked him to drive up to help me. Finally, the sun came up and I called my buddy Hades and asked her to come quick and get the horses out... and when she finally got there, I was barely able to open the stall doors because of the water height inside! The horses were waiting for me calm, but ready to get out of there. I was waiting for her with two in a trailer ready to go and the other two on lead ready to go in my other trailer. The water was still rising fast and by the time we left it was over 4 feet into the barn and we barely made it off the property with water over our bumpers as we drove out. Our pygmy goats, nicknamed The Babies, almost drowned as we were loading the horses. Thankfully, we got everyone loaded just in time and ran down to their pen and grabbed them off the bench just as the water reached their little feet. We threw them in the garage with prayers and food and ran to our trucks to make our way out of there.
Thankfully, we were able to find a way (many roads were flooded) to a local boarding facility who loaned me 2 pastures for my horses (THANK YOU) and after settling them in, I drove back home to see how much higher the water had risen. I had to park at the top of my driveway and wade through the water to my house... which thankfully sits up on a hill. The dogs were in a frenzy inside the house and the goats were ba-haaing up a storm in the garage, but everyone was safe. The view from the house of the pasture and barn now was total water, lakefront. All the stuff in the barn was floating down stream/lake and soon, I expected the Ark to float by as well. Thankfully, most of what was damaged wasn't that valuable, but 80 bales of hay was lost, as well as, all my power tools, feed, and medicine. Our John Deere lawn mower was completely submerged and I thought for sure it was a goner, but once it dried out, it cranked up and ran fine. Mostly, it was all just a big mess and would ultimately take months to clean up.
Everyone except the goats are back in the barn and I have only the essentials in the feed room i.e., a few bales of hay, feed, meds, grooming stuff, blankets, etc. The goats now live in the back yard by the pool in a vacant shed made into their cozy house. They have eaten all the plants back there and leave pellets all over and in the pool, but they are so cute (and safe) I forgive them instantly.
The property is one big mud hole and now the horses spend most of the 24 hours standing in a foot of slop. I have made some improvements... minimal grading, added rock/gravel and drains around the immediate barn area, gutters, and my Dad and I built a wall to keep the water at bay at least during the normal rainy days. Over all, it will take around 50,000 dollars to make repairs and grade the property to drain properly and prevent future flooding. The only way this can possibly happen is for me to do it slowly over the years or figure out another way... which led me to the decision to auction off some of my soccer memorbilia from past World Cups, Olympics, and awards over the years. Steiners Sports will be handling a few selected items and we will make an announcement in the next days regarding a date, etc. After that, we will see how it goes. If you would like to donate, our organization is anon-profit and your donation is tax-deductibl. Anything you can contribute is much appreciated.
To view pictures of the flood, click on the photo below or click below to go to our
Photo Album Page
To Donate, Click on one of our Donate Buttons or Visit our
How You Can Help Page
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click on their pictures
to learn more about their story and how they are doing now
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Zoe was taken from her owner in Sanford, FL after he tried to bury one of his other horses alive with a Bobcat. The authorities had to euthanize the one horse and found Zoe emaciated and near death hiding in the corner of the pasture. Click on her photo at right to learn more about her story.
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| Zoe |
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| Ruby Feb 2008 |
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Ruby was abandoned by her owner at a boarding facility in Eustis, FL and they stopped feeding her because board was owed. Her former owner discovered her situation and called us to look into it. She was around 300 pounds underweight and was very fearful from past (and possibly) present abuse/neglect. To read more about her story, click on her photo at right.
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| Carlos July 14 2008 |
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This is Carlos.
He was neglected by a man in Geneva, Florida and taken into custody by Seminole County Animal Services on July 7, 2008 after a neighbor called authorities concerned about him laying down a lot and being thin. He was badly underweight, had severe Laminitis, and his owner admitted he hadn't done anything for him in over two years... and yet somehow there was still strength in his eyes.
To learn more about Carlos, click on his photo at left.
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How We Can Help You
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How
YOU can
HELP
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WISH LIST
Beet Pulp
PINE STALL PELLETS
PYRANA FLY SPRAY
FENCING MATERIALS
Hay
CASH DONATIONS
Probiotics
TRACTOR
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SHOP AND HELP SUPPORT OUR HORSES
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We are grateful for the many folks whose generosity has enabled us to help our horses have healthy and happy lives. Each person contributes in their own way and we are thankful for their involvement and commitment to our organization.
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To read about more of the awesome people involved in our organization,
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SHOP at
Enter Our Care Code michakershorserescue at Check Out
We Get a Donation
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SHOP at 1800-PetMeds through Our Website and We Get a Donation
click on the logo below to shop
or Call and Shop at 1800-PetMeds (1800-738-6337) Fax Your Order Shop at www.1800PetMeds.com
Enter our Reference Code is michakershorserescue when You Order and we get a Donation.
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SHOP at iSearchiGive and we get a donation
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| Michelle and Thunder |
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Howdy from Michelle & Steve
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| Steve and Cody |
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Steve and I got married in Aug 2003 and had Cody in 2005.
I (Michelle) am basically the horse and animal lover (freak as some would say) and Steve is more on the "normal" side... he loves them, but patiently puts up with the two dogs and cat sleeping in our bed and my wanting to take in every lost puppy or kitten.
One of the strong beliefs we both share is that each one of us has been put on this planet to live out and share our God-given gifts and passions with the world around us... starting with our own home and reaching out to those who cross our paths each day... after taking in Zoe, our first rescue horse in Sept 2007 and seeing the vacancy in her eyes slowly, day by day, fill up with life we became even more impassioned and determined to do more.
We know it is impossible to save every horse in need, but we can make our best effort in making the world a better place for these abused and sometimes forgotten horses by reaching out to you... and inspiring and educating those in our backyard (and maybe a little beyond) about compassion, integrity, leadership, and the beauty, strength, and vulnerability found only in a horse.
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We are Nothing with out our Team.
Click here to check out our Studly Roster of Volunteers and Supporters.
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To REPORT HORSE/Animal CRUELTY,
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To GIVE to Our Horses
Click On the DONATE Button
Thank You
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