Archives

Take a Brain Break!

Give your brain a jolt! Swingin’ D Horse Rescue knows our horse-loving friends work hard all day. Every once in a while, it helps to put your mind on something less stressful. We hope you enjoy our Brain Breaks! Answer 9+3=12, then 48/2=12, then 2×12=24, then 24×12=288. The correct answer is 288! Horse Welfare Factoid […]

Pick the right horse

You, You, You, You, You… YOU’RE looking for a trail horse You found the perfect horse! He’s 8 years old, well broke to ride trails and impervious to new sights, sounds and smells. Congratulations! But your horse may live to 30 or 35, and he may not always be a fit trail horse. What’s your […]

What you get when you adopt

A baby that believed humans deliver only terror and pain. A racehorse that earned thousands for its owner, only to be discarded like worthless trash. A pedigreed mare that pumped out prize-winning foals until her body could no longer be used and abused. A reliable trail horse that carried his owner across rugged terrain, traded […]

What would you do?

What would you do if you saw this horse, day after day, as you drove to and from your daily activities? Would you shake your head and drive on by? Curse his owners under your breath? Throw him some food? We get contacted by citizens concerned about horses like this all the time. They want […]

With Winston, the memes write themselves

Saved from Slaughter Winston is a walking meme machine We’ve all seen those touching stories about horses that were saved from the brink of slaughter, then became some huge phenomenon that shattered records and changed the world. That’s Winston. Mark my words. He was only 9 months old when some irresponsible breeder sent him to […]

Why adopt from a rescue when I can ‘save’ a kill pen horse?

This article is not about the controversy over Facebook’s kill pen broker pages, but it’s impossible to deny they’ve had an impact on horse rescue. That’s not a criticism or an opinion. It’s a fact. Until recently, rescues could intercept a horse at auction for $300-$500. The rescue could invest $500 into rehabilitating the horse […]

Done with flies?

Horses dancing, stomping, nipping at their bodies and swishing their tails. Itchy skin rashes, infected wounds that won’t heal, bald patches from rubbing against posts, fences, or anything else that brings relief. It’s time to take up arms in the War on Flies! While we appreciate the greening of our pastures, we’re not thrilled with […]

Why the BLM’s Cash for Mustangs program makes me nervous

If you Google “BLM cash for mustangs,” you’ll find a wealth of press releases extolling the virtues of a program that will surely solve the “problem” of mustangs multiplying like parasites and threatening the American landscape. This isn’t one of those articles. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I do know a […]

Tornado Warning: Horse Owners Prepare

Keeping Horses Safe in Severe Weather In Oklahoma, we experience severe weather in every season: ice storms and snow in winter; drought, humidity and 100+ temperatures in summer; and flash floods, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in spring and fall. We grow up knowing how to prepare, especially for tornadoes. But how do you prepare an […]

(Cinder) Ella – The Perfect Horse

Let me start by saying there’s never a good reason for a horse to end up on a kill lot – only excuses. But when we bring a kill pen horse to Swingin’ D, we can usually imagine why its owner gave up on it: Bad feet, injuries, age, abilities, temperament… We’ve seen all the […]