The owner of a local horse rescue is searching for a loving home for a quarter horse and a mule that were left at an auction on Saturday, Dec. 7.
Julie Macmillan, who runs the J&M Horse Rescue, said she was contacted by the auction on Saturday about the elderly duo, who are best buddies. And she paid for them and picked them up right away.
Their names are Bunny and Teddy and they are both in their late 20's and when Macmillan took them in they were both underweight, their feet were overgrown, and, she added, they came with no background story.
"When you send an animal to auction, a senior animal, with zero story on it whatsoever, the odds of it going nowhere good are very, very high," she said.
What Macmillan has since learned about the pair are they were owned by the same owner for decades, and were used extensively for riding and packing.
"And, for whatever reason, the guy just got tired of looking after them," she said.
Macmillan described both animals as lovely, sweet, and kind.
"They are both quiet and sweet and they are both older, but they are both super healthy. They would be great around kids," she said.
Online she noted they have great manners, and they can manage medium coarse hay well.
In the week that she has had them she has been trying to get all the burrs out of them, and they have been gaining weight. Macmillan has also given them wormer medication and had their hoofs trimmed.
Macmillan is hoping to keep the pair together. However, she noted, it is very difficult to find homes for senior animals. Mules live longer than horses, she said, noting they can live to about 45-years-old. Horses will live to about 30.
"It will definitely take a special person to keep these two old friends together for sure," she said.
Macmillan's rescue sits on two acres and she has five double shelters.
"So I can fit 10 horses," she explained. "It's tiny but works."
She is not full at the rescue right now, and, she said, they have no problems putting in the time to help out the animals.
However, she noted online, she is struggling with the bills.
"Feed for these two for the next month is going to be a minimum of $600 plus everything else that goes into looking after them. Trims, shavings, vet work etc etc. It's all adds up," Macmillan wrote online.
Macmillan is looking for someone with experience with senior mules and horses. The adoption fees are $1,100 for Bunny, $700 for Teddy, and for both of them together, $1,300.
"In short, we all want the fairytale ending for these two but it's not going to happen without a whole village to help."
Macmillan opened J&M Horse Rescue 29 years ago and since then she has rescued and adopted out 1,300 horses.
The focus of the rescue is on rehabilitating and re-homing slaughter-bound equines.
Anyone wishing to donate or to adopt Bunny and Teddy can contact Macmillan at diggermac@gmail.com.
