Bella Ranch Horseback Riding
Our horses
Bella Ranch is home to 15 horses, 10 of which are elderly, have a disability, or are otherwise unwanted. The other 5 are our younger, healthier horses who help provide services that pay for our senior citizen horses.
We are dedicated to rehabilitating these horses and providing a comfortable life for ALL of them.
We need you.
"You got room for another one?"
The answer was usually "no, not the room or the funds, but..."
Neglected, old, malnourished, unwanted, disabled, arthritic... these horses always had some problem or another. Melissa and Madeline could never say no, because the other option was always worse - auction, a kill pen, or some other route of misery.
In order to continue to providing rehabilitation for our current horses and new horses, we need your help. You can choose to donate for one horse or to donate to help for a specific bill for all the horses. We encourage you to come out and meet the horses you so generously helped feed and care for this month! Donations are tax deductible. You will receive a Thank-You letter with your contribution highlighted for tax purposes.
Current Rehabilitating Horse - Nicki
Nicki was originally purchased to be a part of our rapidly growing lesson/riding therapy program. However, upon picking her up, it appears she was vastly different than the photos we received of her. She is hundreds of pounds underweight. Nicki is an 18-year-old AQHA mare and is now part of our rehabilitation program, where we will feed her and get her fat and healthy again. You can follow Nicki's progress on our FB Page.
Nicki on 11/9/23, when we picked her up. Scroll to the end to see what we were told she looked like.
You can clearly see rib bones, spinal process, hip bones.
Such a pretty girl!
Nicki on 11/9/23, when we picked her up. Scroll to the end to see what we were told she looked like.
Hay
One horse will eat roughly one round bale a month. We currently have 15 horses, some of which are our senior horses and the others who help provide services that pay for the senior horses. Currently, round bales run $100 each, costing about $1500 a month for all of the horses ($1000 of this is for our senior/disabled horses).
Feed
Currently, our horses eat Bluebonnet feed and Pro Force Senior feed along with alfalfa pellets, rice bran pellets, soymeal, beet pulp and vegetable oil (for extra calories). This complicated feed regimen helps keep horses weight on our hard-keeper horses and senior horses. They are fed twice a day. It costs roughly $350 a month to feed our senior horses.
Veterinary expenses
Routine care - Yearly, due February 2024
Horses need vaccinated every year. They receive Core EQ, which is $80. Flu/Rhino is $50, and Rabies is $35 for a total of $165/per horse every year or $1650 for all.
Horses have to have their blood drawn yearly in order to travel off property for any reason. This is called a Coggins. Coggins cost $45 per horse, or $450 for all.
Horses need their teeth done at least once yearly. This is called dental floating, or just floating for short. This costs $160 per horse, or $1600 for all.
Routine Care - Monthly
Many of our horses require medication, mostly in order to remain "sound," or able to move around free of lameness/pain. Six of our horses are currently on arthritis medication which costs about $75 per horse, per month. This is $450/month for all.
To keep our horses as comfortable as possible, we get them adjusted by a chiropractor every 8 weeks. This costs $75 per horse, so about $750 every 2 months for our seniors.
We try to keep an emergency vet bill fund of about $2000.
Farrier Bills
Horses require farrier care once every 6-8 weeks. For our senior/disabled horses, this is about $600 every 6-8 weeks. Some horses require shoes, which can cost up to 3 times more than a simple trim.