Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation

The main goal of the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation is to provide protection to equines and other hooved animals in distress. Working in conjunction with law enforcement officials around the state of Minnesota, the Animal Humane Society of MN, & MN Federated Humane Societies, we have provide a safe place for animals whose owners are unable or unwilling to comply with state humane statutes, resulting in the seizure of the animals. After the animals come into our program, we provide rehabilitative care necessary to restore them to a sound, healthy state where they can then be made available for adoption to a new home. This care includes all veterinary & farrier work, nutritional support, training assessment, & additional training when needed. Finding approved adoptive homes for the horses and other hooved animals in our program is at the top of our list of priorities. MHARF does not operate as a sanctuary facility. Our goal is to find approved homes for horses so we can make room at both our main farm and also at our extensive network of foster homes to take in other horses in need. We have a stringent application and approval process for adopters and this is to ensure the horse or other animal will get the continued care and treatment it needs. We also have a co-ownership clause in our adoption contract. Any animal adopted from MHARF cannot be sold, traded, or given away. If an adopter cannot keep it, it must be returned to us. This is to ensure that animal always has a safety net in the future. Another goal of the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation is to provide education to the public on issues of equine welfare, and also provide support, advice, and resources to horse owners. We receive many requests to take in surrendered horses that owners can no longer keep for various reasons. When space permits, we are able to take these animals into our program and find them new homes. However, sometimes owners just need advice on how to best deal with health, lameness, or behavior issues. In these cases we are able to counsel them and give them information for finding veterinarians, farriers, trainers, and other equine professionals in their area. Oftentimes knowing who to contact for assistance helps keep these horses in their homes. Counseling owners on making humane end-of-life decisions for their animals is also something we do on a regular basis.

MHARF maintains a positive working relationship with law enforcement officials across the entire state, as well as both the Animal Humane Society of Minnesota and MN Federated Humane Societies. This ensures that humane agents and law enforcement officials are aware of the assistance we can provide and know that if they decide a humane case warrants seizure of animals, they will have an organization to rely on for safe placement. This means it is much more likely that animals in distress who are in need of rescue will actually get the help they need. MHARF also maintains positive working relationships with many veterinarians and farriers throughout the state. This ensures that animals in our program will always get the veterinary and farrier care they need to be prepared to go into a new adoptive home. Another strategy we have found helps immensely in making horses easier to place is providing training. We have found that a well-trained horse is much less likely to ever be an unwanted horse. We have an annual Trainer's Challenge for previously unstarted horses that runs throughout the spring and summer months, as well as smaller in-hand contests for horses too young to start under saddle. We have many trainers we work with who take on horses in our program who may have already been started in the past but are in need of a refresher course or in need of training to correct issues due to past mishandling or poor training methods. These trainers help us match these horses with adoptive homes. Making a good match between horse and adopter is very important to us. Making a good match is not only in the best interest of the horse, but also provides a positive experience for the adopter, meaning they will be much more likely to make a life-long commitment to the animal, and also look on adoption of other animals as a positive option in the future. We also find that many of our adoption inquiries come from people who have heard a positive review of an adopter's experience with MHARF.

The Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation has 27 years of experience in rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming horses and other hooved animals in need. We have positive working relationships with law enforcement agencies around the entire state, as well as humane agents from both the Animal Humane Society of MN and MN Federated Humane Societies. As the oldest non-profit 501(c)3 equine rescue organization in the state, MHARF is widely regarded as a leader in the field. MHARF's main facility is in Zimmerman, MN, but we have an extensive network of foster homes, veterinarians, farriers, and trainers so we are able to assist horses and other animals in need throughout the entire state. MHARF also has a very dedicated group of volunteers and supporters. We have an extensive website that is updated on a regular basis. We also have a very active Facebook page where we share information on available animals. updates on previously adopted animals, events, and educational posts. MHARF publishes a biannual newsletter that is available both in hard copy and electronic format. All of these things assist us in our effort to educate people about our program and about equine welfare in general.

Since our founding in 1994, MHARF has had over 3,000 animals come though our program. While the majority of the animals who have come through our "gates" have been horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, and miniature horses, we have also helped many goats, sheep, cows, alpacas, cats, and various poultry find new homes. We have provided educational opportunities on equine welfare to the public through many speaking engagements, roundtable discussions, presentations to groups, trade show booths, training demonstrations, social media posting, website information, newsletters, and making ourselves available for personal correspondence by phone and email. We have provided countless tours of our facility over the years to individuals as well as to groups. When it comes to placing our animals in adoptive homes, we always enjoy making the best possible match between horse and adopter to ensure a positive experience for both!