October Newsletter 2025

Volunteer

OCTOBER

“THE SCOOP”

Elphabafromthehit musical “Wicked” stoppedbyourFallObstacleClinic

ALOOKBACKAT SEPTEMBER

The cutest equidopters you everdid see!

DEFHR Alumni River stoppedby tohelp with “THE SCOOP”

Volunteershelp set up quarantinefor new arrivals

Equine Cruelty Investigators Course

As a part of our ongoing mission to educate, we held a two-day hands-on seminar- in rain AND shine- designed to help cruelty investigators feel confident working with and handling equines. Our awesome staff, vets, and farriers worked together to help the officers feel confident around horses, have a better understanding of the equine mind, and be better prepared to determine when a horse's needs are not being met.

HORSE SPOTLIGHT

IPSY

Our Social Butterfly

Meet Ipsy, the coordinator of all the happenings in the mare field! She was a part of a seizure in Queen Anne’s County in 2024. Our first impression of her was that she was a brave, smart young lady as she led the procession onto the trailer and her herd mates, two young colts, reluctantly followed suit.

She has been in a consistent training program since June and she has been a pleasure to work with. We’ve introduced a lot of new skills- Ipsy has worked on tying and trailer loading and she is self-loading like a queen onto our stock trailer. She already holds her head up proudly but the pedestal in our obstacle course gives her another 2 feet in which she gazes upon the land that she rules!

She has learned that fly spray and the hose are not out to eat her and she found that it is kind of fun to stick her floppy lips into the water to play with it. Ipsy has a beautiful coat and a beautiful, long flowing tail that never seems to be tangled!

Ipsy is aware of her surroundings and will be the first to see something that is ‘out of place’ but she just alerts you with a high head, a bit of a snort and then back to work she goes. She’s a sensitive and responsive mare which has made her a lot of fun to train. She’s going to make someone a nice riding partner when she is all done growing!

Comings and Goings

Night Ninja

NEW HORSES ALERT

It’s not often that we have the opportunity to share about new horses BEFORE they arrive at DEFHR, so it’s exciting to write this message to you all.

The Pennsylvania SPCA (PSPCA) is PA’s animal welfare law enforcement agency. Their officers see a lot of equine neglect and abuse cases each year, with two shelter locations that span nearly ¾ of the entire state! In anticipation of horses needing to enter their shelter in the next several months (their ‘busy season’), we have opened our program to their current seven equine residents.

By helping in this way, it relieves a space burden on the shelter and provides a broader base of adopters for the horses. A WIN-WIN! The horses coming to us have been a part of an equine neglect/cruelty case, and several were survivors of a barn fire from last February that destroyed their home. Stay tuned for details of their arrival in next months newsletter.

KAITLYN & RUBY

You may have recognized a familiar face in the barnwelcome back to previous barn staff and intern Jo!

Our Fall Residential Interns have arrived! Kaitlyn joins us from Colorado and Ruby joins us from Texas!

Brite Bodie

We are excited to share that DEFHR’s very own Bodie will be competing with Trainer, Leigha Schrader in the Retired Racehorse Project 2025 at the Kentucky Horse Park this month. This project works to increase demand for off-track Thoroughbreds beyond racing. Bodie will be competing in Freestyle and Competitive Trail.

Bodie's story is incredible, and we hope his story of hope and strength brings inspiration to the underdogs as he takes on this high level competition with some of the countries best thoroughbreds. Please help us wish Bodie luck as he prepareshe is already a winner in our hearts!

JULY 2024

Calendar of Events

October 4th

October 9th

October 11th

October 17 and 18 th th

Benefit Concert

Day

Sand Box Brewery Charity Day

Tink’s Tack Room Opening Hours 9am-4pm

October 23rd

Farrier Day

October 25th

Scout Day

Fall

Farrier

Volunteer Corner Volunteer Corner Get Involved Get Involved

VOLUNTEERS!

Join us for BARN NIGHT

FRIDAY OCTOBER 24TH

GET READY DEFHR FAMILY - it’s time to show the world what our community is made of at Washington International Horse Show Barn Night! It’s more than just an evening of show jumping and performances - it’s a chance for DEFHR to shine, win BIG prizes, and prove that no barn has more spirit than ours!

We need YOU: our incredible volunteers, to fill the stands, wear your DEFHR gear, and cheer louder than anyone else. The bigger and bolder our group, the better our chances to win! Prizes up for grabs include a new golf cart for the farm (how AMAZING would that be?). Come hang out with Trainer Leigha and Volunteer Coordinator KelseyEVERY voice EVERY cheer, EVERY seat counts!

Deadline to purchase: Sunday, October 5th

Reserve your tickets today on the next page!

10:30am-12:30pm

Encourage friends, family and neighbors to sign up for a subscription box for peakseason fresh local produce. Each week you’ll receive a variety of fruits, veggies and herbs-hand selected by the farmer himself. A great way to support the farm, an the environment all while enjoying fresh veggies!

Still Looking...

DONATE YOUR CAR

Thanks to YOUR generous support, our education and outreach programs are growing fast! We’re in need of an additional vehicle to help support that growth.

Access to a safe, reliable vehicle-nothing fancy, just dependable-would make a meaningful difference in our ability to keep programs running smoothly, provide hands-on learnng opportunities and continue serving the horses and community we deeply care about.