this place is no longer a horse rescue. she got shut down due to not taking care of the horses. they had little to no hoof care, minimal vet care, malnourished, and she used them to make a profit with her trail ridding. she was still allowed to keep her trail ridding business....but those horses still remain malnourished and poorly taken care of.
I've volunteered at Mustang Alley for the past 3 years and I absolutely love what they do and what they have done! What a great place to go to unwind and help out with the care and maintenance of the rescue horses. And to watch the love they put into the care and welfare of the horses. I've seen them go from a primitive state to a nice fun looking facility. I also like the way they make sure that the adopted horses go to a good home by inspecting them and keeping tabs on them...I was fortunate enough to be able to go through one of their adoption processes with one of their horses. There is a lot of love in there and dedication.
I've been volunteering out there for 7 months, and I can't imagine a more rewarding experience! There are 50+ horses out there that have been nursed back to health and have a much improved quality of life because of this place. Taking care of the horses and maintaining a safe environment for the volunteers are the top priorities. The owner is very supportive and appreciative of my efforts. There are several paddocks, and all are well maintained. It's hard work, often in inclement weather, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
Overall, I find this to be a legitimate horse rescue. However, many things caught me off guard. The rescue founder was extremely scatterbrained, which was evident in the operations of the rescue. Volunteers of little skill level were turned loose to "evaluate" and train green horses. Fencing contained many long, loose wires, which could have easily cut the horses. For the twenty or so horses in the large pasture, there was only one two-room walk in shed, which was surrounded by manure. The smaller paddock, for "ICU" horses, had one small rinkydink run in shed for the seven horses in the field. Another peeve of mine was the hay quality. The large paddock was FILLED with hay strings from round bales. When asked to feed square bales to the trail riding horses, I was told to "find the good hay among the moldy parts." there were only five or six bales in the shed. One mare had been sent to an outside trainer, and had come back completely damaged. She was terrified of all humans. Also, trail guides were sent out with paying customers on overgrown trails that they were not at all sure of. Last but not least, the water troughs were in desperate need of scrubbing and refilling.