By Angela Morgan, Director
Circle L Farm Horse & Rescue, Inc. was established in May of 2011, by Angela Morgan as a non-profit rescue and rehab organization in Locust Grove, Oklahoma. As there was a high need for a safe place for neglected, abandoned and abused horses in Oklahoma, and to this day, there still is. We have taken in a variety of different breeds and ages, all from different circumstances. Whether it be the own has passed away, a citizen reporting malnourished horses in a pen, owners not being able to care for them any longer, and many more reasons.
Today, we are receiving many more reports of these circumstances than ever before. We cover as much area as we possibly can in NE Oklahoma, but sometimes we have to extend our area if circumstances arise where a horse is in dyer need of care. In June 2019 we received a phone call about 159 horses that had been seized from another rescue in Texas. They were in horrid shape. We quickly jumped to help aid the rescue that took them in. No rescue can handle that amount of horses without help from other rescues. We drove to Camp County Texas on two different trips to pull back seven horses and one donkey. Five of those horses were 100% blind. We knew those were the most at risk, and these were the ones we knew we had to take. It requires a special kind of patience to handle blind equines.
Established in 2001, our focus today are the special-needs and geriatric horses
Our focus today are the special-needs and geriatric horses. We do not want to see them get euthanized because they are old, arthritic or special-needs. Two horses in particular stole our hearts from the moment we got them to the rescue. Oden, an 11 year old palomino gelding and Hoss, a 7 year old red roan gelding, both are 100% blind. They require 24 hour care. Oden had a body score of 3 when he arrived. Hoss had a body score of 5 when he arrived. Both Oden and Hoss will have a permanent placement at our rescue. Both horses have fully rehabilitated. They will live out their days here grazing and being honored in life as any other horse should be, disabled or not.
Both myself, Angela Morgan, and our Vice President Janet Coger work tirelessly to advocate, save and rehab all the horses we can. When we get a report we load up and go investigate. Upon arrival we always consider all possibilities of how and why the horse appears in its present situation. Could it be old age? Lack of proper food? Could it be a rescue an individual has taken on themselves to rehab? Knowledge is key to rescuing and rehabbing horses. Sometimes what people think is right, just isn’t always the case. We work with citizens on how to properly care and feed horses before we intervene with other measures. This method works and has an 80% success rate. The last thing we want to do is remove a beloved horse from their homes because of the lack of knowledge from new or inexperienced horse owners.
Another horse that we have at Circle L. Farm Horse & Rescue is Bullet. He is a 34 year old Paint gelding, a barrel horse who had his knee slightly injured during a race. Therefore his value went from high to nothing for his previous owners. We took him in without hesitation. We have had him at the rescue since 2012. He has had a very fulfilling life. Our vet examined him and assured us he was still able to be ridden lightly with weight limit restrictions. Bullet has been enjoying being ridden by young children and light adults who have visited the rescue. His calm, reliable, lovable demeanor has never failed to be loved by all who have come into contact with him.
Owning and operating this rescue has been a journey of trial and errors, but with rewarding benefits to us and the horses that we take in. Every day when we look into their eyes, they speak volumes of gratitude and love. Every horse that we bring in has had a saddening story. But, at the end of their recovery, the past is the past and what they have is a new beginning every day ahead. Watching the transformation is remarkable. We will continue on this journey as long as we have the means, the will and the passion to keep going.
Circle L Farm and Rescue is operated solely off donations. We receive no assistance otherwise. If you would like to help aid our mission in any form donations, whether monetary, supplies, feed or hay, we have Guide Star, Paypal, Mail and are locally available for drop-offs. We will be pleased to send you a tax deductible donation letter under the 501(c)3 status.
Please visit our website at https://circlehorserescue.com
Or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/rescuehorsesoklahoma
