Neigh Savers Foundation

Something tells us that somebody has just gotten her very first big crush and it looks like the feeling is mutual. Finally Got a Red (River) at Horse and Rider Connection.

Welcome new horse Kylemore! 7 yo Kentucky bred gelding straight off the track. We'll tell his story at another point. For now, he's enjoying much needed R&R.

In 2019 Susan Corp adopted Nagy's Piggy Bank, one of our racetrack warriors with 47 starts. He quickly became her best friend and she renamed him "Hero." Recently he was featured in a posh horse magazine named "EqLuxe." The latest issue is mostly about the OTTB aftercare programs and the Jockey Club incentive program. It's always nice to see our placements doing so well and thriving in their new careers, whatever they may be.

Finally Got a Red arrived sight unseen from SoCal to NorCal and everyone at Horse and Rider Connection immediately fell in love. What a kind & gentle boy he is! In nearly 15 years we've never had a return on our sight unseen placements!!!

We just retired Dreamcatcher, a 12 year old gelding with 92 starts and 340K in earnings. His last race was on 3/23/2021 at Turf Paradise. We want to thank the connections for donating him to our program. Dreamcatcher arrived on Saturday from Phoenix, Arizona to let down in Northern California at his first stop for a long & restful vacation. We want to thank our generous long time donors & welcome a few new faces that made this happen.... His racing name somehow seems appropriate. When we dream of retirement for our equine athletes we think of green pastures and nothing but the good dreams. The very definition of a dreamcatcher is that it acts as a filter for dreams. Good dreams are sent to the sleeper and bad dreams are chased off and not allowed through the filter. While we wish this as reality for so many things, especially our animal friends who can only rely on the kindness of humans, we know it is often not so. However, here is a dream that we have been chasing for over a year and the good dream has now materialized.

This older racetrack warrior knew nothing except racing & doing his job. In fact, he was still racing at 12 years when we retired him recently. On the Key (Legend) was always a consummate professional, easy under saddle, but very tough on the ground. All that changed for him after he landed at Horse and Rider Connection run by Kim Bredehoft. Now he has an adoring fan club of little girls and is regularly ridden by a big girl. Legend has really transitioned well into his non racing life & is appreciating this new phase as well as being appreciated.

More recent NS grad, A Flicker of Light (Flicka), enjoying Spring with her best buddy & constant companion, Lily in Oregon. Owner Diane reports: "We here at La Boca Vista are experiencing another beautiful day. It is not real warm but blue sky and sunshine. I took a few pictures of Lily and Flicka this morning. When Mitchell came home, they both ran to the gate to greet him. Ha!"

Looks like NS graduate Blaze, unraced TB, just joined the 4' club. Notice all the burned areas & trees. Blaze barely made it out when the area was ravaged by fires. Congrats to the connections, Tessa & Mom Nancy. Blaze is located in Washington.

It's spring and NS graduate Indy is enjoying his retirement in northern California with Sandy & family.

Coming to Neigh Savers...Finally Got a Red! 2017 unraced gelding by Clubhouse Ride (Candy Ride) out of Benecia (More Than Ready). 16 hands, sound.

The donkeys at All Seated in a Barn are certainly taking advantage of the new shelters we donated towards so they can keep warm and dry during the rain, especially the precious new baby only a couple of weeks old!

During our recent visit to our friends at All Seated in a Barn we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to name one of the new arrivals from auction. Here is our Valentine! It seemed the perfect name due to the heart shape on her hip and Valentine's Day coming up! She is no longer just a number! She will also get a new halter with her name on it. To find out about sponsoring an animal go to www.allseatedinabarn.com Happy Valentine's Day to all!!

Another enjoyable visit to All Seated in a Barn, this time to pitch in and work!! We also had some quality hands-on time with some of the residents! Such sweet animals who have been given a second chance to be safe and loved. After all they have been through they are still so trusting and just need to be shown some love and kindness. The donkeys are absolutely adorable and are enjoying their new paddock and shelters to which we contributed to help build. We encourage you to visit their website www.allseatedinabarn.com to learn more about their amazing work in helping these animals.

Stopped by yesterday to see our friends at Alma Equine in Los Gatos and visit with the ponies! Gaby, Runner and Carabella, all ex-racehorses, certainly enjoyed their Christmas treats sent over by Karin Wagner, as did the newest addition to the family, Jess the mustang! All of these horses are used in a program run by Jenny Whitman to help teens learn how to communicate with horses and acquire leadership skills that they can use in everyday life. We are privileged to have a long-standing relationship with this organization.

Merry Christmas to all from the Neigh Savers team. May we usher in 2021 in a spirit of unity and hope for better times head. We thank our donors for their support & faith in us over the last 13 years. With very warm wishes to you & yours.

Welcome to the program On the Key! Key is a 10 year old and won this year at Golden Gate Fields. He’s raced 74 times, with 18 firsts, 10 seconds & 14 thirds. He’s earned $215,835 over his career and is having some well deserved R&R until we post him for adoption next year. He is a barn favorite, extremely personable and so well behaved that he didn't need to be ponied on track. On the Key is another venerable race track warrior we have taken off track at 10 years old or ...older. He follows Batti Man - 59 Starts, Pointsettia Park - 47 starts, Thames Valley - 70 starts, Tupelo Cush - 86 starts, So Elite - 58 starts, Nagy’s Piggy Bank - 47 starts, Gabe’s Pride - 77 starts, Luckarack - 75 starts and Toccet's Charm - 113 starts. These ten courageous and hardworking horses, have an incredible 706 starts between them! We are now on the lookout for our 11th horse and hope to retire a worthy candidate in 2021. We are actively collecting funds for just this purpose. http://neighsavers.org/get-involved/donate-2/

Help Us Save another War Horse this Giving Tuesday! This Giving Tuesday we want to help give the mighty War Horses, the magnificent animals who have given their all, the retirement they so richly deserve. Read our latest newsletter to read about the War Horses we helped in 2020 (we helped 4!), find out about our latest intake with over $200,000 in on track earnings and learn how to make a donation to help support our War Horse program! https://mailchi.mp//save-the-date-2019-giving-tuesday-help