Blaze is a young male goat who came to Blue Star Equiculture from the same home as Pumpkin, Scout, Katie and Cocoa.  He and his buddy, Bullet, were escape artists, and their desire to be the center of attention meant they were not a good fit for the farm.  They have since been adopted by a family in Maine, and have lots of new goat friends to play with!  More about Bullet and Blaze...

Congratulations, Tom and Sally!

Blue is a QH/Percheron cross whose owner died, so he came to Blue Star Equiculture.  Blue has found a fantastic forever home with the Ricca family, whose old gelding had died.  Blue is an excellent trail horse - and is teaching his "dad" how to drive.  More about Blue...

Congratulations, Al, on adopting Blue in April 2009!

Bullet is a young male goat who came to Blue Star Equiculture from the same home as Pumpkin, Scout, Katie and Cocoa.  He and his buddy, Blaze, were escape artists, and their desire to be the center of attention meant they were not a good fit for the farm.  They have since been adopted by a family in Maine, and have lots of new goat friends to play with!  More about Bullet and Blaze...

Congratulations, Tom and Sally!

Carter is one of our semi-retired working horses on the farm.  He comes from 76 Carriage Company in Philadelphia, PA. He arrived July 21, 2010, and is best friends with Charlie-Daniel. More about Carter...

Casino is a Percheron in his late teens who was run through the Camelot Auction in New Jersey on March 3, 2010, and landed in the kill pen.  He was rescued with the assistance of Blue Star Equiculture, and now resides in his new home with Kelly and Donnie Arnold.  The Arnolds operate a carriage company in Florida that specializes in weddings.  Casino "hit the jackpot" when he was adopted by Kelly.  More about Casino...

Congratulations and thank you, Kelly and Donnie!

Charlie used to be a carriage horse in Lake Tahoe, NV and Scottsdale, AZ, where he was unfortunately not very well taken care of.  Fortunately, he was bought by a carriage company in New York City, who immediately recognized his poor condition and helped animal control out west document his condition.  Because of Charlie's years of neglect and a club foot, he would not be up to being a full-time working horse, so he came to Blue Star to be retired.  Charlie bonded with Mac at the farm, and together they were adopted by Blue Star treasurer, Shelley, and live in Monson.  More about Charlie...

Cocoa and her sister Katie are registered miniature horses in their early 20s.  They came from the same home as the goats, Pumpkin, Scout and Spirit.  Cocoa was a broodmare for many years, and her owner didn't want her anymore.  Cocoa and Katie have been adopted by the McPhie family in Maine.  More about Cocoa...

Congratulations, Tom and Sally!

Crip, registered as Foolish Move, is the son of South African Triple Crown winner, Horse Chestnut. That didn't stop him from almost falling through the cracks in the racing world. He was initially rescued by King's Bridge Equine Rescue, as part of Suffolk Downs' zero-tolerance policy towards slaughter.  King's Bridge was forced to close, so he came to Blue Star Equiculture, where he bonded with volunteer Haley, and another thoroughbred, Westbrook.  More about Crip...

Foolish Move was adopted in September 2009 by Haley Zimmerman. Congratulations Haley!

Daisy is Kelly’s sister.  She came to Blue Star Equiculture when her owner could no longer afford to feed them (they were down to their last few bales of hay, and because of his financial situation, her owner did not know how he was going to get any more food for his horses).  More about Daisy...

Dakota is Petey's best friend. Dakota's distinguishing feature is his one blue eye and one hazel eye. Dakota also likes trail riding and is especially fond of rolling in the mud. He prefers to be near Pete, but he's learning to be brave on his own. More about Dakota...

Dawson, a 16h Clydesdale/Thoroughbred cross, arrived at Blue Star in January of 2011. Before that, she was part of the lesson program at UMass, where she was an eventing horse. More about Dawson

Dexter was run through the Camelot Auction in early September.  He was rescued from the kill pen by Blue StarEquiculture through the generous sponsorship of his bail and quarantine from Anita McGill of Chateau Stables in New York City.  Anita hoped that he would make a good carriage horse, but Dexter doesn't know how to drive!  Instead, he is an excellent trail horse, who has found a forever home with the Cadden family as a riding horse, renamed "Duke," and companion to their Thoroughbred mare.  More about Dexter...

Congratulations, Sarah and Andrew, on your new horse in your new home!

Duke is a  roan Belgian gelding.  He belonged to some competitive horse pullers who found out that he really wasn't cut out for the task.  He would become nervous and upset in a pulling situation.  It was felt that he would be better off doing something less stressful, so he was sold to an Amish farmer as a work horse.Read more about duke

George is a Thoroughbred or Appendix Quarter Horse who was rescued by some well-intentioned folks who wanted to start a riding program with rescued horses.  They got in over their heads with George, who needed weight and had a nasty shoulder abscess, so he came to Blue Star.  Volunteer Lisa Rousseau took it upon herself to tend George's wound every day, and George now lives at home with her!  More about George...

George went home with Lisa to Ware on Labor Day weekend, 2010.  Congratulations, Lisa!

Ginger and her sister Lacey came to Blue Star when their owner could no longer afford to board them.  They are a stout team of Belgian mares in their early 20s.  Ginger is the younger sister and does what Lacey says.  They were originally bred in Canada and have done logging in the past.  Their drafting skills are being tuned up, to join the working teams on the farm.  More about Ginger...

Goliath, a handsome 18h black Shire gelding, came to Blue Star in the spring of 2011. His former owner in Chicopee, MA felt bad that Goliath was standing around doing nothing and wanted him to have a home that was a better fit, even though she loved him. He arrived healthy and is quite stunning out in the herd, where he is good friends, ironically, with Millie, Kai and Cupcake. Read More about Goliath...

Jesse is a retired carriage horse from Connecticut. Although he is 31 and has to eat a mash because he has few teeth left, Jesse never misses a meal. Jesse has enjoyed taking "Bud's" carriage out for weddings and marching in parades, but now he is retired.  He continues to look after Peggy, and is quite the grand old man. More about Jesse...

Katie and her sister Cocoa are registered miniature horses in their early 20s.  They came from the same home as the goats, Pumpkin, Scout and Spirit.  Katie was a broodmare for many years, and her owner didn't want her anymore.  Cocoa and Katie have been adopted by the McPhie family in Maine. More about Katie...

Congratulations, Tom and Sally!

Lacey is Ginger's big sister.  She is in her early 20s.  They came to Blue Star when their long time owner could not longer afford to board them, due to the economy.  Lacey and Ginger pulled logs in their younger days, and are learning to work again, after many years of doing nothing.  Lacey is the lead sister, and prefers that she and Ginger stay to themselves. More about Lacey...

Lady, a grey Arabian mare, arrived at Blue Star July 10 after her owner called BSE asking for help. He had bought Lady for his girlfriend, but didn’t know anything about horses. The place he was boarding her had no turnout and the horses were kept inside all day in unsafe and dirty conditions, and all three horses were severely malnourished. Read More About Lady...

Bud is a beautiful little quarter horse gelding who was dropped off at Blue Star by a tearful owner who could no longer afford him and wanted him to have a good home. Happily, Bud has found that good home! He's such a good boy we hardly got to know him before he was on his way! More about Little Bud...

Bud Lite was adopted on October 15, 2009 by Robin. Congratulations!

Officer Macintosh started off as a farm horse, but became a star member of the UMass-Amherst mounted police division, where she served for many years.  When she was retired, her coworkers found her what they believed to be a forever home - imagine their dismay when they later found Mac grossly underweight and listed for free on Craigslist!  Mac came to Blue Star, bonded with Charlie, and was adopted by Shelley.  More about Mac...

Congratulations, Shelley, on having your beautiful girl at home!

Pepper’s adventures have taken him from Massachusetts to Ohio and back again!  Pepper belonged to Peter Hanifin (yes, the same Hanifin family featured in our slideshow on our homepage), who trains and competes with pulling horses.  Pepper was in the process of being trained for his sport, and so he was lent out to a “friend” who promptly disappeared with poor Pepper!  More about Pepper...

Pepper has been adopted by the Ouellette family.  Congratulations, Diane!

Pete is quarter horse who loves attention. He likes going for trail rides, especially bareback. He doesn't quite get what the fuss is about the big horses who pull things instead of carrying people on their backs.  More about Pete...

Clyde is an off-the-track Thoroughbred from Maryland. He did win three races at the age of 3, 5 and 6 respectively before he was taken in by King's Bridge Equine Rescue at the end of his racing career at Suffolk Downs. Clyde's friendly personality and keen willingness to take on a new role as a riding, rather than racing horse, endeared him immediately to his new mom, Mary.  More about Red Lava...

Red Lava was adopted in July 2009 by Mary Fusco. Thank you!

Sadie is Kelly and Daisy’s sister.  She came to Blue Star Equiculture when her owner could no longer afford to feed them (they were down to their last few bales of hay, and because of his financial situation, her owner did not know how he was going to get any more food for his horses).  Sadie was the largely untrained middle sister, who was adopted to the Ouellette family, who, with Blue Star's assistance, have trained her to work in harness.  More about Sadie...

Congratulations, Keith!  Sadie and Sampson can be seen working in Ludlow.

Sampson was rescued privately from auction by someone who wanted him to be a riding horse.  He tried really hard at that job, but the boarding situation at the riding barn didn't suit him, and it was feared he had EPSM.  TheOuellettes adopted Sampson to be Sadie's teammate, and the combination of work, diet and constant access to turnout has helped Sampson enormously.  More about Sampson...

Congratulations, Keith!  Sadie and Sampson can be seen working in Ludlow.

Snowman is a grey standardbred who was rescued by his former owner after he injured himself as a 2-year-old in training to be a pacing racehorse.  His former owner can no longer afford to take care of him, and so he has come to Blue Star where he is part of our riding program.  More about Snowman...

Spirit, a Haflinger, was pulled from auction by Stephanie, Pumpkin's former owner, in the spring of 2010.  Stephanie brought Spirit home to the Cape, and Spirit promptly started walking through all of Stephanie's fences.  Blue Star Equiculture kept Spirit and did some training with her while Stephanie renovated her barn and fences, and we sent Spirit home with Scout, so they could keep each other company.  Spirit has stayed put ever since.  More about Spirit...

Congratulations, Stephanie, on saving a beautiful mare from slaughter!

Tristan is a large appendix quarter horse whose previous owner was unable to pay his board or find him a home. He came to us underweight, and would not have fared well at the auction. He has some back issues that limit his enjoyment of being ridden, but he is currently in training to work in harness. More about Tristan...

Westie is another OTTB from King's Bridge Equine Rescue. He's best buddies with Crip (Foolish Move), and is being adopted by one of Crip's "mom"'s best friends. Crip and Westbrook live together at Brianna's home, and have started showing together.  More about Westbrook...

Westbrook was adopted in November, 2009. Congratulations, Brianna!