Magical Menagerie Equine Sanctuary at Thestral Farms
Thestral Farms has made it a mission to open its doors to 10 sport horses of any kind, seeking full retirement. To live out their glory days in an amazing herd environment, catered to their individual personalities and needs. It is our deepest passion to see that the once glorious sport horses that took care of us in their prime, receive the care and dedication they so selflessly gave. They deserve love, peace and an appropriate environment as they live out their end of days or retirement life.
We are not a retirement boarding facility. Kentucky boasts many fantastic facilities that cater to retired horses and even more specifically, to the thoroughbred. Instead, we fill a gap where owners that can’t afford this ever increasing form of board, can turn over their babies to let them retire and live their best life in a highly desirable environment and spectacular care.
Our pastures are large with rolling hills, streams, lakes and natural large shade trees; the very definition of the Kentucky Bluegrass dream! We are surrounded on all sides by 300 acres of rotating crops, so privacy and safety are never an issue. The farm has gates for added security.
We are a not for profit charity (an unicorporated nonprofit). Donations go DIRECTLY to the care of all our elderly/retired guests that are NOT the owners personal horses. Those that were relinquished to the farm for retirement purposes only. Please consider donating to the farm where we will allocate funds to pay feed bills, veterinary care, farrier fees, supplements and any medication necessary for the wellbeing and support of these retirees. Even better, consider becoming a monthly sponsor of a horse listed below!
We prefer PayPal because we can use the funds on their debit cards they provide for what the sanctuary needs at that exact time. However, if you would like to donate via another channel, please see those options below.
Looking For Another Way to Donate?
Valley Vet Supply Gift List
Want to send the sanctuary a gift? We have set up a gift list for all the items they use everyday and desperately need! We get a lot from Valley Vet Supply as they have very competitive prices and get to us quickly. We also purchase our vaccines from them. Follow this link to view the Gift List…
Performance Equine Nutrition
We use Performance Equine Nutritions exclusive formula of Aloe/MSM as an anti-inflammatory aid in ALL the sanctuary horses. This is an expensive undertaking! Unfortunately, there is no “Gift List” we can set up, so you would need to either text or call in your order and have the girls send it to us (they know us well, Jodi Register at Thestral farms, c/o Magical Menagerie).
Call Carla at: (707) 766-8624
Or text the team at: (707) 766-4446
Burkmann Nutrition Feeds
This is our local feed store in Danville, KY. They provide all the grain and usually hay for the sanctuary. They do not have an ability to create a “Gift List,” so you would have to call in. Larry is our manager that also delivers to the farm, you can place an order with him. For the sanctuary, we get mostly Elite Senior pellets (4 bags, every other week) and Showtime 12 (4 bags, every other week). With hay, we get 30 bales of orchard/alfalfa (every other week. Click on the link below for their phone number.
Veterinary Care
All the sanctuary horses will need routine vet care during their stay with us! It’s not IF, it’s WHEN! We also need annual to every other year floats for their teeth. We use Cleaveland, Godfrey & Nash for all our maintenance and local needs (specifically, Dr Smith). Anything major, we haul to Rood & Riddle Equine in Lexington.
Use the link below to be directed to the veterinary website. There you can call them and donate to our account on file. Jodi Register with Thestral Farms c/o Magical Menagerie
I Want to Relinquish My Sport Horse to the Sancturay
There are a few things that you need to know about relinquishing your horse To Magical Menagerie Sanctuary.
One, we are not a retirement boarding facility. We do not board horses. We take horses that had a career or were suppose to have a career and never managed to, due to a career ending injury or any other trying circumstance. Most come to us because retirement board has gotten so high and/or retirement in their state isn’t feasible for them. Kentucky is prime for equine retirement! However, Kentucky also boasts some of the nicest retirement facilities in the world! If you can afford it and want all the boarding amenities, send me an email and I can recommend a few. Again, we do not board horses.
Two, you must be able to get your horse to us or pay for the shipping. With how busy we are, we are unable to take a day away from the care of the sanctuary to come get your horse, unless you are local. Then maybe, we can arrange something.
Three, we will require that you offer the sanctuary some type of a donation. We can work with you on that once we are able to take your horse.
Last, we do have a waiting list that is usually full. We only take 10 sanctuary horses at any given time, as I do also have my own horses. So please visit the Contact Us page and send us an email or send Jodi a text message to open up the communication regarding your needs and what can be done.
WAITING LIST (Updated August 21, 2023)
1. Paint mare & QH Gelding (retirement)
Volunteer
Our volunteer orientation is mandatory to get on the schedule.
We hold volunteer orientations at the farm the first Tuesday of every month, during the summer (April through October), at 6PM.
During the winter months (November thru March) we will hold the orientation the first Saturday of each month, at noon (12PM).
*You will be required to RSVP in order to come to the orientation. If no one is interested that month, it would be a waste of our time to sit around. So we need to know that you are coming! You can contact us via our Facebook Page or send us an email. You will need to provide us with your contact information to sign up.
At Thestral Farms safety is ALWAYS our priority! Safety is at the core of everything we do. You will learn the layout of the farm and how to properly handle the horses during orientation. You will learn about the various tasks we need the most help with and we can discuss the times that will work for us both to schedule you out here. We do also require that you sign a release of liability to participate in any thing horse or animal related.
… The Help…
We typically need help with the following:
Brushing and all aspects of grooming the sanctuary horses.
In the summer months, bathing and daily fly spray applications.
Mucking sanctuary horse stalls, cleaning non automatic waters and reapplying bedding.
Hand walks and grazing the property with the sanctuary horses as needed.
Farm Maintenance
Mowing pastures during the summer months.
Feeding and feed prep
General housekeeping in the barns
… Requirements to Volunteer…
We require that you be over 12 years old to volunteer; this is for safety reasons and liability. 15 and older are preferred, as these age groups require less oversight and can self manage their time and the various duties. You must be comfortable dropping your child off or volunteering with them.
A working mode of transportation is required. We do not have the time to pick people up.
The ability to follow instruction and guidance. The ability to stay on task with chores.
We do reserve the right to ask you to leave if we feel you can’t follow directions, are not practicing safety around the animals or are not a good fit. The wellbeing and peace of the animals is our TOP priority, 100% of the time.