.... is located about 10 miles east of Rapid City, SD.

May I introduce ourselves: 

Gabi & Lee

We bought this property in 2003 and built this Ranch from scratch in 2004. (No - we are NOT rich by any means, just working VERY, VERY hard, and doing almost everything ourselves....)

We don't have any children, and animals mean the world to us - so we decided to do something meaningful with this property...

LAZY HORSE RANCH is located on 80 acres with a 42' x 63' open barn, an additional run-in shed and 2 ponds (both currently dry due to a 6-year ongoing drought).

We rescue draft-horses, draft-crosses and every now and then the occasional light-horse, donkey or Mini as well.

At first there was....

... a cow-pasture with a  view.

Then came.....

PHOENIX and  MEGGIE.

It all started in March-2004 with these 2 ladies, some corral-panels and a small run-in shed.
Phoenix and Meggie - 2 pregnant PMU mares from Canada. We just wanted to take these 2 unfortunate girls in, let them have their foals in peace and find a home for each one - TOGETHER with their foals.
Well, we did - but we didn't stop at saving only 2 horses...

In May/June-2004 our house and the barn went up, and our private horse-rescue efforts took off from there !

I (Gabi) do most everything by myself, all the physical work, all paperwork, all adoptions, all research - everything. And it took our savings and some credit-cards to get the funds to save the first few horses, and all adoption fees are re-invested in saving more. No need to mention that I "lose" anywhere between $50 up to $1,000 per horse in most cases, and I can only afford to keep it going by working a full-time job, and sometimes even working 2 or 3 jobs....

Lee, my husband, is on active duty in the Military (Air Force), which keeps him pretty busy. Lee is a wonderful person and he supports me with kind words, encouragement and hands-on as much as he can. The only words of caution he tells me over and over again "As long as we can pay our bills and we have food on the table, you can save as many horses as you want to." And that's what I plan on doing !!

However, times are getting tougher and tougher, and it gets harder and harder to keep this rescue going......

December 2007:

I think the over-all public understanding of "Lazy Horse Rescue" is nowhere near the truth, so here is a little more insight: 

"Lazy Horse Rescue" is a two-person operation - mainly me (Gabi) with the occasional help of my husband if the tractor or the barn needs repair, or if the horses are out of water.......

Other than that, from finding, rescuing, caring for and adopting out the horses, it's just me, no volunteers or other help whatsoever. And I have to do all that while I'm working a full-time job, working in and around the house, caring for 4 big dogs and trying to live a life. 

Even though most people tend to think that the "main ingredient" for a horse rescue is a big barn and an even bigger pasture, well, it's not. The most important thing is UN-SHAKEABLE, UNCONDITIONAL and COMPLETE COMMITMENT.... Being willing to give up any type of luxury, including vacations, Christmas or Birthday gifts, time with friends, family and even your husband, being willing to go beyond your usual "love for animals" - getting up at night to go check on a sick horse, feed the skinny ones some warm beet-pulp in the middle of a winter night, and making sure the water is not frozen and the heat lamps work. Being on call 24/7, and every second that you are not at your "regular job" working, you have to invest into those horses and their future. It starts with finding the horses in need, arranging payment and transport to your home, then making Vet and farrier appointments, rehabilitating the sick ones, taking off from work to meet the hauler, Vet and farrier, then feeding and caring for these guys, trying to find them homes, screening all applicants, then arranging transport for them to their new homes, paying all bills, creating and maintaining the website, hauling water and hay for the horses, repairing the fence, barn, tractor, etc. - the list goes on and on. We have no time nor money for a "social life", or vacation, or a "weekend away", or children, or family, or any other things that are important or "normal" for most other people. We don't receive any grants or major donations, which makes things harder and frustrating at times - we have been in financial hardship numerous times because of this rescue.

I'm not complaining, just trying to explain. This is my passion and my choice, but luckily we don't have any children or family around, otherwise I don't know how I could do it all. And the very few people who have rescued and rehabilitated horses before, will understand that this little private rescue is a massive undertaking for a working-class, middle-aged couple - financially, physically and emotionally. We have to come up with all the $$ to pay for these horses' ransom, their transport to SD, their Vet and farrier bills, all the feed, hay, supplements, wormers, supplies, utilities, property-taxes, maintenance on barn and pasture, all office expenses, sometimes training and in some cases the transport to a foster-home. And we have to carry all those expenses until the horses are adopted and the adoption fees "reimburse" for it, or at least for a part of it. However, usually the only things figured into the adoption fees are the initial payment for the horse, the transport to SD and the Vet bill. Everything else has to come out of our pocket - from the time when the horses are rescued until they are adopted, all these expenses keep piling up on our personal credit-cards. And even though we are both working full-time, all the current expenses, and the losses from almost 4 years of horse rescue, are just becoming unbearable...

Here in our part of SD we are in a 6- or 7-year drought now, so even though we have 80 acres, it takes about 10-20 acres PER HORSE to have enough grass to support it through the year. So we have no choice but to buy a lot of hay, and that is getting more and more expensive with the ongoing drought and rising gas-prices. And it's not just the lack of grass/hay, it's also the water shortage that is making things unbearable. Our private well ran dry almost 3 years ago, so water conservation takes on a whole new meaning - water is something most people take for granted, but that is one big factor for us when we have to decide if we can rescue and support another horse here or not.  We had to buy a big/strong enough truck (all we could afford was a 1960 dump-truck) and a 1050 gallon water-tank, and since then we have to go and haul water 2-4 times a week for us and the horses. The more horses, the more times we have to go. One trip takes about 1-2 hours, and if the roads are muddy or icy, we can't go at all. Well, and to make matters worse, in September this old truck finally gave up. But we were out of water and had no choice - we needed to find a replacement truck immediately. Luckily, we did, but that put us $3,500 further "in the financial hole", so I was forced to put some of our permanent residents up for adoption, and that just broke my heart...

Adoptions, sponsorships & donations are slower than ever before, and the financial losses, plus the ever-growing day-to-day pressure and worries are just taking its toll on us..... 

We need every help we can possibly get, to keep this rescue going !

And then, on a lost note, I have to mention this: Very seldom we are lucky enough to rescue a horse that is close to "perfect" - one of the very rare times that a horse's FAIR adoption fee can actually be higher than his/her expenses. Those lucky incidents are very rare and help pay for the "losses" from so many other adoptions. But instead of trying to understand the immense financial pressure and the occasional necessity of "trying to get the highest adoption fee possible", some people then contact us with complaints, nasty e-mails, accusations of being "scammers" or horse-dealers, and sometimes even threats... Where are those people when a horse needs help ? Sitting in their comfortable couch, looking the other way, NOT stepping up to help, ignoring the brutal truth of how thousands of horses are abused, neglected and killed each and every day ?? Do they know the harsh reality that most TRUE rescuers face ??

Sincerely, Gabi - SD