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*** PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR CURRENT ESTIMATED
WAIT TIME IS OVER FOUR YEARS ***
~ Appropriate alternative turn out for horses with metabolic conditions.
~ Mitchell Farm is a closed herd reducing the potential for illness.
~ Retirees do not leave the premises for any reason and horses entering are quarantined.
~ Feed program tailored to the nutritional and special needs of each individual horse.
~ High quality feed. Free choice salt blocks in stalls and pastures.
~ Minimum 3 feedings per day; 4 if necessary.
~ Forage replacement products and/or soaked feed for horses with poor dentition.
~ Regular weight and body condition score monitoring.
~ Medications required for comfort and health maintenance.
~ Excellent horse health record keeping.
~ Blanketing or fly masks and fly spray as conditions demand. Fly Predators in use for 16 years.
~ Regular grooming and bathing in warmer months.
~ All farrier needs. We prefer them to be barefoot if possible but will shoe if necessary for comfort.
All Inclusive Care Provided By Mitchell Farm Equine Retirement For Our Herd
~ Routine Veterinary care (vaccinations, deworming, dental).
~ Fecal analysis and targeted de-worming.
~ Sheath cleaning.
~ Simple emergency care and diagnostics (lacerations, fever, mild colic, hoof abscess, radiographs, blood testing).
~ Life threatening injuries and illnesses are dealt with on the farm with our Veterinarian.
~ Off-site surgery and other cost prohibitive procedures will not be an option.
~ Solid long term professional relationships with our Veterinarian, Farrier, feed and hay suppliers.
~ Euthanasia will be an option only when, in conjunction with a licensed Veterinarian and within the AAEP guidelines for euthanasia, it has been deemed that the horse no longer has Quality of Life.
~ Burial on these premises at the time of death or euthanasia. Cremation with ashes back can be arranged for a fee.
~ Monthly email update & photo.
~ Donation of your horse to MFER means entrusting the care of your horse to our caring professionals for the balance of his or her comfortable life.
~ Stallions must be gelded at least 30 days prior to admission. Mitchell Farm staff reserves the right to evaluate temperament prior to gelding.
~ Optional trial agreement available upon request.
We believe that horses have a right to a quality life of comfort and care even if they are no longer useful to man. We strive to provide an exceptional equine retirement community where horses are free to remember - or in some cases learn - what it means to be a horse in a more natural, pastoral setting. “Care” is our operative word: caring, well-trained people providing outstanding care that is personalized to each horse’s individual needs and personality. We combine the benefits of a pastoral environment where horses are free to bond with each other and experience carefully tended pastures with the advantages of daily human care, feeding, grooming, and love. We call it “Love in Action.”
OUR CURRENT WAIT LIST IS MORE THAN FOUR YEARS
RETIREMENT PROFILE CRITERIA
~ Retired horses preferred to be at least 20 years old, pasture sound and in reasonably good health (Some exceptions made for teenage horses)
~ Must have a negative coggins within one year and be current with core vaccines
~ Horses 15 or older must have ACTH testing within six months.
~ Horses from out of state must be accompanied by a state health certificate
Mitchell Farm assumes the financial responsibility for ALL care, feeding, veterinary and farrier expenses within the above parameters.
Donation of your horse to Mitchell Farm does not mean goodbye!
You also become a part of our community and are welcome to visit or groom any time.
OUR TEAM
~ Dee Doolittle and Husband Hank Horn live on premises.
~ Dee has a lifetime of experience in equine care and management; 19 years exclusively with senior horse care issues and end of life decisions.
~ Hank keeps the farm running smoothly making necessary repairs, upgrades and maintaining equipment.
~ Qualified staff of 4
~ Over 30 dedicated, loving volunteers.
DEDICATION TO YOUR HORSE
~ Minimum twice daily monitoring plus night check and video monitoring in stalls.
~ Every horse has a stall at night in winter and during the day in hot, buggy weather.
~ Heated water buckets in winter and fans in summer.
~ 8-12 hours of turnout in small compatible social groups (2-6 horses) in large grassy pastures (weather permitting).
~ Regular pasture mowing, dragging and picking. Superior manure management program.
~ Thoughtful transitioning of horses who have little experience with turn out.
~ Careful selection of pasture mates and slow introduction to any group.