Volunteer Equine Advocates

09/06/2026

Happy International Day of Charity, family. 💛

Today the world sets aside a moment for the people who give. So we want to say it plainly. Thank you.

Charity is not a big word around here. It is a bag of feed dropped off at the barn. It is a volunteer showing up to muck stalls. It is five dollars sent from three counties away because someone read a story and could not look away.

Every horse who has come through our gates got here on the backs of ordinary people choosing to help. Over 1,500 equines since 2003. Every single one of them fed, doctored, and loved because of you.

If you have ever donated, volunteered, shared a post, or just cheered us on, this day is yours too. You are the charity. You are the reason a scared, starving horse gets a second chance.

Pharrell and all the other horses on the farm say thank you. 💛

Want to mark the day with us? A gift of any size goes straight to hay, hoof care, and vet bills for the horses in our barn right now. Every dollar becomes a meal.

veatn.org 💛

09/05/2026

UPDATE: Ophelia has a new name. 👑

Meet Dolly, named in honor of our Tennessee queen herself. 💛

From #22 on a whiteboard to Dolly at her forever home. A name fit for a legend, for a girl who’s got a whole new life ahead of her.

Run wild, Dolly. 🐴💚

Five weeks ago she was #22.
Today she’s somebody’s number one girl. 💛
Ophelia came to us from the latest Walking Horse case. Skin and bones and a number on a whiteboard.
Now look. Green pastures. New friends. A dad who’s already obsessed.
This is the whole reason, family. 💚
Happy adoption day, Ophelia.
🐎 in the comments to send her off.

09/04/2026

It’s called anhidrosis. A horse that can’t sweat can’t cool itself down the normal way. And that gets dangerous fast. Sweating does most of a horse’s cooling. Take it away and all that body heat has nowhere to go.

How do you spot it? On a hot day, most horses get damp just standing around. A non-sweater stays bone dry, breathes hard, and just can’t seem to cool off. Some lose hair. Some get dry, flaky patches. Some just look plain miserable in the heat.

So we keep them cool. Shade. Fans. Cold hosing. Fresh water and electrolytes. We watch them close when the temperature climbs.

And yes. We give them a beer. 🍺

One dark beer a day. Guinness is the barn favorite. It sounds like a joke, but plenty of horse folks swear the B vitamins and yeast help wake those sweat glands back up. One beer won’t get a 1,000 pound horse tipsy. It just might help them sweat again.

Anhidrosis is serious, family. If your horse stops sweating in this heat, call your vet. But don’t be surprised if part of the plan comes in a bottle. 😉

Cheers to staying cool. 🐴💛

08/31/2026

Honey!
Her floppy ear gets us every time 🥰

The floppy ear 🥹

Honey is a gorgeous Spotted Saddle mare looking for a companion home through Volunteer Equine Advocates. As you can see, she's a professional model and all around good girl 🖤

08/30/2026

Meet the horses: Remi! Remi is a 25 year old thoroughbred mare, companion only. She has a severe kissing spine and is in physical therapy to improve movement. Remi is very sweet and easy to handle! Great with the vet and farrier.

08/27/2026

We’ve already thanked these folks in person. But we wanted to say it where everybody can hear it too, and we’ve spent about a week trying to figure out how.
Because everybody already knows these horses came from inside the walking horse world. Not some backyard nobody’s ever heard of. From inside it.
So we understand why people would assume the industry wanted this whole thing to go away quietly.
That’s not what happened.
For two weeks, while we were still waiting on a court date and honestly not sure we’d even get to keep these horses, people kept pulling up our driveway with trucks.
TWHBEA. SSHBEA. WHOA. The Walking Horse Trainers’ Association. The Celebration. And ProTrition, over at Tennessee Farmers Co-op.
Hay. Shavings. Feed. Money for the vet. Buckets, enough that every horse out there has one of their own now, which sounds like a small thing until you’ve watched a horse who’s never had one.
Nobody made us ask twice.
There’s no good way to explain what that does for a rescue except to say we’ve stopped counting bales at night, and when our vet tells us what she’d like to do, we just say go ahead. That’s the difference between getting by and actually getting these horses well.
And all of it came before the ruling. Before anybody knew how this would turn out, or where these horses would end up. Knowing exactly where they came from.
Look, we’re not going to sit here and tell you this industry doesn’t have a problem. It does. These horses are standing in our field as proof of it.
But we’ve learned something these last couple of weeks. The people who want it fixed are already in it. They’re the ones who hauled hay up our driveway in August.

08/26/2026

It is official. They are ours.

This morning we stood in a courtroom, and Volunteer Equine Advocates was granted custody of every Walking Horse/ Spotted Saddle we took in back in July. Every single one of them.
They came to us out of conditions we are still not over. Since that day they have had vet care, steady feed, a slow and careful climb back toward a healthy weight, and something most of them had never been given before: people who show up every time and are gentle about it.
They still have a long road ahead. But it is a road with a soft place at the end of it, and that is brand new for them.
Over the next few weeks we are going to introduce you to every one of them, one at a time. Follow along and tell us in the comments who steals your heart.
And when they are healthy enough, these horses will start looking for their people. Your best friend may be standing in our field right now, still learning that hands can be kind.
Here is what we need most today: hands of our own. We are actively looking for volunteers for feeding shifts. If you can give us a few hours a week, comment FEED or send us a message and we will get you on the schedule. You do not need horse experience. We will teach you everything.
Volunteer Equine Advocates is a registered 501(c)(3). If you cannot come out but you want to help, the donate link is pinned in the comments, and every dollar of it turns into hay, grain, and vet bills.
https://www.veatn.org/how-to-help-or-donate/

08/23/2026

It takes a lot of hay to feed a lot of horses! We currently have 52 horses and we were able to get all of this hay (174 rolls) delivered and stacked in 2 days thanks to our amazing volunteers & donors!
Tarps are going on now to protect it!
If you’d like to help us pay off this $10,000 hay bill or expenses towards the tens of thousands we have already spent in vet bills for our recent intakes, please visit our website or our Venmo is VolunteerEquineAdvocates

Thank you!! 🐴

08/21/2026

Everyone needs a sweet & sassy Barbie pony in their life 😍🦄
Josie is a 24 year old 11.1hh pony looking for her forever home *on a dry lot*
A huge thank you to Mistic Photography for our incredible new photos 📸

08/14/2026

‼️VOLUNTEERS NEEDED‼️
If you are looking to feel fulfilled (and sweaty) look no further!
We are actively looking for volunteers!
We have two shifts per day and are looking for volunteers who can commit to one shift per week for at least 6 months.
✨No experience necessary ✨

Please fill out our volunteer application on our website if you’re interested.

Since 2003, Volunteer Equine Advocates has been dedicated to providing a safe haven and support for Tennessee’s equines in need. As an IRS 501c3 organization, we work tirelessly to assist law enforcement in cases of animal cruelty and provide professional care for abused, neglected and abandoned e...