Lawrence Farm Equine Shelter. Giving horses a second chance.

Due to a recent incident involving an alleged drunk driver on my property, I was forced to find a new home for three of my beloved goats.

Kramer, Billy, and Smeck were the stars of several of my most popular blogs. Their silly antics drove me crazy, made me laugh, frustrated me to no end, and basically just touched my heart.

Finding them a great home seemed like a near impossible task. How could I know they were going to a place where they could stay together, and get the care they needed, especially since they were so naughty?

My prayers were answered when I was contacted by a friend, Tracy Lawrence of Lawrence Farm Equine Shelter, in Athens, Maine. Mr. Lawrence is a long distance trucker with a big heart, and a love for horses.

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Kramer, Billy, and Smeck started weed removal the second they jumped out of the trailer!

We have been facebook friends for a number of years, and he knew how much my goats meant to me.  He told me he would do his best to give them an awesome home, provided they were willing to work for their keep, by eating the weeds in the pastures that horses wont eat.

And the best thing was that for the most part, my little goat buddies would have free run of the place, since L.F.E.S sits at the very end of a long dirt road without a neighbor in sight!

 

Lawrence Farm sits on 25 acres of farm land, and is a haven for horses that need a second chance.

Sometimes they are sick, some times the owners have fallen on hard times, and in one case the animal was so horribly neglected that it was seized by the state, and placed in the care of L.F.E.S.

The horse was cared for at the L.F.E.S. annex in St. Albans, by Amy and John Cota.  Tracy told me how hard they had worked to save that horse, and when he told me that in the end, the horse had to be put down, the sparkle in his eyes, and the smile on his face faded in an instant. His whole body sagged from the emotion the memories had triggered. He quickly changed the subject, and went on to talk of some of the horses he currently has.

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Tracy Morgan of “Lawrence Farm Equine Shelter” with 2 year old Lilly.

He went up to the fence outside the barn where a horse named “Lily” came to greet him. The horse leaned in over the fence for a big hug, and the smile came back, and the gleam in the eye was brighter than before!

Lawrence Farm started out in 1968 with 50 head of cattle, three horses, and a pony. In 1979 the animals were sold but the land was kept. Tracy started rescuing horses when he lived in an apartment on the farm in 2010. He had moved back to the family farm to take care of his ailing mother.

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“Jada”

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“Moes” aged 24, and looking for a great home!

Lawrence Farm Equine Shelter was licensed by the state Maine, in 2013 and that license is also recognized in the state of New Hampshire.

The most amazing thing about Tracy Lawrence, and his willingness to shelter, and re-home horses is that for the most part, he covers all of the expenses out of his own pocket!

He is working on getting one more certification to become an official non-profit organization with the state of Maine. Once he has that, the state will assist with the expenses of horses that they send his way.

Until then, Tracy will continue to take in neglected, abused, and surrendered horses, he will love and care for them until he finds an approved home for them, and he will continue to do it all at his own expense.

Naturally, he does ask for a fee for the horses he finds homes for, but the amount he gets wont even come close to the money he has invested. I can tell you from my own experience with 5 little goats over the winter, that hay is expensive! I spent $300 last winter on hay. I didn’t even want to think how much a horse eats, but I asked Tracy, and he told me he used close to 90 tons!  (That would have cost me $4,500!)

If you know somebody that has an abused, neglected, or unwanted horse, or if you would like to apply to give a horse a new home, you can contact Tracy at lawrencefarmequineshelter@gmail.com

If you would like to help take care of the horses taken in by Lawrence Farm Equine Shelter, you can send donations to Foxcroft Veterinary Services in the name of “Tracy Lawrence”, or “Lawrence Farm Equine Shelter”

Tracy would also like people to know about the “Hang A Halter” movement, that is working to stop the slaughter of horses in Canada.  Check it out!

So my little goat buddies are off on a new adventure, with a wonderful new owner.  I hope Tracy has read most of my blogs about Billy, Kramer, and Smeck so he knows just what he is in for!  If you would like to read of my adventures in goating, check out a few of my past blogs, and you can always find more in my archive!

How to build a goat proof fence

Goats are naughty!

Goats, and the never ending quest for chicken feed

The Great Goatdini

Tragedy in the goat pen?

The goats are up to something

Goats launch chemical attack on Stetson man

A feast of apples a day keeps the goats at bay!

I will never forget the great goat air rescue of 2015…

Now that spring has sprung…So have my goats…

 

 

 

Doug Alley

About Doug Alley

I grew up in Bath, Maine in an upper lower class family with 3 step sisters, a step brother, and a little sister. After high school I spent 3 years serving in the USAF at Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage AK. I've competed in, and won, demolition derbies. I've competed in, and never won, stock car races. I am the 47-year-old father of an 11-year-old boy who is pretty sure he is smarter than I ever was. We live on a little less than an acre of land in a 1973 mobile home in Stetson with my wife Jen, some cats, a few chickens, and rabbits, and a couple of goats. I hunt, fish, camp out, dabble in photography, gardening, and I cook in variable degrees of near success.