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|Twelve Oaks & Muleshoe Ranch
Twelve Oaks Horse Farm in Madison, MS and Muleshoe Ranch in Coila, MS are privately owned by Stephanie and Bill Billingsley. Their goal is to save as many horses as possible from abuse and neglect, and to find safe and loving homes for all the rescued equines in their care. While some only need a little love and a willing adoptive family, many of the horses they rescue need months of rehabilitation and training before they're ready to go to their forever homes. Since 2008, an average of 30 horses a year have been adopted from Twelve Oaks or Muleshoe Ranch. The Billingsleys work closely with other rescue organizations by taking in their overflow of horses and providing training for those that would otherwise be hard to place.
Twelve Oaks Farm
Twelve Oaks Horse Farm is one mile outside the city limits of Madison. The Farm has 40 acres that is cross fenced with two outer feed sheds and one 15 stall barn. There are usually about 10 to 15 rescue horses at Twelve Oaks, although there have been as many as 34. Just e-mail us at firstname.lastname@example.com or call 601-201-8522 to make an appointment to visit the horses.
|Allana, a long time volunteer and worker at Twelve Oaks, with one of her favorites. Lucky is the first horse Allana trained from the ground up, starting with months of round pen work and later putting her under saddle and getting her ready for the trails. In college now, Allana still tries to come out and help whenever possible.
Emily started out as a volunteer and now works part time tending to the horses needs and riding as many as she can. She is pictured riding Bentley, who showed obvious signs of abuse upon his arrival at Twelve Oaks. Abused horses are harder to train but provide a great deal of satisfaction when their trust can be won.
Click here to learn more about nurse mare foals at Tweve Oaks Farm and Last Chance Corral.
|Muleshoe Ranch
|Muleshoe Ranch is situated on 300 acres of rolling hills of southwest Carroll County. The land has been in Stephanie's family for over 100 years. Her father, the late Senator Bunky Huggins, ran cattle on the farm for a number of years before his death in 2006. Through Stephanie's volunteer work with Mississippihorses.org, she realized there is a need for a place where horses who are neglected and abused can find a safe place to go instead of being sold at auction where they are at risk of being bought for slaughter. She and Bill decided to put the former cattle farm to use and are providing the land and facilities for a sanctuary. The sanctuary is for horses who would otherwise have no where else to go due to age or disability. Limited funding restricts the number of horses who can remain in sanctuary and there is always a waiting list. We hope that one day the sanctuary will have room and funding to support all the horses in need of a place to live out their lives in peace.
|Bill Billingsley and Sheila Horton discuss feeding arrangements for 20 malnourished horses rescued in Jones County. For two years, Muleshoe Ranch was the home of Have A Heart Horse Rescue, founded by Sheila Horton. During that time, additional facilities were built including an intensive care barn that features a sling to assist horses too weak or emaciated to stand. Unforeseen circumstances required the Horton's to move out of state to care for family but we hope that one day they will be back to continue rescuing and caring for abused horses.
|Joe and Christie Galey oversee Muleshoe Ranch and will harvest over 4,000 bales of hay this season. Christie is a trainer in Carroll County who finds time in her busy training schedule to work with hard to place rescue horses. Their two daughters and their friends provide plenty of riding time for the horses, getting them ready for the trails and their new owners. Christie also offers riding lessons for potential adopters with their horse of interest to make sure it is the right fit. Horses can be seen by appointment by emailing us at email@example.com or calling 601-201-8522.
|One of several hay fields that provides hay for Muleshoe Ranch, Twelve Oaks Farm and other rescue organizations.