Winona Herd

In late November 2018, The Pegasus Project was contacted by a former Paint Horse breeder in Winona, Texas seeking assistance with her horses. She had more than 60 horses from her breeding operation and, due to unfortunate circumstances, was no longer able to feed or provide proper care for them. They were not receiving adequate feed or veterinary, dental or farrier care. Without our assistance, the horses would have starved. On December 2nd, we began providing hay for the herd, and we began gathering information regarding each horse so that we could find safe placement for them. Due to severe injuries and terminal illnesses, we made the heartbreaking decision to euthanize five horses. We than began our mission to save the remaining animals and find loving homes for more than 40 horses and three donkeys.

All of the horses are REGISTERED. The vast majority being registered with the American Paint Horse Association (APHA) and a few are registered with the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). All are from excellent bloodlines. When Pegasus became involved, all of the horses were beautiful but were beginning to deteriorate. The owner told us that most had been handled since birth and were easy to manage.

Due to the inadvertent escape of three different stallions during 2018, several mares were bred. Foals were expected to start arriving as early as March 2019. We were determined to get these mares into safe homes before that happened. Otherwise, this situation would have gone from bad to catastrophic. We successfully placed all pregnant mares.

Below, you'll find a chart assigning each horse a number (Winona 1 - 59) and listing basic information for each. Below the chart, you'll find a link to each horse we are offering for adoption. When you click a horse's link, you are taken to a photo, the horse's registration papers, and a brief description provided by the owner. If the horse does not have an individual link, that horse is not available for adoption.

Of the 59 equine listed on the chart below, the owner made arrangements for 16 of them. Those horses are marked on the chart as CLAIMED. Pegasus worked desperately to place the other 42. Those marked ADOPTED are no longer available. If the horse you're interested in is listed as PEGASUS ACCEPTED or PEGASUS TRAINING, feel free to submit your application.

Pegasus took possession of Winona 45, 46, 47, 48, and 51, all of whom were 12 year old stallions. We castrated them and started them in our training program. They are now available for adoption.

All available horses are current on vaccines, Coggins, de-wormer and hoof trims. The adopter will be responsible for obtaining all future care needed by the animal. We can provide the registration papers for each horse adopted, and you can transfer ownership into your name at your cost. If you adopt a pregnant mare, the FORMER OWNER represents that the foals may be registered with APHA. It was her responsibility to file a thorough Stallion Breeding Report for each potential sire, but since she could not afford to do, Pegasus has filed on her behalf. The former owner has informed us that she will do what is necessary to allow you to register your foal. The Pegasus Project submitted samples for DNA analysis on the three stallions identified by the former owner as the potential sires as required by APHA. That information is now on file with APHA. It will be the responsibility of the adopter to register the foal and pay any fees associated with any further testing and registration.

UPDATE

Just five horses remain in need of adoption. They are Winona numbers 14, 30, 47, 48 and 51. They are currently under our care at the Pegasus Ranch and are ready for adoption! Go to our Adoption Process link for information on adoption.

If you cannot adopt, but wish to donate to The Pegasus Project to help cover our vast expenses, we welcome any assistance you can offer. You can donate online by clicking here: DONATE. Or you can mail a check to The Pegasus Project, PO Box 26, Ben Wheeler, TX 75754. Be sure and designate that your gift is for the Winona Herd. This rescue mission has put a strain on Pegasus' budget and we need the help of our loyal supporters to rescue this beautiful, innocent, deserving group of horses. Thank you in advance for your generosity!