Rocky's Story
For the first 6 years of his life, Rocky lived as a wild donkey stallion, on 200 acres of pasture land. His only job was to guard the sheep who lived there. He did not feel the hands of humankind. Not for vet care, not for hoof care and not for dental care. After 6 years of this life, the owner of the sheep and the land rounded up his livestock, including Rocky, and loaded them into a stock trailer. They were taken to a auction. Far from the freedom he knew of open spaces, trees and grass, Rocky found himself in a loud, cold, scary place, behind bars and surrounded by the sights and sounds of the other terrified animals, all awaiting their destiny. Some would be purchased as pets and go on to live with their new families but most would be sold for meat. A 6 year old, wild, un-cared-for donkey stallion was certain to be in the latter catagory. As a few meat packers bid on his flesh as he stood terrified in the lot, a woman from Brighter Days Horse Rescue spotted him. She outbid the meat packers and brought Rocky home to her rescue center in Surrey BC. Rocky had found a temporary home with the other rescue cases. It wasn't long before he fell into a sink hole at Brighter Days. He spent the night in the cold, dark, wet pit in the arms of his rescuer. They managed to free him from his premature grave the following day, but he was not free from trouble yet. Throughout the night spent in the pit, thanks to the cold, damp conditions and the shock he endured, Rocky contracted pnumonia. It would be months before he would be healthy again. In November of 2007, I pulled my trailer into Brighter Days Rescue's lot. I got out to look around and it wasn't long before I had the eerie sensation that I was being watched.... I turned around to find Rocky's big soft eyes burning two holes into the back of my head. Still untrained and wary of humans, he allowed me to stroke his big, beautiful, soft forehead and lead him into my trailer. We brought him and one other horse, an 8 year old Arabian mare named Sierra, home that day. Both rescues were made possible by Linda-Ann Bowling. I don't know how I ever went a day without a hug from my donkey before he crept into my life. Rocky now lives as a gelding on 2 acres of grass with my stallion, Lyndales Starfire, and has since learned to lead, tie and lift his feet, making life a lot less stressful for himself and has left his hoof print on our hearts forever. Thank you Linda-Ann!
RESCUE
Silver Star Stables is dedicated to helping our equine friends in any way possible! Our lesson program is designed to prepare people - safely, accurately and in a fun way - for all aspects of horse ownership in order to prevent the abuse and neglect of horses due to the un-educated owner. We have done a fair amount of taking in horses from rescues and individuals who could no longer care for them, and helping to place them with appropriate homes as well as becoming the permanent home for more than one rescue case! It is important for all horse owners to educate themselves as much as possible. We are dedicating this page of our website to links to any horse rescue related site anywhere! If you have or know of a rescue, please e-mail me the link and I will add it to this list! Thank you!!Horses all over the world are abused every day. Please help to prevent this! Many of these rescue centres are in need of donations of money or supplies. If you want to help, please visit one or more of these sites for information on how to help. Silver Star Stables has not researched in depth any of the following sites so if you are going to donate time or money, or adopt a horse from one of the following sites, please make sure you do your own research!Below are just a few pictures of how many horses in this world suffer from abuse. Abuse does not just mean physically hurting an animal but can be caused by neglect or lack of knowledge when it comes to something as simple as parasite control or equine dentistry. In some cases, a horse or other animal can be 'over loved' and become obese or hurt by overdosing it on vitamins or other medications. 
Rocky before
Rocky today!
CANADA
USA
Our Rescues
Over the past 5 years or so, we have taken in quite a few rescues. It was not something we intended to do or set out to become, but as the years went on and we saw what we could do to help, we've accepted our place in the industry as one of many organizations trying to help. We are not set up to take donations of money, however if you'd like to donate supplies or time, please feel free to contact us for more information on how you can do that. The horses that we've taken in have been either from rescue centers or individuals who could no longer care for their horses for one reason or another. Some are available for adoption, others are not. Please visit our Sales page for a full list of our rescues and adoptable horses Thank you for your interest.