The Free Press, Mankato, MN - A home for the 'misfit' horses

Sun, Nov 22 2009

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Jody and Bruce Thisted, owners of the nonprofit horse sanctuary Misfit Acres, share some animal crackers with one of their charges, April, who has been with them for more than two years.
/ Sonja Reeves

Dandy, a blind, 30-year-old horse, has been at Misfit Acres for nearly seven years. Weighing only six hundred pounds and severely malnourished upon her arrival, Dandy now weighs over one thousand pounds, and is in very good health.
Sonja Reeves

A favorite to those that stop at Misfit Acres is Cookie, a 13-year-old pony nicknamed Teeny Tiny. Cookie suffers from a dehabilitating foot condition due to not having her hooves trimmed for nearly five years. On average the hooves should be tended to every four to six weeks. Extra hay on the floor of Cookie’s stable helps to ease some of the discomfort.
Sonja Reeves

A home for the 'misfit' horses

Couple provides sanctuary for unwanted horses

By Amanda Dyslin
The Free Press

Among the horses’ ailments are arthritis and moon blindness, a disease that may cause partial or total blindness. A couple of the animals are simply old. One has a rare hoof disorder that requires special attention.

Neither Bruce nor Jody has veterinary training. They learn as they go along, Jody said, and give the animals the best care they can.

But sometimes, there isn’t anything the Thisteds can do. Four horses have died since Misfit Acres began. Except for one, they were right by the animals’ sides.

“Horses that arrive at Misfit Acres will live out their remaining years here,” the couple wrote on the Web site. “We believe they enjoy being here as much as we enjoy having them. They seem to know that they are the ‘stars’ here and most of the cars that drive in are visitors for them.”

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