HOC Rose Sanctuary Rescue

Blind Horse Haven

HOC Rose Sanctuary Rescue (HOC Rose), established in 2016, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, located in Stacy, Minnesota. HOC Rose provides a safe haven for blind horses. HOC Rose is determined to bring awareness and change the stigma associated with blind horses.

Donate Here

HOC Rose Tour and Farm Visits

June 16th- November 17th, 2024

Must have an appointment to visit.

Please go to HOC Rose Store Tab on our website

click on Farm Visit/HOC Rose Tour

We are not open to public during winter-spring season.

Did you just find out your horse is blind? Are you feeling like you do not have the right set up or have the knowledge to handle a blind horse?

Let me tell you this, your horse needs you more than ever and you are the right person because the horse already trusts you. He may not act like it right now but in time he will once he figure out how to navigate as a blind horse. You do not need the right set up. You just need to make your horse feel safe. Remove any aggressive horses. Start talking nonstop, it helps more than you know. That is the first step.

There are now more resources and blind horse mentors out there on Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok. HOC Rose collects stories from Blind Horse Owners told in their own words to help horse community to see past the blind horse stigma that exists.

Please consider giving your blind horse a chance. I did not have any knowledge when I first started learning how to take care of blind horses. We offer mentoring and provide resources to help you. We also allow visitors to come to HOC Rose for a tour.

If you are looking for in-depth information including HOC Rose Tour- Please send a email to hocrose@gmail.com.

FUNDRAISER FOR ALL SEASON ARENA

https://www.givemn.org/donate/Hocrosearena

Copy and paste this link above and it will take you to our fundraiser page

Our organization has slowly grown each year and continues to. Our main barn is now full. We no longer have room to work with our horses in the main barn. Our winter hay takes up the space during winter months.

HOC Rose needs your help. We need all year around arena with roof for multiple different purposes.

If we have an outdoor riding arena with roof, then we would be able to

1) We will be able to work with horses all year around. We would be able to be consistent with our training with all our horses and then find forever homes for those adoptable horses.

2) During winter season, the horses can get few hours break from their snowy, icy paddocks to use the arena to get some exercise and roll.

3) Attract more volunteers to volunteer at HOC Rose

4) Host some events

5) Host some clinics

To honor your donation, we will put your name or company name on the wall of the outdoor arena.

Last year, we asked the same barn builder who built our barn for a bid to build it which does not include adding the sand or dirt to level the ground. The quota was at $44K

Please do contact us via email at hocrosegmail.com

HOC Rose Sanctuary Rescue (HOC Rose), established in 2016, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, located in Stacy, Minnesota. HOC Rose provides a safe haven for blind horses. HOC Rose is determined to bring awareness and change the stigma associated with blind horses.

HOC Rose Sanctuary Rescue is a very small sanctuary rescue on the Belevender’s 10 acres hobby farm. HOC Rose is one of a kind. Deaf owned blind horse rescue in USA run by diversity group (Board members and volunteers who are Deaf and Hearing people working together).

We can house up to 10 horses at a time. Blind horses do not get adopted as easily as sighted horses. We also have few lifer horses residing here. We are currently at capacity and have started a waiting list. In order to get on the waiting list, a surrender form must be filled out. We hope someday we will have foster hosts to join our team. We currently are the only ones taking care of all of the blind horses.

HOC Rose relies heavily on donations to run this rescue, however Kari and Jeff Belevender (founder/owner) often step in and personally support these horses. Thus, we have to limit the horses in this program based on finances available to be able to provide excellent care each horse needs. We run this rescue on the side while working full time jobs. Each horse care costs an average $1,500 - $2,000 a year so that is $12,000 - $16,000 annually.

Blind horses can still thrive as well as seeing horses if given right support. If we all share our knowledge with the world, the ripple effect can go far. Help us change the stigma that is associated with blind horses.

Blind Horse Owner's Story

Check out our “Sunday Blind Horse Owner’s Story” which is updated weekly. We collect stories from owners who have a blind horse(s) and share the story of their journey of owning and caring for their blind horse(s). They want to share their story to help others and give HOPE to others who seek help. We post those stories every Sunday on our Facebook page.

Sharing your stories is our most powerful tool in sharing awareness of blind horses. If you have a blind horse, Please consider sharing your story. The more stories we can share then more people will realize it is a very common and not a rare occurence. Each one of us started knowing nothing about blind horses and we learned as we went along. If we can, so can anyone. Horses become blind in different ways: genetic predisposition, injury, eye diseases, or from natural aging process.

Please email your Blind Horse Owner’s Story (photo/video/story) to hocrose@gmail.com