Dear Friends of Horses of Tir Na Nog,

On May 1, 2026 San Diego Humane Society served a search warrant on Villa Chardonnay, an animal sanctuary in Julian. This became the largest animal neglect case in the history of San Diego Humane Society, involving over 700 animals, including 175 horses. On June 24, six of the horses rescued by San Diego Humane Society were transferred to our care. Two additional horses arrived on June 28.

The group included a bonded trio of blind geldings who needed to stay together. A mare with significant ringbone and a mare and gelding with suspected laminitis were also included in the first transfer. A bonded pair of blind Belgians arrived separately. All of these horses require specialized care. Now that they have cleared quarantine, we are thrilled to announce their arrival.

Unfortunately, the happiness of this announcement is accompanied by tremendous heartache. During quarantine, we were unable to successfully manage the buckskin gelding’s pain. X-rays, accompanied by the collaborative evaluation of our veterinarian, Dr. Rivett, and two talented farriers, confirmed that the only option for Buck was to end his pain with humane euthanasia.

In spite of this painful loss, we are honored to welcome these eight brave souls to Horses of Tir Na Nog. All of these deserve proper care, safety, and compassion after such a long journey of neglect. We want to thank the Humane Society and their incredible team for caring for these horses and transferring them to our sanctuary.

It is thanks to you that we will be able to provide lifelong care for these new arrivals. You are the heroes of this story and we are so fortunate to welcome these to Horses of Tir Na Nog.

While not related to the arrival of these horses, we have been offered an amazing $25,000 match to fund the veterinary care of all of our residents. This means that every dollar that is donated to the veterinary care of our herd will be doubled. Thank you so much to everyone who has already donated towards this match. A gift toward veterinary care is a beautiful way to welcome these horses. Most of them have not had any veterinary care in several years according to San Diego Humane Society.

In the spirit of compassionate care, we invite you to make a gift toward this incredible Veterinary Match. This is a wonderful opportunity to amplify your support for these horses. Your gift ensures that they receive the lifelong care that they deserve.

In gratitude,

Amy Pat Rigney

Administrator

We made the news! We are very happy to share a story that Joe Little of NBC7 did on the new group of horses.