Today we have the honor of introducing April Hollingsworth and Bryan Krieger of Fabled Farm Rescue & Sanctuary in Christiana, TN! We think you will enjoy our conversation that is shared below.
Thank you for taking the time to share your stories and insights! Tell us why you had the initial idea for a farm rescue and what steps you took to execute that idea.
As soon as people learned we were moving from East Nashville to a rundown farm in Christiana, TN (just south of Murfreesboro), we started hearing about horses and farm animals in need. The first priority was making the house livable. The 1970’s brick home was a complete gut and rebuild that didn’t even have running water for the first three months. That summer was full of demolition, long days, sweat, and building delays, but eventually, the house was ready for us, our rescue dogs, and kitty.
Unfortunately, the need for local rescue options in the community around us only grew during this time. We had to help! Although I (April) had over 15 years of experience working in animal rescue, Bryan had a background in business (which has proven to be enormously helpful). However, after lots of careful planning, we determined that creating a rescue and sanctuary for equines and farm animals would become our joint mission.
The farm only had rundown outbuildings, sheds, run-ins, and lots of broken fencing. Bringing any animals onto the property meant that new paddocks and barns were needed urgently. We started all essential building projects immediately and the animals began arriving around the same time. Our first intakes were a senior Thoroughbred named Charlie and two mini horses, Pumpkin and Cupid.
Thanks to our friends in the rescue world and excellent veterinarians, we were able to quickly kick off an organized rescue program focusing on a gold-standard adoption process, animal health, positive training, and enrichment. Also over the next year, we worked hard to expand by building a barn for the Small Animal Program, creating a training area, and fencing new pasture space.
April & Bryan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Fabled Farm Rescue & Sanctuary is a 100% donor-funded and volunteer-run middle Tennessee based 501(c)3. Committed to accepting and then placing unwanted equines and farm animals in qualified, loving forever homes, Fabled Farm continues care for the unadoptable animals with medical or behavioral issues through our sanctuary program.
Fabled Farm has rescued over 150 farm, equine, and feline animals to date. All rescues are given thorough medical care from veterinary specialists and farriers along with proper feeding and socialization. Once the animals are healthy, they can be adopted through a vetted program seeking forever families. Those sick or injured animals that are not adoptable are given sanctuary at the farm for their lifetimes.
Partnering with many other rescues, Fabled Farm helps with overflow and critical cases needing specialized attention.
Coming 2023 – Community Education and Outreach Programs, Expanded Volunteer Program, and the All Creatures Community Feed Program.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
“Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink” Samuel Taylor Coleridge expressed one of our biggest challenges since starting the rescue! Due to our remote location in Rutherford County, we only have a spring box leading to a cistern (underground water storage) and one well. During the extremely hot summer and fall this past year, we did not receive one drop of rain at the farm, even though there were often flash floods in surrounding areas. For almost three months, we did not have water for our home, the barn, or for the 60 animals in the rescue and sanctuary programs. Trucking in 500 gallons of water multiple times a week and filling 100 gallon troughs by hand was a back-breaking process. Continuing donations will be directed to an additional well to prevent such a life-threatening crisis in the future.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within the rescue community?
Fabled Farm’s reputation is built on our thorough adoption process that emphasizes matchmaking for each animal and adoptive family. The adoption process starts with an application through our website. We follow up with a phone call to discuss the needs of the adopters and the animal in which they are interested. Next we have a FaceTime/Skype call for out of area adopters before scheduling a meeting at the farm. Our goal is to find forever homes, and this means spending a lot of time getting to know each animal and getting to know each prospective adoptive family. Our close relationship with our farrier and veterinarians help us assess and create an individual adoption plan for each of the animals in the program. Each animal is provided all needed medical care including spay/neuter/gelding (species dependent), vaccinations, deworming, microchipping, farrier work (species dependent), and training to be ready for adoption. Adopters are sent home with a complete medical history packet to provide to their veterinarian and an animal information sheet with details specific to the animal they are adopting.
Importantly Fabled Farm is completely transparent in providing current financial and fundraising numbers, intake and adoption information, and program implementation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fabledfarmrescue.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fabledfarm/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabledfarm
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fabled-farm-rescue-sanctuary/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@fabledfarm
Image Credits
Image credit: Fabled Farm Rescue