Hope's Legacy Equine Rescue, Inc.

Hope's Legacy Equine Rescue, located in central Virginia, is an all-breed rescue working to save equines from a variety of situations including abuse, abandonment, neglect, slaughter, or lack of care.  We work with Animal Control agencies in equine seizures, and with private citizens who, due to age, illness, financial or personal crises, can no longer care for their animal.

Hope's Legacy strives to give equines, like Hollywood, pictured here, a second chance at life and being loved. Hollywood arrived at Hope's Legacy in July 2024. A good Samaritan surrendered Hollywood, a sweet 27-year-old Arabian gelding in desperate need of food, water, and loving attention. A generous foster took him in and together they began his journey to recovery. We did not know then that Hollywood's photos and story had reached someone that knew him. Twenty-six years after selling him as a yearling, Hollywood's breeder recognized him through photos. She reached out to us immediately to bring him back home to spend the rest of his days being spoiled on her farm. 

While Hollywood may never be able to tell us what happened to him during his 26 years away, he has shown us how thankful he is to be back home. His sweet and goofy personality has returned. He is a constant companion and has even become the farm's assistant mechanic!

We can't do this work without our volunteers and donors. Thank you for considering supporting Hope's Legacy Equine Rescue!

More About Us

You are a critical part of Hope's Legacy growth this year as we continue to experience increased demand for our rescue services.

In 2024, we successfully completed construction on our Intake Barn which has expanded our response capacity during law enforcement seizures while also addressing the rise that we have seen in individual owner surrenders due to financial crisis, health changes, or other hardships. This new barn provides spaces for horses requiring round-the-clock monitored care including a foaling stall. The need for our services has grown exponentially with 76 rescues in 2020 to 127 in 2023. With this growth, 2024 was a year of transition as we focused on expanding our facilities while taking in 72 at-risk equines. We successfully found home for the elderly, companion-only horses that entered our rescue through law enforcement cases in 2023. We were bursting at the seams! 2025 has proven to be a busy year already, and the new barn is now an essential part of our daily operations.

Your past support has helped make our ongoing growth possible to meet the need of at-risk equines.

Testimonials

From Anne, 2024: “You all definitely were a blessing. Given only a month to place [my horses] was a nightmare. It truly means a lot. Thank you.”

From Katie, 2021: "One day working with the volunteers at Hope's Legacy is enough to connect you to their community and their cause. They are a passionate, driven group, and I am in awe of everything they have and continue to accomplish. Taking in surrendered and seized equines is a critically needed and highly specialized service, and oftentimes Hope's Legacy is the only safety net available. But it is the community of empathy and education that really sets them apart. You come away not only knowing you've helped with something really important, but also inspired to stay involved."