!!UPDATE!!

MAHR is now in the process of obtaining our 501c3 status!

We are a private non-profit facility that was established in 2004, run solely by volunteers. Your donations are not tax deductable. We are in the Round Knob/Greystone area of southeast Greene County, Tennessee. All of our members are volunteers.

Mustang Alley Horse Rescue is dedicated to the horses of Tennessee and the surrounding states; to provide a safe and secure home for unwanted, abused, abandoned or neglected horses, mules, donkeys and ponies. We place them in qualified homes that have been screened and inspected. Adoption rules and applications are available on our site.

Our main goal is to rescue horses and place them in pemanent loving, screened and inspected homes for the duration of their lives.

MAHR accepts horses from owners who wish to relinquish ownership for various reasons, including financial hardship, moving, divorce and other reasons. Many of these surrendered horses are healthy and are merely in need of a new adoptive family. MAHR obtains legal ownership of surrendered horses accepted into our guardianship with the goal of placing them into suitable adoptive homes.

MAHR also obtains or buys horses from the sale barns to prevent them from being bought by the “killer buyers” where their future is unknown. Even though the slaughter houses have been closed down in the states, they are still very open in Mexico and Canada and they ARE being transported by the killer buyers from sale barns.

MAHR gives guided trail rides around their 50 acre property in the mountains of the Cherokee National Forest. The cost is $20 per hour. We have 1/2 day rides that we take our guests up into the Cherokee National Forest’s horse trails for $75 per person. All day rides are $125 per person. A week advance notice is needed for 1/2 day and all day rides. All proceeds go to Mustang Alley Horse Rescue to continue with the rescue & care of our rescued horses.

MAHR holds Horse Care classes twice a month for people who would like to learn more about the care of our equine friends. All potential adopters that are not experienced in horse management are required to take these classes. We also offer training programs of Natural Horsemanship. If you are interested in attending one of these horse care classes, or training programs, please contact MAHR. We believe in the barefoot trim, and all our stable horses are ridden w/out shoes.

MAHR boards horses for $225 per month. They are pasture kept–hay and shelter are included. We do not stall horses. Access to our 50 acres of trails & our round pen is open to our boarders.  Again, all proceeds go to vet bills, feed bills, wormers and all the supplies needed to maintain the rescue.

Henneke Body Condition Scoring Chart

The Henneke System is an objective evaluation of a horse’s body condition. Developed in 1983 by Don R. Henneke, Ph.D. it is based on both visual appraisal and palpable fat cover of the six major points of the horse that are most responsive to changes in body fat.

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The chart covers six major parts of the horse; neck; withers, (where the neck ends and the back begins) the shoulder area; ribs, loins, and the tailhead area. The chart rates the horses on a scale of 1 to 9. A score of 1 is considered poor or emaciated with no body fat. A nine is extremely fat or obese. A horse that is rated a 1 on the Henneke Chart is often described as a walking skeleton and is in real danger of dying. Courts in the United States have upheld the seizure of such horses by law enforcement citing exigent circumstances, meaning there was a very strong possibility the horse would die unless immediate action was taken. Horse veterinarians consider a body score of between 4 and 7 as acceptable. A 5 is considered ideal.

Observers are trained to visually inspect the horse and also to palpate each part of the horse with their hands to feel for body fat. The observer then assigns each area of the body the numerical score that corresponds with the horse’s condition. When a horse has a long haircoat it is imperative that the person scoring the horse use their hands to feel the horse. The horse’s long haircoat will hide the protrusion of bones, all except in the most extreme cases.

The scores from each area are then totaled and divided by 6. The resulting number is the horse’s rating on the Henneke Body Scoring Condition Chart.

Description of the Condition Score System

Henneke Body Condition Scoring Chart

A Scientific Method For Judging A Horse’s Body Condition

CONDITION	NECK	WITHERS	LOIN	TAILHEAD	RIBS	SHOULDER
1 POOR	Bone structure easily noticeable	Bone structure easily noticeable	Spinous processes project prominently	Tailhead, (pinbones) & hook bones projecting prominently	Ribs projecting prominently	Bone structure easily noticeable
Animal extremely emaciated; no fatty tissue can be felt
2 VERY THIN	Faintly discernible	Faintly discernible	Slight fat covering overbase of spinous processes. Tran- verse processes of lumbar vertebrae feel rounded. Spinous processes are prominent.	Tailhead prominent	Ribs prominent	Faintly discernible
Animal Emaciated
3 THIN	Neck accentuated	Withers accentuated	Fat buildup halfway on spinous processes, but easily discernible. Transverse processes cannot be felt.	Tailhead prominent, but individual vertebrae cannot be visually identified. Hook bones appear rounded, but are still easily discernible. Pin bones not distinguishable.	Slight fat cover over ribs. Ribs easily discernible.	Shoulder accentuated
4 MODERATELY THIN	Neck not obviously thin	Withers not obviously thin	Negative creases along back	Prominence depends on conformation, fat can be felt around it. Hook bones not discernible.	Slight fat cover over ribs. Ribs easily discernible.	Shoulder accentuated
5 MODERATE	Neck blends smoothly into body	Withers rounded over spinous processes	Back level	Fat around tailhead beginning to feel spongy	Ribs cannot be visually distinguished, but can be easily felt.	Shoulder blends smoothly into body
6 MODERATELY FLESHY	Fat beginning to be deposited	Fat beginning to be deposited	May have slight positive crease down back	Fat around tailhead feels soft	Fat over ribs feels spongy	Fat beginning to be deposited
7 FLESHY	Fat deposited along neck	Fat deposited along withers	May have positive crease down back	Fat around tailhead is soft.	Individual ribs can be felt, but noticeable filling between ribs with fat	Fat deposited behind shoulder
8 FAT	Noticeable thickening of neck	Area along withers filed with fat	Positive crease down back	Tailhead fat very soft	Difficult to feel ribs	Area behind shoulder filled in flush with body
Fat deposited along inner buttocks.
9 EXTREMELY FAT	Bulging fat	Bulging fat	Obvious positive crease down back	Bulging fat around tailhead	Patchy fat appearing over ribs	Bulging fat
Extremely Fat - Fat along inner buttocks may rub together. Flank filled in flush.