Blue Bell

Blue Bell and Angel live together here at Masleña Rescue and they share the same story.

Angel is a medicine hat mare. (A medicine hat horse is a pinto horse. Pintos are horses

characterized by alternations of white and dark patches on the coat.) Blue Bell is a blue

roan gelding. Their story starts in North Dakota, where they entered the world as Premarin

foals. The term comes from the hormone replacement therapy drugs Premarin and Prempro.

A mare is taken and impregnated to increase estrogen levels in the urine. The mares are put

on a catheter and restricted to a stall during their pregnancy. When the babies are born they

are generally sold to slaughter right away and the mare is impregnated once again. Angel and

Blue Bell were destined for slaughter. They were rescued and lived with a neighbor down the

road for about 10 to 11 years. One day Jeff received a call from this neighbor asking

if we could take her horses. She was moving and was unable to find a place that would allow

her to take the horses with her. We told her we would be happy to take them and on July 4,

2018, the neighbor walked the horses to Masleña Rescue. The moment their hooves stepped

across our gate they entered their forever home. Today they thrive in our care and in the care

of the herd. They have both given us their trust and we’ve grown closer, even to the point of

being able to saddle up both horses.

Blue Bell used to be the big shot on the ranch until his Friend River came along. We’ve

noticed River and Blue Bell both have a lot in common because of their abusive pasts. Once

River arrived Blue Bell stepped down from his hierarchy in the herd and gave it over to

River. Both are great friends and can always be found in each others company. River is more

independent and Blue Bell is a bit more dependent on River, which shows the beautiful

dynamics horses can have.