Jovie is a completely blind 16hh red roan Appaloosa horse that was originally rescued in June of 2018. When she was dumped at a killpen along with her entire family her "owner" said the words "just direct ship her". Direct ship means sent over the border to slaughter. Stevie was of no "use" anymore - she couldn't be ridden because of her arthritis and was a difficult horse to care for, so just like thousands of horses every year that are deemed "useless" by humans and discarded, Stevie found herself on a feedlot in North Carolina bound for slaughter. The women at the lot who try to network the horses to find them homes instead of shipping them off felt bad for her, so they posted her in a Facebook group and decided to fundraise for her full bail price and find her somewhere safe to land. That place ended up being Twist of Fate with Ashley DiFelice. The women had named her Stevie Wonder, so Ashley decided to call her Stevie. Ashley pulled Stevie from the lot along and another blind horse named Big Momma. Stevie went to a quarantine facility and it was noticed that one of her eyes didn't look good and may have to be removed, pending the vet's evaluation.
A quote from Ashley's very first post about Stevie on June 1, 2018: "This sweetie will be coming here after quarantine to spend the rest of her days, never to worry again". Unfortunately this statement was a complete lie.
When rescuers arrived to the horrific Twist of Fate scene in July of 2022 no one could believe that Stevie was still alive. This poor girl had a body score of ZERO. This means that she was days, if not hours away from death. Stevie was also infested with parasites, had maggots in her eyes and was covered in flies, lice and rain rot (in wet conditions a bacteria known as Dermatophilus congolensis causes skin infection that can cause an inflammatory infection resulting in lesions on a horse's skin). Rain rot is highly contagious to other horses and can also be passed to humans. Treatment involves medicated baths and ointments, something that Ashley couldn't be bothered to do, and so Stevie was left to suffer. Stevie was also in a pasture with two other partially blind horses that were unkind to her - they kicked her out of the shelter and away from what little food there was, but you can't blame them at all since the resources were so scarce to begin with. This essentially left Stevie all alone, suffering, in pain, blind, confused, and scared. Ashley is currently being charged with 17 counts of animal cruelty, and one of those charges is for Stevie.
On top of everything else, Stevie also has a condition called Uveitis - this was left unchecked for so long that it completely stole her eyesight and she is therefore completely blind. Uveitis occurs when the middle layer of the eyeball gets inflamed, or red and swollen. This layer, called the uvea, has many blood vessels that nourish the eye and Uveitis can damage vital eye tissue, leading to permanent vision loss. Appaloosas are prone to Uveitis and Stevie had been suffering from this for some time.
A quote from Lesley, who first spotted Stevie and was the one to pluck the maggots out of her eyes that hot summer day at Twist of Fate: "She was too nervous to approach all of the commotion and new voices she was hearing. When I think about it I'm sure her environment had been very quiet for a long time. She knew that other animals existed on the farm she lived at. I'm sure she heard the tractor go by from time to time with the stench of death wafting her way, but her farm was a tomb, quiet and destitute".
Stevie lost her best friend Big Momma in that weed-filled field, and her body decomposed next to Stevie for some time.
Stevie went to stay with a woman named Jocelyn who committed to rehabbing her until a permanent home could be found. It was very uncertain whether or not Stevie would make it considering her body condition, but with Jocelyn's help she pulled through.
Lesley from Bluemont Equine Sanctuary (@bluemontequinesanctuary) knew that Stevie needed a soft landing and having just lost their beloved horse Nelson she decided that they had room for Stevie and that she would come home with her. Bluemont felt that the blind horse named Stevie Wonder needed a fresh start so this long-suffering mare was renamed Jovie, which means "happy" or "joyful". Despite everything that she had been through and being let down by humans time and time again plus not having had any human contact while at TOF, Stevie was accepting of the new people in her life who helped her heal her broken heart and body.
It was determined that Jovie would need surgery to remove both of her eyes since they were causing her so much pain. She only had fragments of her eyes left and the tissue was very swollen and red, and her sockets were open to the elements and were drying out. After 5 months of rehab she was finally strong enough to have her surgery, and two days after it was performed she arrived at her new home. Lesley and Jocelyn got her all set up in her stall and Lesley started to earn her trust (with the help of some peppermints!)
I mentioned this in my article about Tommy*, another blind horse from the former Twist of Fate "sanctuary", and I will share it again here:
I'm often reminded of how the hundred plus animals at Twist of Fate were aware of each other - they may not have always been able to see each other from their different fields, sheds, barns, and stalls, but they could no doubt hear each other calling out for food, water and help, and they could no doubt smell the stench of putrid algae-filled drinking water, festering garbage and rotting food, still sealed in the original bags instead of being distributed to the dying animals. They could also all smell decaying bodies. I am reminded of this even more when talking about the many blind animals that were at TOF, like Stevie. Her confusion was probably at a higher level than most of the other animals who had their sight, and this only added to her ever present fear. On top of this, she was in so much pain from her eyes and her skin infection.
Jovie is doing so well in her new home at Bluemont and is no longer suffering, in pain, or alone. She has both animal and human companions, including the four children of Lesley and her husband, Carl. She has an established routine and knows exactly how many steps it takes to enter and exit the barn, and she gets her favorite alfalfa hay every night. If you'd like to support Jovie and the other animals at Bluemont (they also took in mini horse Midge* from the TOF case!) please give them a follow @bluemontequinesanctuary, and you can also make a donation through their website, PayPal (bluemontsanctuary@gmail.com), or Venmo (@bluemontsanctuary501c3). They also have an Amazon Wishlist and cute merch like shirts, journals, stickers, hats, totes and more that you can purchase here. To make a monthly donation you can join their Patreon or you can set up a custom sponsorship of any animal.
They're also hosting a Masquerade Ball on Friday October 27th at the Molly Pitcher Inn in Red Bank, New Jersey to benefit the sanctuary and you can purchase tickets here. Get all dressed up, enjoy some food and cocktails and support animals and a great rescue!
We're so grateful that Bluemont took in Jovie and that she is FINALLY safe and loved.
Thank you for being here!
*You can read Tommy's story here, and Midge's story here.
Ashley's next court date is Thursday, November 2nd. According to the last court date on October 12th, additional charges are supposed to be filed against her at this time.
Please continue to share the petition across all channels. (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Snapchat, WhatsApp, NextDoor, YouTube, WeChat, Telegram, Pinterest, Reddit, Tumblr, etc, and please send it directly to people via email and/or text). If you have already shared it, please share it again.
We are trying to get as many signatures and comments on the petition as possible before then, especially since the prosecution and the judge are aware of it. Thank you!!