You might be wondering why I’ve lumped so many horses together for this particular post when most other animals from the Twist of Fate case get their own update. I grouped these particular horses together because they make up the adopted and adoptable survivors, the ones that went to or will go to private homes. I’ll be telling their individual stories to the best of my abilities though, and with all of that being said this update is going to be a long one, so settle in!
First off, a quick note: the two photos above are of the SAME horse! More on her a bit later.
There were dozens of rescues and sanctuaries that showed up to pull animals from the former TOF sanctuary. Some did this as quickly as possible, with one taking in a total of TEN horses to rehab and rehome, because it was crucial to act quickly for several reasons. One, all of these animals desperately needed help, whether that was for starvation & dehydration, medical issues, shearing, dental care, farrier care, or all of the above. Two, it was very necessary to get every single animal away from their abuser Ashley DiFelice as soon as possible because of the considerable damage that she had already done to the ones that managed to survive AND to the ones that she killed. It was also especially important to get the animals out of there because one night she illegally took 17 animals across state lines to her dad’s house in PA*. IF those animals are still alive, then she is still holding them hostage. The rescues and sanctuaries that showed up to save the animals from her didn’t want to risk her stealing any more.
Before I go on, I want to take this opportunity to again state that I could have and be sharing incorrect or partially incorrect information with you. Many of the horses were taken away from TOF without those people knowing their original names or identities, so I've had to try to match everyone up as best I can with the info that I do have. Many of the animals that survived were not even included on that list. The first few days of rescue were chaos for everyone involved. There are still a few horses on the list of survivors that I have been unable to match up and a few that I'm still a little unsure of their identity. The list also has some discrepancies - it doesn't have the body score accurately listed for several of the animals, for instance. Taking all of this into consideration, the following information is true to the best of my knowledge. If I do have any new information that I come across I will correct this update!
On to the horses. The following are all now in private homes or are still with the original rescues waiting to be adopted and are doing well, unless otherwise stated:
Suzie, formerly named Suzie Sway is a 4 or 5 year old chestnut mustang mare with a white strike and swayback. Swayback is an excessive downward bend in the back caused in part from a loss of muscle tone in both the back and abdominal muscles, plus a weakening and stretching of the ligaments. It's considered an "undesirable" trait since horses with swayback often cannot be exploited as riding horses. It basically looks like their backs are concave. She originally was in a government BLM holding facility where she languished in a dirty pen with no human interaction for years. She was constantly up for adoption, but no one wanted her because of her swayback, but eventually found her way to Ashley and TOF in 2020. I don't have any old photos of Suzie from her time at TOF, but I will say that she was one of the most gaunt and malnourished horses from this cruelty case. When I first saw her picture, I gasped. I couldn't believe she was still alive. She has a body score of 1 and it really showed on her, and she is one of the 17 charges of animal cruelty against Ashley. Along with being starved nearly to death, it was discovered that she had some awful damage to her jaw and she needed THREE surgeries to fix the issues and to remove teeth that were cutting into her tongue, creating lesions and sores. This made every bite that she took excruciatingly painful, even if she had access to food while she was under Ashley's "care". Fortunately Suzie was rescued and ended up with the same person that was with Ashley when they both first spotted her in that holding pen, who was able to get her all the care that she needed. Jamie of Wild Lands Wild Horses mentioned that Suzie looked so much better at the government facility three years ago than she did after Ashley was done neglecting her almost to death. At the facility she had run up to say hello, yet 3 years later the light in her eyes had vanished from being in so much pain and so hungry for months. Suzie made a full recovery and is at a healthy weight since she is now able to eat pain-free after her surgeries! Despite everything she has been through she is still so sweet and wants nothing more than to love and be loved in return. The photos above are of Suzie right after she was rescued from Ashley and then fully recovered after her surgeries. Such a huge difference, and you can see how shockingly thin she was!
Buster is a chestnut QH (quarter horse) gelding around 25 years old and a former barrel racer. He was originally taken in by Twist of Fate in July 2020 along with another horse named Maude. According to a Patreon post, they were previously with another "rescue" that had rehabbed them back to a good weight, but when they couldn't find them a home together they asked Ashley if she could take them in, otherwise they were facing euthanasia since the rehabbers didn't have a proper set up for them. I guess I question why these people would call themselves "rescuers" or "rehabbers" only to plan on killing them once they were an inconvenience? They were very bonded, with Maude being completely blind and Buster being blind in one eye. Sadly Maude was not on the list of survivors, and I have no idea when or how she passed. When Buster was rescued from Ashley, he had a body score of 0 according to the court documents. ZERO. Buster is one of the 17 charges of animal cruelty against Ashley*. His eye had atrophied and he had to wear full fly gear for a while since they flies would not leave him alone. It was also discovered that he had a slight heart murmur. He loves people and attention though, and is super sweet and easygoing.
Ford is a 5 year old chestnut pony gelding. He came to TOF in April of 2019 and was saved from being shipped to slaughter. He arrived with a superficial hole in his face that goes all the back to his sinuses, and to this day no one knows when or how he got this. It has basically healed over, but still requires attention just to keep an eye on things. X-rays were taken to make sure that there was no extensive damage done to his skull or jaw and they came up clear. Their best guess is that he may have been shot at close range, yet somehow miraculously survived. When he was rescued in July 2022 he had a body score rated at 4.5-5. (5 is considered a healthy body weight, not underfed or overfed, and properly nourished. Some of the animals had access to lush grasses and therefore fared better than others. The horses in this update range from 0-5).
Indy: I'm not sure how or when Indy came to TOF, but he's a paint gelding around 22 years old. ETA: I have a file of photos of animals from TOF that's labelled 'identify', which is of any animal that was posted about but never named, at least on the same forum. I was able to match up Indy because of his unique markings and found out that he originally came to Twist of Fate in August 2018 along with a blind friend, a mini horse who was also not named in the post. They both came from what Ashley referred to as the 'Labrador Hill neglect case'. The two friends were bonded and would call for each other and since Ashley didn't want to separate them she took them both in. He had a body score of 5 and the notes mentioned that he could possibly have untreated Cushing's disease since he hadn't shed his long winter coat yet. (Remember that the rescue took place in the hot summer month of July, so this was especially dangerous for any of the animals). When he was brought to the vet it was discovered that he was anemic and had worms and is completely blind in his right eye and partially blind in his left eye. He had his coat clipped to help him with the heat. He has a very sweet personality and runs over to get some love and attention whenever he hears voices nearby.
Cash is a 25 year old liver chestnut/draft cross gelding who is blind in his left eye. He was formerly named Jack, but I don't know when or how he came to be at TOF. When he was rescued he had a body score of 1.5. Cash/Jack is one of the 17 charges of animal cruelty against Ashley. He had a dull coat and was covered in burrs. He was taken to the vet and found to have a grade 3 heart murmur and he was quidding grass (he's chewing but then not able to eat it and it just falls out of his mouth in a chewed up lump), so he received some help from the dentist. He's very bonded to Buster, loves people, and was very happy to have all the burrs brushed out of him.
Brandi #1 is a roan possible mustang mare who is around 18-20 years old. I don't know anything about her history, but she had a body score of 4 when she was saved from Ashley. She was very skittish and it's believed that she was once a ranch horse (she has a brand), but she is very curious. She and Ford are bonded, and she eventually began to relax and not be as skittish.
Angelina is a bay thoroughbred 15 year old mare. Oddly enough, Angelina was NOT included on the list of survivors (like I mentioned, the first few days of the rescue were a bit chaotic). It's possible that she had a different name on the list, but her description doesn't match any of the other horses. She had a body score of 1.5 but has since recovered.
Sully is a 24 year old dark bay standardbred gelding who had a body score of 1 when he was rescued. I don't know how he came to be with Ashley, but Sully is another horse that was not included on the list of survivors for some reason. When he was pulled from TOF he had overgrown hooves and was placed on a weight supplement and refeeding schedule and has since recovered.
Dewey is a liver chestnut QH gelding that is 24 years old. I have no knowledge of how he came to be at TOF, but he had a body score of 5. He was at a good weight but needed farrier and dental care. He went to a foster home in September 2022 and then a permanent home in January 2023.
Johnny is 19 years old and a standardbred chestnut gelding and is branded with the ID number 3AP46. I don't know when he came to live with Ashley, but he was in really bad shape when he left. He had a body score of 1 and was severely emaciated. He also had overgrown hooves and was treated for rain rot and anemia. (Rain rot, also called rain scald or dermatophilosis, is a skin infection caused by a bacterium known as Dermatophilus congolensis. Living on the horse's skin, D. congolensis is mostly dormant, but under wet conditions, this bacterium can cause an inflammatory infection resulting in lesions along the horse's skin and can be very painful). He also tested positive and was treated for Anaplasmosis, a tickborne bacterial disease. Johnny is one of the 17 charges of animal cruelty against Ashley.
Mickey is a bright bay thoroughbred gelding around 17 years old. I don't know how or when he first came to TOF either, but he left with a body score of 3.5, so he was slightly underweight and was also in need of dental care and farrier care for his overgrown hooves.
Peach, formerly named Millie, is a 20 year old palomino pony mare and is bonded to her friend Zazu. They were adopted out together.
Zazu, formerly named Milkyway, is a 20 palomino pony gelding who is bonded to Peach. I don't have any info on how Millie and Milkyway came to be at TOF.
Kevin is a dark bay gelding mini horse that is about 4 years old and was formerly named Henry, although I don't know any TOF background info on him or have any old photos of him there. He was incredibly wild and scared and was described as a "handful" when he was pulled out of TOF. He had locked patellas (basically stiff and locked knees) and other conformational issues, but daily gentle exercises helped these issues as well as helped get him used to humans and being handled.
Sailor is a 3 or 4 year old black and white paint mustang cross mare. She used to be named Lori, but I don't have any information or photos of her time at TOF. Upon her rescue she was listed as semi-wild with a body score of 3. She was skinny and had badly bitten up legs, which eventually healed.
Malibu is a palomino mare about 6 years old that was formerly named Catori. She was rescued pretty young at only 6 months old and the first post about her on the old TOF Patreon is from February 2018, and it talks about getting her training to get used to being handled by people as she was described by Ashley as "completely feral, defensive, and terrified of people". She was with trainers for 2 years and finally came home to Twist of Fate in January of 2020. When she was rescued in July she was listed as semi-wild and had a body score of 4. Among other things she had her dreadlocks combed out and gradually started to get used to humans again. She loves hanging out with Sailor!
Friday is a 9 year old QH appaloosa gelding and used to be named Oliver or Ollivander/Ollie. Oliver has a few posts on the old TOF Patreon from 2018, and one of them mentions that he was quarantined with Brandi but does not say where they came from. He had a body score of 4 and the vet gave him a clean bill of health, but he was still visited by the dentist and farrier. He is also a people lover!
Hoorah is a 20+ year old black pony gelding with a tiny white diamond shape on his forehead that I believe used to be named Finn. Unfortunately I don't have any old photos from Finn's time at TOF to compare, but the rest of the info matches up. I don't know how long he was with Ashley, but it's believed that he was at one time a cart horse for the Amish. He had a body score of <2 or 1 on the survivor sheet, but in the official court documents it is listed as 0, and Finn is another one of the 17 charges of animal cruelty against Ashley. Along with a proper diet to help him gain weight, Hoorah also needed some dental work done in order to help him eat a little easier. A few weeks after his rescue he was diagnosed with asthma and allergies and is being treated for them with medication. He was completely shut down, but gradually started coming out of his shell. He is very bonded to Brandy and was eventually adopted out with her.
Brandy #2 (formerly named Swayze) is a 30-something QH mare with a white blaze and had a heart murmur, bad right hip, and horribly neglected teeth. She had a body score of .5. That's right - not even a 1. Swayze/Brandy is one of the 17 charges of animal cruelty against Ashley. After she was rescued from TOF she had a complication and started bleeding from her bladder, and after getting an ultrasound done was treated with antibiotics and clotting herbs. The vet noticed some clots or soft tissue on her bladder that shouldn't be there and that she also had some fluid in her abdomen, but she responded well to the antibiotics and recovered. She was adopted along with Hoorah.
Travis is an appaloosa gelding that is around 10-15 years old and is completely blind. He was originally rescued from an auction in the summer of 2021 and bonded with a horse named Betsy while he was living at TOF. In July 2022 he had a body score of 5, so he was at a healthy weight but he eventually developed some issues with his eyes - he had surgery to remove one of them and fortunately he tested negative for cancer. His other eye was having issues as well but was able to be treated with medications for a while until he had to have that one removed too, and it also tested negative for cancer. He has been recovering ever since and is doing great.
Betsy is a 20-25 year old mule mare who was rescued from auction in the fall of 2021 from the same place that Travis came from, just a few months later. Betsy was a pack mule for most of her life until she was deemed no longer "useful" and thrown away like trash. When Betsy came out of quarantine and met Travis at TOF, they were immediately bonded, and she even acted as a guide for him. In the summer of 2022 she had a body score of 4 and needed farrier care and joint supplements. She is on a special diet to help maintain her weight and she was eventually adopted out with Gandalf.
Gandalf, a sorrel (reddish) mule gelding, is around 20 years old and used to be named Grissom. Grissom first came to TOF in March 2018 along with a donkey named Timothy and a horse named Wally. Grissom had a body score of 1 when he was rescued, and he is one of the 17 charges of animal cruelty against Ashley. He has since recovered, loves to beg for snacks, and was adopted out with Betsy. Neither Timothy nor Wally were on the list of survivors, though I have no idea how or when either of them died.
Whichahpi is a paint gelding around 20-25 years old and only has one eye, and his pretty coloring makes it look like he was wearing a toupee on his head. He used to be named Gabriel/Gabe, and was rescued in December 2017 from a feedlot in Texas while waiting to be shipped to slaughter. Ashley's son Deacon was especially fond of Gabe, often asking to see him. Ashley's last Patreon post about Gabe is from August 2019 and includes this sentence in the caption: "So happy he gets to live out his days here at TOF". He eventually had to be saved from her and had a body score of 4, but as a senior horse he developed other issues as well. He had an old spine injury that started to resemble "kissing spine" or ORDSP, which occurs when vertebrae in the spine are too close together. This typically develops from riding. He also had severe arthritis in his leg, which could have been a result of the same spine injury. Because his one leg was in so much pain he was putting the brunt of his weight on his other leg to compensate, so his good leg also started to break down. Whichahpi was in a lot of pain towards the end of his life and the difficult decision was made to say goodbye to him in October of last year.
Apollo, a faded black percheron gelding in his 20's, used to be named Tegan. The only photo of Tegan from his time at TOF is dated December 2018, though I have no idea how long he had been there before that or where he came from. The post only mentions what a handsome guy he is. Apollo has ringbone, a lameness condition that affects the pastern and coffin joints in horses. As mineral deposits calcify a "ring" or "partial ring" around the pastern joint is formed, hence the term "ringbone". It's a degenerative disease that continues to worsen over time, but the right treatment and ongoing management can slow the progression of the condition. Tegan had a body score of 1 when he was saved, and he is one of the 17 charges of animal cruelty against Ashley. He was pulled along with Ellie, and both needed farrier care and to get used to being handled by humans again since they hadn't had any affection or care in a very long time. Apollo's right front foot needed extra attention and was first wrapped and in a boot, and he desperately needed a visit from the dentist as well. He is described as outgoing and curious and looks out for Ellie. He especially loves applesauce and playing in the snow!
Ellie, formerly named Rain, is an almost completely blind Belgian who is close to 30 years old. I don't know how she came to be at TOF, but she had a body score of 3 when she was pulled. Mentioned above, Ellie received farrier care and while Apollo needed dental work it was decided that since Ellie had so few teeth that she would be left alone. Ellie and Apollo are very bonded but have also made friends with other horses too, and she loves to roll in the mud.
The following 6 rescues took and adopted out or will adopt out the 25 horses that I discussed above: Wild Lands Wild Horses, Maryland Horse Rescue, Rising Starr Horse Rescue, Last Chance Ranch, Save Your Ass Rescue, and Roanchar Ranch Draft Horse Rescue.
The other horses named on the list of survivors that I am having trouble matching up are Tucker (15-20 year old black pony gelding), Sky (20 year old mini palomino mare), Kuma (20-25 year old mini black gelding), and Thor (8 year old black stud with dropped pasterns). However, because they were on the list we know that they did make it! They could either be the additional horses that Ashley took with her, or it's possible that I'm not matching up some of the horses correctly.
Thank you so much for reading this very lengthy update and getting to know these 25+ horses.
I have photos of all of these babies that I'll be sharing in the next few days on my Instagram @ispellithaley!
To read the story about Ashley and her father Pat’s hostages, you can click here. To read the update that includes info on all 17 of the charges of animal cruelty against Ashley DiFelice, you can do so here.
To find out how you can help ALL horses, please click here. You can also sign a petition that was created to save the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park here.
Also: Animals are here with us, not for us, and should not be used, abused, exploited or commodified in any way. None of should look at an animal and wonder what they can do for us or what they can provide for us, whether that is food, clothing, recreation or entertainment. To learn more about how riding horses or any animal is exploitative and cruel (whether or not you identify as a vegan), please click here and here.
Ashley DiFelice's next court date still has not been announced. I have emailed the prosecution team a couple of times already to see when it will be scheduled or why it is being delayed but so far haven't heard anything. I'll update as soon as I know anything though! Please continue to share the petition in the meantime. Thank you!