J And J Horse Rescue - Jeff Wilson Takes in your donations for his own horse collection and then doesn't take care of them! Tioga Pennsylvania

I am a volunteer for J and J Horse Rescue and Riding Arena. I know Jeff Wilson very well. Anyone taking the time to talk to the man and look at his lifestyle will know there is no money that is not going to the horses. He's living on a disability pension and $10 from this person and than hardly covers the feed, vet, and farrier bills. But he gets the horses fed one way or the other. His hay comes from a farm down the road and is the same hay fed to horses all over the area and the farmer delivers it same day Jeff calls because Jeff's tractor is broken and he's short funds to get it fixed. If the horses have to wait a few hours it is because Bucky has to get home from work.

Jeff's had the use of the big pasture of his neighbor's behind his own property, but that license is being withdrawn this year. So Jeff is frantically trying to find funds for a bigger property with more room for pasture as well as land to grow his own hay and oats. He would like to make the rescue more self supporting and reduce the need to ask for donations. Those plans include utilizing wind and solar power to supply the electrical needs of the facility and sell excess power to the local electric company.

As for keeping records, Jeff has them all showing every penny brought in and every penny spent - has to have that information when applying for grants. But he does not have to publish them for public consumption or to prove the value of his existence. Little Nugget who just got adopted would tell you the value of what Jeff does, as could Becky who took him home. Nugget was a throw away because he got a bit of arthritis. His next stop would have been the knacker's yard - but Jeff gave him a home and found him a soul mate. As for horses dying, well, I would challenge that lady to have faced down a bear attack the way Pauli did, and of course old age does that number on all of us, Teik being over 30. And if anyone knew the where abouts of his lost horses two days before, pehaps if they had told Jeff where they were they might have come home, as little Midnight did, thanks to the folks that took her in and called him and no thanks to the people who terrorized her chasing her down the road trying to steal her.

Jeff surely does not want your money - hates asking for it - would take care of the horses himself if he could. But he can't. And he can't say no to horses in need. So he does the best he can with the bit of donations he gets and his own pension and a bum leg. And there are those horses he hasn't rescued who are a deal worse off than the ones in his pasture. And if someone is worried about the horses at J and J? Well then go pay the farrier to trim their hooves - or drop off a round of dewormer - or deliver a load of sweet feed, senior feed and oats - or pay a mechanic to fix the tractor so we can use it to clear and reseed the pastures.

Oh, please notice that there is this one negative posting about Jeff. I would challenge anyone reading here to also go read all the rest of the web articles that your search brought up. See what other people have to say about the man and what he is doing for horses.

And, yes, I live in NC, but I am up there regularly and will be moving up in the next couple of months to work with Jeff because 2 more hands and two good knees will go a long way toward doing what Jeff cannot do alone. Believe me I would not be pulling up my entire life if I did not believe in the man and his work.

Good work, Jeff!! Keep it up!!

Sheelagh
NC, USA