Enchanted Mini Safari
join us for our
Come enjoy our new drive through event, the Enchanted Mini Safari, on Saturday & Sunday June 6 & 7th!
This is a view from the safety & comfort of your vehicle event. Come visit and enjoy the farm for a bit, drive down our Pony Trail and see all the wonderful, whimsical sculptures, hand painted totem poles, and some of the farm animals! Great fun for all ages!
Please purchase your ticket through our website. This is a first come, first serve -ticket sale. If you miss out on this first event, we do plan to have more Enchanted Mini Safari opportunities, so not to worry.
Shining Bright Totem Contest
Check out our newest fundraiser! Paint your own totem pole and have it displayed on our Pony Trail for all to see. Your participation helps us to continue our mission of helping animals and inspiring people. Thank you!
COVID-19 UPDATE (05/20/2020)
The Department of Economic Community and Development has released its Sector Rules and Certification for May 20th Reopen. All businesses subject to these guidelines are required to self-certify prior to opening on May 20th. What does that mean for us here at Ray of Light Farm? We are to follow the guidance for equestrian facilities in this phase 1 of reopen plan, which means we cannot open our gates for the public just yet.
Please view the full report here:
Dear friends of the farm,
We have temporarily closed our doors, but our hearts and hopes remain open. For the sake of our animals, we are asking for your help during this time of world crisis. And, yes, it is a crisis. Many of you have been affected in different ways. All of us have been affected in some way.
I’ll cut right to the chase and give you our bottom line. With all of our programs shut down, it has left Ray of Light Farm at a $7000 PER WEEK deficit for every week that our gates remain closed. And it's been several weeks now! On the farm, we are trimming everything that we can - including shutting off the furnace, keeping the lights off, working with a skeleton crew and eliminating work that does not affect the health of our animals.
Our Facebook following is big, and has been a TREMENDOUS help so far! We cannot thank you enough. Many of our posts have had had a donation button with them. This is not what we want to do, but it’s what we have to do. Every amount, no matter how small, will help “Keep the Light Shining.”
With such a huge weekly deficit, you might be wondering how we are managing at this point. In a nutshell, we applied for everything that was offered to small businesses to help them stay afloat until the world normalizes a little. We received some aid from the Payroll Protection Plan. Hopefully, we will qualify to have most, if not all, of that forgiven. We also were able to obtain a substantial low interest SBA Disaster Relief Loan to help us with cash flow for our operating costs until we can resume some normal business.
Together WE WILL get through this. It will be an uphill climb for quite a while, but we are inspired by all of you who are helping in so many ways. THANK YOU! We look forward to the day when we can safely open our gates to you again.
With my deepest gratitude,
Bonnie Buongiorne
Founder
Worth saving...
Worth Saving
Every year thousands of horses and donkeys are abandoned, abused or slaughtered. Ray of Light Farm serves as a safe haven for some of these animals by providing medical care, nutritious food, and retraining.
Many of these beautiful animals are then adopted into loving homes. Some very special ones go on to serve humanity as therapy animals. Living out their lives as permanent farm residents, these animals provide a range of little miracles, from giving inspiration and encouragement to an autistic child, to being a gentle and non-judgmental soul for a person suffering or dying from illness.
Ray of Light Farm is open to the public and its animals are available and happy to listen to anyone in need of a friend.
Click Photo To View More of Our Animals
The horses and donkeys at Ray of Light Farm have an assortment of stories.
Many, but not all, are nurse mare foals and premarin horses and foals. Here is a brief description of each.
Premarin Horses & Foals
(PMU including Prempro, Premphase, Prempac, and Premelle)
For the production of the drug premarin, horses are kept continually pregnant in order for their urine to be collected. When they can no longer reproduce quickly they are sent to the slaughterhouse. Their meat is then sold for human consumption or dog food.
Some foals from these horses are killed immediately after birth and some of the females will be raised to be "Premarin mares" and join the production line. Many will be sold and sent to feedlots to be fattened for slaughter.
Nurse Mare Foals
A nurse mare foal is a foal who was born so that its mother might come into milk. The milk that the nurse mare is producing is used to nourish the foal of another mare, a more “expensive” foal. Primarily these are thoroughbred foals, though certainly not limited to the thoroughbred industry. The nurse mares biological foal is then discarded.
These animals deserve loving homes. Help us provide them sanctuary; donate now.