Peeps:

Josh Dolan was on his way to a horse show in Kentucky, when he spotted a dwarf miniature horse out in a field. Growing up, Josh learned about minis with dwarfism after having a few at his barn, and was curious about the mini he spotted in the field. The entrance to the farm was locked and chained, so Josh wandered down a neighbor’s driveway, shocked to discover more than 60 minis in one large field, with several in bad shape. He hopped the fence to find a terrible scene in the nearby barn where a starved mini stood in the aisle surrounded by many others in very bad shape.

He immediately called animal control and the police got involved over the next few days. Josh returned shortly after to see the situation had worsened. Unable to find the property owner, Josh left a note on the gate with his number. Surprisingly, he got a call back that night. The owner offered to sell them the minis at a good price, so Josh went back the next day and bought 19 minis, retrofitting their almost full show barn to house them and nurse them back to full health.

Josh initially rescued a total of 35 minis, finding homes for many of them and keeping a few at their barn. One of the minis they rescued was the one they initially spotted out in the field driving by on that fateful day. They named that mini “Peeps” and since then she’s taken over operations. The team set up an Instagram account for Peeps, and after bringing her to a few “Saturday Night Lights” shows at the Winter Equestrian Festival, she became an instant celebrity.

After caring for Peeps and rehabbing to help find homes for the other minis, he realized this was something he was passionate about continuing, so he started the Peeps Foundation, dedicated to helping minis in need. Offering two chapters, the Peeps Foundation specializes in rescue and rehoming, which helps to find forever homes for healthy, able-bodied minis; while the second chapter boasts a sanctuary for horses, minis and dwarves that have special problems. To date the Peeps Foundation has rescued more than 600 dwarf and miniature horses!