Head Over Hooves Ep #01 - Farmed animal rescue care and rehoming with Head over Hooves

Head over Hooves is a family run animal sanctuary located in Northern NSW, that works to rescue and rehabilitate abandoned or mistreated farm animals.
Head over Hooves is also classified as a charity and is run by everyday passionate animal lovers and volunteers experienced in not for profit management and farmed animal care.
Two of the owners Julian and Victoria provide veterinary care, food, water and shelter within a safe environment for the rescued animals. Whilst providing their guests with a safe place to recover, the couple restore them to health and work tirelessly to find them caring new homes where they can thrive and bring joy and love to others.

Their mission is to simply help as many orphaned, abandoned and mistreated farmed animals as possible.
Why? Because many animals within Australia, including lambs, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens and ducks end up in pounds and shelters daily. If they become unclaimed or unable to be rehomed these innocent animals face death.

Julian and Victoria believe that every life deserves happiness, which is why they have dedicated theirs to the welfare of those less fortunate.
The couple are such an inspiration and their story is one worth sharing.

Both Julian and Victoria work full time to help support the mission so close to their hearts. They have recently relocated to the Northern Rivers region of NSW from Melbourne and have now dedicated their lives to the running of the farm. The farm can not run without the pair working full time to support the costs involved in managing the sanctuary.
Julian and Victoria along with the help of their volunteers, tend to the animals' needs every day, providing dawn-to-dusk care.

Victoria’s background prior to this, was a veterinary nurse whilst Julian has gained experience with pasture management, making them an ideal pair for the mission. 

From ponies, goats, sheep, pigs, guinea fowl, a peacock, chickens, roosters and so much more, Head over Hooves houses many different residents.
The care and maintenance required to help the residents survive and live a quality life, varies from animal to animal. Food requirements vary dramatically depending on the type of animal. Just like us humans, animals also require specific daily nutrients in abundance such as vitamins and minerals to help them grow, repair, reproduce and thrive. Each animal also has his or her’s own story, background and unique characteristics and behaviours making each day on the farm very interesting.
Julian and Victoria truly care for each animal and have openly welcomed them into their family. They tend to each individual’s needs with so much love and care its infectious. Their humility and compassion for all living things is awe inspiring and a true representation of how mankind should be living out each day. This is a clear example of selflessness and demonstrates just want man is capable of, when ego and power is put aside. Imagine a world with more Julian’s and Victoria’s?

Garden of Vegan met Julian and Victoria on our travels way back when, in our early days. Ever since then, we have wanted to do everything we can to help support the epic duo and their residents. We have supplied fresh produce to Head over Hooves weekly using the off cuts, scraps and food waste from our weekly cook. This ensures that no food scraps from us  are going to landfill and in the process is helping support a cause greater than us all. 

Vistoria explained that many farm animals end up in pounds just like cats and dogs. The sad reality is that many of these farm animals do not get rehomed. The reasons for this is simply because the average residential home is just not suited to safely house a farm animal when compared to that of a house cat or dog.
Farm animals including goats, pigs, sheep, roosters, chickens and many more.
So why are so many farm animals neglected and abandoned? Many of these animals are used when they are young and ‘cute’ in petting zoos or as pets. Think back to the circus, easter show, any any other community based carnival or gatherings where petting zoos were used to collect your money for time feeding and patting the baby animals. Once the baby animals start maturing and are no longer small or ‘cute’ they are generally disposed of in many inhumane ways. Most of the time the animals can't be rehomed and they face an early and unnecessary death.
This is one of the main reasons why Julian and Victoria decided to dedicate their life to help rehome animals.
Victoria believes that the more people who know about farm animals and their inhumane treatment, the more that can be rescued, either adopted or re-homed to a loving family.

We hope that after hearing their story and meeting some of their current residents, you can help support their mission by spreading their message or reaching out to other local businesses or households who could help contribute to animal welfare and a more humane way of treating all living beings.

In episode #2, you will learn about what types of animals Head over Hooves rescue and you will also hear some of the residents individual stories including their traumatic backgrounds and paths to rehabilitation.

Stay tuned for more with Victoria from Head over Hooves.