Meet April Hollingsworth and Bryan Krieger | Fabled Farm Rescue & Sanctuary

We had the good fortune of connecting with April Hollingsworth and Bryan Krieger and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi April, can you give our readers an introduction to you and your rescue?

As soon as people learned we were moving from East Nashville to a rundown farm in Christiana, TN (just south of Murfreesboro), we started hearing about horses and farm animals in need. The first priority was making the house livable. The 1970’s brick home was a complete gut and rebuild that didn’t even have running water for the first three months. That summer was full of demolition, long days, sweat, and building delays, but eventually, the house was ready for us, our rescue dogs, and kitty.

Unfortunately, the need for local rescue options in the community around us only grew during this time. We had to help! With my 15 years of experience working in animal rescue and Bryan’s background in business, we determined that creating a rescue and sanctuary for equines and farm animals would become our joint mission.

The farm only had rundown outbuildings, sheds, run-ins, and lots of broken fencing. Bringing any animals onto the property meant that new paddocks and barns were needed urgently. We started all essential building projects immediately and the animals began arriving around the same time. Our first intakes were a senior Thoroughbred named Charlie and two mini horses, Pumpkin and Cupid.

Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

Thanks to our helpful friends in the rescue world and excellent veterinarians, we were able to quickly kick off an organized rescue program focusing on a gold-standard adoption process, animal health, positive training, and enrichment. Also over the next year, we worked hard to expand by building a barn for the Small Animal Program, creating a training area, and fencing new pasture space.

Fabled Farm Rescue & Sanctuary is a 100% donor-funded and volunteer run middle Tennessee based 501(c)3. Committed to accepting and then placing unwanted equines and farm animals in qualified, loving forever homes, Fabled Farm continues care for the unadoptable animals with medical or behavioral issues through our sanctuary program.

Fabled Farm’s reputation is built on our thorough adoption process that emphasizes matchmaking for each animal and adoptive family. The adoption process starts with an application through our website. We follow up with a phone call to discuss the needs of the adopters and the animal in which they are interested. Next we have a FaceTime/Skype call for out of area adopters before scheduling a meeting at the farm. Our goal is to find forever homes, and this means spending a lot of time getting to know each animal and getting to know each prospective adoptive family.

Our close relationship with our farrier and veterinarians help us assess and create an individual adoption plan for the animals in the program. Each animal is provided all needed medical care including spay/neuter/gelding (species dependent), vaccinations, deworming, microchipping, farrier work (species dependent), and training to be ready for adoption. Adopters are sent home with a complete medical history packet to provide to their veterinarian and an animal information sheet with details specific to the animal they are adopting.

Importantly Fabled Farm is completely transparent in providing current financial and fundraising numbers, intake and adoption information, and program implementation.

Coming Soon – Community Education and Outreach Programs, New Intake Areas, and a Small Animal ICU for special needs animals.

Can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your nonprofit?
Fabled Farm Rescue & Sanctuary has rescued hundreds of farm animals, equines, and felines in only a few short years. All rescued animals are given thorough medical care from veterinary specialists and farriers along with proper feeding and socialization. Once the animals are healthy, they can be adopted through a vetted program seeking forever families that focuses on education to ensure the adopters know how to provide proper care and training. Those sick or injured animals that are not adoptable are given sanctuary at the farm for their lifetimes.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition. Who would you like to shoutout?
We would not be able to rescue animals without the support of amazing donors, volunteers, friends, and family! Each dollar donated and every hour spent working towards the rescue mission makes a difference in the lives of these special creatures. It takes a community to save lives and we are so lucky to have such an incredible community in Middle Tennessee.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week-long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
When visitors come to Fabled Farm we recommend making a stop a few miles down the road in historic Bell Buckle, TN! There is so much to enjoy with the locally owned shops and spots to grab delicious food.

Website: www.fabledfarmrescue.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fabledfarm/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fabled-farm-rescue-sanctuary

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabledfarm

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@fabledfarm

Image Credits
Photo credit: Dolly DeLong Photography and Fabled Farm Rescue