Bluemont Equine Sanctuary — letting animals be animals in Colts Neck

By:  | November 14, 2024 |  Philanthropy |  Colts Neck

By Emma Sylvia

Located in Colts Neck is a retirement home of a different kind. Bluemont Equine Rescue & Sanctuary is a family-run Monmouth County nonprofit that offers horses, donkeys, ponies and more the opportunity to exist in a safe and loving environment. 

Carl Quaglia and his wife, Lesley Luckhardt, founded Bluemont after purchasing their dream farm in Colts Neck. The equine-focused nonprofit however, was never the plan. Quaglia explains how Luckhardt rescued their first horse, Roxy. She began her journey as a $90,000 import and ended up in Colts Neck needing a form of sanctuary. Quaglia fondly and matter-of-factly reminisces, “My wife rescued a horse. It was new to us at the time. Roxy opened our eyes to the needs of horses and equines as a whole.”

Though the couple hadn’t intended on starting a nonprofit, they knew their new family member couldn’t be alone. Thus, they rescued two more horses, and the rescue operation of the sanctuary began. The work quickly became far too much to be sustained by self-funding. “We realized in time that there was more help that was needed than what we could do alone,” Quaglia explains.

“The first few years, we were entirely self-funded. Fast forward seven years later, and we have staff, volunteers, and a large number of rescues,” she says. What began as a dream piece of land to perhaps rescue dogs and cats turned into something larger than they ever could have envisioned: “This turned into a sanctuary that we operate and run strictly so that the animals can live like animals.”

The main goal of Bluemont is to both offer sanctuary to animals in need and to offer education to the public. Quaglia elaborates on some of the good that Bluemont has done across the East Coast: “We have worked with massive neglect cases with the ASPCA and the county’s sheriff’s department. Lesley and another rescue in North Carolina helped uncover a massive neglect case, and we helped put that animal abuser away.”

Much of the education that Bluemont aims to achieve is done through their social media. Boasting around 100,000 followers over TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, animal lovers from California to Australia to the UK tune into the stories of dozens of animals needing sanctuary and support. 

Though their presence on social media is a large part of their focus, Bluemont puts the animals above anything else. “The summation of Bluemont is to provide a place where an animal can just be an animal. To have dignity. To not be expected to work or have a job.” To this end, Bluemont is not open to the public. It doesn’t aim to be a petting zoo or attraction; it functions solely for the sake of their animals. At first specializing in just equines, it has since expanded to goats, barn cats, and chickens. “We are operating strictly for the care of animals.”

Though Bluemont was 100 percent self-funded upon its conception, now, the public supports about 80 percent of the financial aspect of the nonprofit. This is greatly attributed to the growth they experienced through their social media channels. For the public, Bluemont tends to do three to four public tours a year, prioritizing them in spring to early fall to avoid harsh weather conditions. These tours provide an opportunity for people to fall in love with the equines in person. They also do Founders’ Tours, a private, two-hour tour with Luckhardt upon an individual, larger donation. Donors from California to Virginia travel to New Jersey for these popular tours.

The biggest fundraising event for Bluemont, however, is their gala. The 2024 Gala — which was themed “Boots and Bling, a chic country experience” — took place in October and was their third annual event. The gala remains Monmouth County-based (the first one being in Colts Neck, the second in Red Bank, and this year’s in Holmdel), hosting about 150-200 people.

“It’s a nice night for people to come together and support the cause,” Quaglia says. “Donors raise money, win some cool baskets and auction items. Our goal is to do it annually.”

Donors and followers aren’t the only groups that support and work with Bluemont. They crucially collaborate with another Monmouth nonprofit, Operation HOPE, an equine-assisted mental health program. Quaglia elaborates, “We don’t do equine therapy in its traditional format. It’s usually thought of riding with equines. Our guys are retired. Some of them have been discarded after no longer being able to be ridden. Operation HOPE focuses on first responders, children, and veterans. They’re doing a therapy program where people are just in with the animals — petting them, grooming them, loving them.”

Bluemont also partners with Colts Neck High School, where the students learn about management and nonprofits. Colts Neck ROTC has volunteer days with Bluemont. Quaglia lauds their volunteers, as well, “If you look at our volunteer corp, we have a number of veterans, retired police officers, retired FBI officers. We have people that have spent their life in community service, and in their time of need, they found peace being around the animals. That’s the cool thing we’ve seen.”

Quaglia is excited for the future of Bluemont. As their online presence grows, so too does the nonprofit. “We have seen people fall in love with our animals through following us on social media. In doing that, they help support our efforts to expand over time. It allows us to give elite care and make sure the animals have full bellies and a level of safety.”

Ultimately, Bluemont and Quaglia aim to educate the masses on farm animals. “We aim to give the animals the same type of care you would give your own family member.” This is a common attitude given to beloved cats and dogs, meanwhile horses have an average of seven homes in their lifetime. Quaglia relays, “We run a retirement home; we’re at capacity. Every quality, reputable rescue we know in the entire Northeast is completely at capacity. Retirement is something people should be able to provide to their animals. We try to educate on that.”

Quaglia cannot understate the importance of an individual’s attitude on an animal’s life. “There isn’t a better option out there than the love you have for your animal. Keeping them and supporting them for their entire life.” The universal love for dogs and cats needs to be extended to equines and other farm animals, and Bluemont can’t wait to continue to celebrate that love this October and into the new year.

To support Bluemont Equine Rescue and Sanctuary, visit BluemontSanctuary.com and follow their journey on social media.

To support Operation HOPE, visit OperationHOPENJ.com