An Alpine nonprofit that rescues and rehabilitates horses is asking the public for help purchasing enough hay to feed its animals for the next several months.
The Anita Balog Memorial Angel Horse Foundation said Monday that its horses are nearly out of hay and that the organization hopes to purchase seven round bales at $165 each, plus a $50 delivery charge.
The purchase would cost about $1,205 and is expected to provide roughly three and a half months of hay, according to the foundation’s fundraising appeal.
“Please if you could sponsor a month or more or less please help out the mares here at the foundation,” the organization wrote in a Facebook post.
The foundation was established in 2023 by Alpine resident Mike Balog following the death of his wife, Anita, in November 2022. Balog has said the couple developed a strong connection to rescue horses years earlier after adopting a malnourished horse named Lakota.
The organization operates under the motto “Rescuing Horses to Rescue People.” Its stated mission is to rescue and rehabilitate horses that have been abandoned or are at risk of being killed and to advocate against horse slaughter. Its longer-term plans include using rehabilitated horses in therapeutic programs for veterans, grieving people and children experiencing emotional trauma.
Balog purchased a 14-acre property south of Alpine on State Highway 118 for the operation. In April 2025, the foundation was caring for five horses, including three connected to a Sul Ross State University rehabilitation study involving malnourished horses. Balog told the Big Bend Sentinel at the time that maintaining the rescue required substantial community support for feed, equipment and daily animal care.
The Anita Balog Memorial Angel Horse Foundation is recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and has an Employer Identification Number of 92-3970363, according to Charity Navigator. The charity is listed but not currently rated by Charity Navigator because the organization has not yet accumulated the public tax-filing data required for a star rating.
The foundation says it serves the Big Bend region and Permian Basin and works to rescue, rehabilitate and eventually re-home horses while developing therapeutic programs for people experiencing trauma.
Donations toward the current hay purchase can be made through the foundation’s website. Checks can also be mailed to P.O. Box 586, Alpine, TX 79831-0586.
