Some of the horses you saw proudly strut past in this year's carnival parades are headed for new adoptive homes.
According to Jeff Dorson of the Humane Society of Louisiana, each year Cascade Stables buys as many as two dozen horses which are leased to krewes to walk in parades.
Barbe Smith of Cascade Stables said, "the horses of Mardi Gras are a very big tradition for the riding lieutenants.This year we partnered with the Humane Society to find great homes for all of them"
Dorson says if the horses aren't adopted a week or two after Mardi Gras, in the past they had been sold back to the broker to be auctioned off or even sent to slaughter.
Humane Society volunteers went to Cascade and photographed the animals, then took them to social media.
The Facebook page "New Orleans Mardi Gras Horses Available for Adoption" features photos, videos and descriptions.
Posts on the page quickly got traction in the horse community around the country.
11 of the 12 horses have been adopted.
Beth Perry was one of the people who spotted the Facebook posts.
"We were looking to buy a horse for my daughter and instead of purchasing a horse we decided we would rather try to save a horse," said Perry.
"Solo had the background that my daughter needed; very sweet disposition, very good riding horse and just the perfect fit."
The equine adoption team will repeat the process with the remaining four horses.
"We are delighted that the public responded so positively to this new program and everyone worked very hard to ensure that these noble creatures who performed a civic duty for our city during Carnival will all eventually go to great homes," said Humane Society director Jeff Dorson in a news release.