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UNITED STATES HORSE RESCUES
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NORTHEAST HORSE RESCUES
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Connecticut Horse Adoption
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Horse Rescue New York,
Horse Rescue NY
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MID-ATLANTIC HORSE RESCUES
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Maryland Horse & Equine
Rescue & Adoption
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Virginia Horse & Equine
Rescue & Adoption
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GREAT LAKES
HORSE RESCUES
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Horse Adoption in Ohio,
Ohio Horse Rescue
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Illinois Horse & Equine
Rescue & Adoption
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HARPS
Hooved Animal Rescue & Protection Society (HARPS)
(serving the State of Illinois)
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Hooved Animal Humane Society
Hooved Animal Humane Society (HAHS)
(serving the State of Illinois)
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SOUTHEAST
HORSE RESCUES
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South Carolina Horse &
Equine Adoption,
South Carolina Horse & Equine Rescue
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Georgia Horse & Equine Adoption,
Georgia Horse & Equine Rescue
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Georgia Equine Rescue League
G.E.R.L., Ltd. (GERL)
(serving the State of Georgia)
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Horse Rescue, Relief & Retirement Fund, Inc. (HRRRF)
Horse Rescue, Relief & Retirement Fund, Inc. (HRRRF)
(serving Cumming, Georgia,
& surrounding areas)
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Triple “L” Horse Rescue, Inc.
Triple “L” Horse Rescue, Inc.
(serving Brunswick, the
State of Georgia & surrounding states)
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Horse Rescue Florida,
Florida Horse Adoption
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HORSE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION OF FLORIDA
Horse Protection Association of Florida, Inc. (HPAF)
(serving Micanopy,
Marion County & the State of Florida)
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North Florida Horse Rescue
(An Animal Disaster Response Organization)
Habitat for Horses, Inc./North Florida Horse Rescue (HfH/NFHR)
(serving Nassau, Baker, Duval,
Clay & St. John’s Counties &
surrounding areas in Florida plus parts of
Georgia & Alabama)
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Pure Thoughts, Inc
Pure Thoughts, Inc.
(serving the State of
Florida & the U.S. for rescue &
Loxahatchee, Wellington & the State of
Florida for adoption)
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Sterling Silver Farm EQUINE RESCUE
Sterling Silver Farm Equine Rescue, Inc. (SSFER)
(serving Silver Springs,
Marion County & the State of Florida)
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SOUTHWEST HORSE RESCUES
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Texas Horse Rescue,
Texas Equine Rescue
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BLUEBONNET EQUINE HUMANE SOCIETY
Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society (BEHS)
(serving the States of Texas & Arkansas)
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ETHRS - East Texas Horse Rescue and Sanctuary, Inc.
East Texas Horse Rescue and Sanctuary, Inc. (ETHRS)
(serving Alto, Nacogdoches
& surrounding areas)
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Habitat for Horses, Inc.
Habitat for Horses, Inc. (HfH)
(serving the State of Texas)
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LONE STAR EQUINE RESCUE
Lone Star Equine Rescue, Inc. (LSER)
(serving Texas, Arkansas,
Louisiana & Oklahoma)
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Sunscape Equine Rescue, Inc.
Sunscape Equine Rescue, Inc.
(serving the Houston, Texas, area)
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United States Equine Sanctuary & Rescue
United States Equine Sanctuary & Rescue (USESR)
(serving the State of Texas)
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ROCKY MOUNTAIN
HORSE RESCUES
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Colorado Horse Rescue,
Colorado Horse Adoption
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PACIFIC HORSE RESCUES
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California Horse & Equine
Rescue & Adoption
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CALIFORNIA COASTAL Horse Rescue
California Coastal Horse Rescue
(serving the State of California)
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California Equine Retirement Foundation, Inc.
California Equine Retirement Foundation, Inc. (CERF),
(serving Winchester & Southern California)
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Heaven Can Wait, Inc.
Heaven Can Wait, Inc.
(serving San Miguel, California)
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Heart of the Redwoods Horse Rescue
Heart of the Redwoods Horse Rescue (HRHR)
(serving Humboldt County &
Eureka, California)
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Jolene’s Horse Rescue
Sandra Jolene Venables
(serving Chatsworth, Palmdale &
Southern California)
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LIFESAVERS WILD HORSE RESCUE
Lifesavers, Inc.
(serving Lancaster & the State of California)
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True Innocents Equine Rescue
True Innocents Equine Rescue (TIER)
(serving Riverside, California,
& surrounding areas)
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CANADA HORSE RESCUES
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Alberta Horse & Equine
Rescue & Adoption
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A Horse Rescue Primer
There are more and more horse rescues being formed across the U.S. While
differences exist between them, most horse rescues have much in common.
Many work to rescue horses and then place them in new homes. Some provide
rescued horses with permanent homes within the rescue — a horse
sanctuary.
While some rescues focus on “poster child” horses (those which are
infirm, malnourished or require extensive medical care), The Epona
Project focuses on those that are healthy, sound, young and attractive.
The reason for this approach is that we have an easier time finding homes
for such horses. We do take on horses with behavioral or emotional
problems occasionally and their stay with us is usually longer.
The Purpose of
Horse Rescue
Many members of the public harbor a great misconception regarding the purpose
and function of horse rescues. These individuals approach rescues with
the goal of buying a cheap horse. I explain to them that these
animals have value; they are not throw away blue light specials. We
price our horses a little under what we estimate to be market value. It
angers some people when we occasionally have a “valuable”
horse at our rescue which commands a high price.
If a lovely, papered Andalusian who’s blind in one eye (true story) is
donated and we can get $5,000 for her to go to a remarkable home, I make
no apologies for that adoption fee buying food for the rest of the horses.
We spend anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 on food per month. Just where do
people think we can come up with those kinds of funds? Ultimately, we are
in the business of making life easier for horses, not offering bargains
for people.
Things to Know About
Horse Rescue
A proper horse rescue agency will screen potential adoptive families and the
facilities available for the horse. New families may be checked for their
knowledge of horses, including riding, basic training, training philosophy
that is compatible with the rescue, and basic health care knowledge. It
is vital to make a great match that will stand the test of time.
Questions will most likely be asked about the kind of riding the family
plans to do. We test riding ability at our rescue before we let any horse
leave our facilities.
When there is a gap in a potential adoptive family’s knowledge, it
shouldn’t result in automatically disqualification. There is
nothing wrong with providing education to a new family. We spend plenty
of time talking with the adopters as well as watching them interact with
our horses. Philosophies differ, but we place emphasis on having the
horse’s home provide lots of room to play and move. We prefer a
facility with a simple shelter and lots of room to one with a fancy stall
and limited turn out time.
There are things to watch out for when dealing with horse rescues. Any rescue
that pressures you to buy a horse on the spot is bad news. You need to
take time to get to know an animal first. Do the best you can at looking
for lameness. Just watch the horse walk and trot. Does the gait look even
and balanced? Look at the legs. Are any joints swollen? If in doubt,
and especially if spending a lot of money, pay for a vet check. If the
horse is rideable, have someone from the rescue ride the horse first.
When you ride, be sure to wear a helmet! Get all paperwork required by
your state to document your ownership of the animal.
Why Do We Do It?
The horse rescue business is very tough and suffers high burn out. We
typically care for 35 to 45 horses at a time. Just feeding, watering and
cleaning up after that many horses is quite a job. Of course, they need
much more than that — there’s training, activity, interaction
with humans, grooming. Daily grooming would be ideal, but we aim to have
as many as possible groomed on the weekends when we have more volunteers.
Of course, the good news is that working at a horse rescue, whether full time
or two hours a week, is tremendously rewarding. We see miracles every day
with animals who come to us impossible to touch and later won’t
leave us alone when walking through a pasture. We are joyful when we
match the right horse to the right family. We feel like our work is
significant when we educate volunteers, new owners and visitors, not to
mention web readers, about the nature of horses, horse care and training
methods that are gentle, as well as the tragedy of horse slaughter and
ways to fight it.
The Horse Slaughter
Industry
Most people assume that horses only need to be rescued when they are old or
starving. Horse rescues have done much to educate the public about the
slaughter of the American horse. USDA figures put the number of horses
slaughtered at about 40,000 year in the U.S. Many of these horses are not
old, lame or malnourished. Some have behavioral problems due to lack of
training or abusive training. Many are beautiful and healthy, of all ages
and breeds.
For those who don’t know about the horse slaughter industry, it is a
nasty business where killer buyers go to local auctions and
try to buy as many horses going through the auctions as possible. Those
bought are shipped to one of three processing plants in the U.S. Two of
these slaughterhouses are in Texas and one is in Illinois. More U.S.
horses are now being shipped to Mexican plants.
Horses are remarkably sensitive animals who pick up on their surroundings.
Those shipped to slaughter are crowded tight into trailers with no thought
given to separating out stallions or young horses. Horses from the age of
six months up can be slaughtered. Once butchered, the horse meat is
shipped overseas to Europe and Japan. From the time the horses arrive at
the auction to the time the captive bolt is shot into their brain, the
whole process — even the walk from the trailer into the plant
— is brutal.
With the number of horses lost in the tens of thousands, it is easy to get
discouraged. But when you get to know the personality of a horse that
you’ve saved, you realize that for that horse, your work
is something you could never walk away from.
Some special stories of rescues at The Epona Project:
- Rae Ferzon, an older stunning arabian stallion
rescued from auction.
- Khan, a young arabian stallion rescued from
auction.
Authored by
Susan Ramsey, The Epona Project, Castle Rock, Colorado.
Original article published 12 May 2006, copyright Ten Spider
Enterprises & Susan Ramsey.
Follow links to the right to learn more about horse and equine rescue and adopting a horse.
At the left margin, Related Links address topics of interest
pertaining to pets and companion animals. View the
Pet Adoption & Rescue SiteMap
for a complete list of animal adoption agencies, humane societies and pet placement topics.
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