# Horse rescues?



## dianneS (Jul 16, 2010)

What do you think of horse rescues in general?  Ever had a bad experience with one?  Do you think they're a good thing?  Any potential for scam artists in the horse rescue community?

I'm just asking because I have a neighbor who breeds paints.  She doesn't like rescues or the fact that the slaughter houses have been shut down because its cutting into her profit margin, so I'm not sure how much I believe when she complains about rescues.

She mentioned something about rescues not being as good hearted as they seem.  That once they get non-profit status they are tax exempt and funded by donations of money, feed etc.  She said that she knows a lot of rescues that use the rescue organization to fund their own personal horse business, to feed their own show and breeding horses.  That they will even keep the nicest horses that come through the rescue for their own personal use and only adopt out the old nags.

I didn't know how much of this to believe and I didn't fully understand all of the red-tape she was referring to.  I'm just curious suddenly because we have a local rescue, a friend adopted a companion (un-rideable) mare to keep with her gelding.  This rescue only had a handful of horses for adoption.  They all seemed to have issues except for one.  A warmblood I thought I might be interested.  I visited their website to find out that this warmblood mare is no longer available for adoption, that the rescue farm is keeping her and using her as a "lesson" horse.  I was disappointed, but also curious as to perhaps these accusations of rescues keeping the best horses for themselves and only re-homing the problem horses might be true?  And what about using the tax exempt status and all the other perks that come with being a non-profit to fund a horse "business"?

Anyone have any experiences with anything like this?


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## ksalvagno (Jul 16, 2010)

Just like anything else, there are those that will take advantage of what they can. We have a farm animal rescue near me that is on the level and honestly a rescue. They do a great job and have adopted out many rideable horses. I think the best you can do is research them and find out everything you can to make sure they are legitimate.


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## rodriguezpoultry (Jul 16, 2010)

There is no horse business anymore. I agree with your friend, since the shutting down of the slaughterhouses, rescues have started "popping" up.

While looking for my horse, I received a phone call from a person in Florida. He called me and wanted to know if I would be willing to use my horse as a stud for their rescue farm.

Then wanted to know if I knew of anyone around the area that was giving away their PALOMINO foals.

So yes, I completely agree that they are using these hard times to take advantage of others and SELL horses that are donated to them because the owners could no longer care for them. 

Why would a rescue, those who should be most against horse breeding and adding to the problem, ask to use a gelding as a stud horse? Simple. Because they don't know what they are doing and are looking to make a buck.


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## ducks4you (Jul 16, 2010)

"Horse Rescues" are simply not-for-profit organizations.  I have had one (good) experience with one horse rescue.  I had a fight with my camera, but here is a picture of my 4 year old (not registered QH) that I got from a rescue 25 minutes from my house.
THEY called him "Pepper."  I re-named him "Buster."
http://www.crosswindseqresq.org/photos/pepper/peppersfirstride.jpg
He was handled a lot by the owners and their volunteers.  He was not as broken as I thought, but DH didn't believe that they misrepresented his training.  I had a neighbor who volunteered her time with them when they first opened, so I was aware of them for several years but never checked them out.  At that time, they only had 4 acres, but then found another property with the house, barn, etc. and 35 acres and moved.
They have a website that is very well maintained, and the couple that runs this one (one of them is riding "Buster" is the above picture) give the impression of transparency.  What I LIKED about looking at a horse there was that I could look, go home, and come back and look again at the same horse--I could take my time.  I looked in early February of this year, and adopted in late March.  I am under contract to be "visited" by the rescue for up to 6 months after adoption, which means end of September.  I believe that this is to ensure that the horses don't go from bad to good (at the rescue) back to bad again.  If they've visited him I wasn't home. But, he was scruffy and tiny bit underweight in March.  He now has some good muscle, his coat shines and we're using Show-Sheen on his mane and tail--THANKS, PAT!! for the suggestion--to grow them out.

 I have also had experience being a member of a (now defunct) not-for-profit organization.  Most people don't know that not-for-profits can hire people at a salary, and often operate very much like a profit-motivated company. Since DH (atty) ran the not-for-profit, along with a handful of others,  and he did the paperwork, so he was very careful that the film not-for-profit corporation owned NOTHING.  When it dissolved there was NOTHING to be sold.  I think that is difficult to do with a rescue.

I believe that you operate on shoe-strings with an animal rescue, and the owner of one needs to have other motivations to operate it.  I think that you can blend the two.  At THIS rescue they advertise basic horse training (outside of the rescue horses) for a set price, for instance.  They also have fund-raisers and accept donated items--there are specific about them.  I think I've heard that they do accept just any horse offered to them.
Just my experiences.


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## Bossroo (Jul 16, 2010)

on't get me started on the horse rescues...  Quite a few so called rescues are a front for their own personal use,( 2 months ago this lady at a rescue wanted me to donate breedings from my stallion for her mares). others whant a fee $$$ to place a horse to you, many others are  run by animal horders and ask for donations to feed their addiction. Some are absolute air heads.  Some are animal rights advocates and will try to seize your horse if they feel the horse is abused in any way.  Then there some that are bonified . With these do gooders lobbying to close the slaughter houses, this caused all horse to loose their value. Why buy a horse when you can get one for $25 from the BLM. or free in many cases.  Look at the newspaper adds, or for sale boards at the feed stores.  Loaded with very CHEAP horses, and quite a few for FREE.  Last week a couple wanted to buy a 5 year old,finished under saddle, winning  show horse for their daughter.  They were willing to pay $1,000 and oh- can you throw in the saddle too.  Yea, right !!!    Someone abandoned a badly injured 2 year old colt into our pasture.  I contacted 7 rescues and not a one would take him. Always some excuse of why they couldn't and by the way ... "we take donations!"    It took me over $2,000 ( in vet bills, feed, legal fees, newspaper ads.,  etc. ) and over 5 months to GIVE him away for free.


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## michickenwrangler (Jul 16, 2010)

Bossroo said:
			
		

> on't get me started on the horse rescues...  Quite a few so called rescues are a front for their own personal use,( 2 months ago this lady at a rescue wanted me to donate breedings from my stallion for her mares). others whant a fee $$$ to place a horse to you, many others are  run by animal horders and ask for donations to feed their addiction. Some are absolute air heads.  Some are animal rights advocates and will try to seize your horse if they feel the horse is abused in any way.  Then there some that are bonified . With these do gooders lobbying to close the slaughter houses, this caused all horse to loose their value. Why buy a horse when you can get one for $25 from the BLM. or free in many cases.  Look at the newspaper adds, or for sale boards at the feed stores.  Loaded with very CHEAP horses, and quite a few for FREE.  Last week a couple wanted to buy a 5 year old,finished under saddle, winning  show horse for their daughter.  They were willing to pay $1,000 and oh- can you throw in the saddle too.  Yea, right !!!    Someone abandoned a badly injured 2 year old colt into our pasture.  I contacted 7 rescues and not a one would take him. Always some excuse of why they couldn't and by the way ... "we take donations!"    It took me over $2,000 ( in vet bills, feed, legal fees, newspaper ads.,  etc. ) and over 5 months to GIVE him away for free.


Yep

There's a guy near here who claims he's a horse rescue. He has 40 horses and a zony on 10 acres. Scary thing is, he's a horse dentist (MI people you can PM me to find out who. He advertises in Saddle Up) and is also listed as an "Arabian Discovery Farm" to introduce newbies to Arabian horses. Horses do not have adequate fencing and he doesn't vaccinate

The Arabian Horse Association has publicly declared that it supports horse slaughter and has lobbyists to help bring it back. The organization has received many mixed reactions from this statement.


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## adoptedbyachicken (Jul 17, 2010)

Wow this is a real mixed bag.  Yes I have had great involvement in real horse rescue.  Yes I have seen that which your wondering about, people that claim to be rescues and are pure scam.  Yes the changes in laws regarding horse slaughter have changed the face of this issue hugely.  It's complex.  If you decide to get involved in a rescue have your eyes wide open for sure and be objective.  There are now more than ever horses in need (due in no small part to the lack of options for unwanted horses) and more than ever people that know nothing and willing to try and make it 'right'.  They mean well but are ill equipped.

Good luck.


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## w c (Sep 1, 2010)

Horse slaughter laws in the US just mean horses get shipped to Mexico instead of New Jersey.  So many, many horses still go that way.  There were rescues well before the slaughter rules changed too.  It has changed the terrain but not as much as one would think.  There are still all the backyard slaughters too.

Rescues are a mixed bag.  I would say that most rescues are not rescues at all but pinhooker operations, they just get cheap horses any way they can and turn around and sell them as fast as they can.  They used to be called 'horse dealers', or 'no account horse dealers'.  The word 'rescue' has just become popular.

There ARE very legit rescues.  CANTER is a good one.  The people who foster the horses for CANTER are usually very knowledgeable and can tell you a lot about the horse.  And since CANTER supports race track owners instead of criticizing them, the race track people are often very good with CANTER and tell them exactly what is going on with the horse.

I've found most rescues, the average to bad ones, have no problem selling someone a horse they know isn't suitable, such as a very nervous high energy horse for a timid elderly amateur.  I see rescue ads all the time, you know the type, 'recuperating from leg surgery, will make a great jumper!'  Er...maybe, depends on the surgery, the problem and how bad the problem was, but ah...not likely.  Most act like any starry eyed child can take any race track horse and retrain it - also not realistic.  Or that a horse that won't run and fights at the track will be fine in another sport...experience has been a horse that refuses to run and fights the rider usually doesn't work out too well for anything else either (Exceptions exist of course, but I never seem to get those, LOL!)


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## big brown horse (Sep 1, 2010)

Hey w c, I have not been keeping up with the slaughter issue lately, but last I heard I thought they couldn't transport horses for slaughter across the borders to other countries...especially through TX, my former state.

I hope they are not letting them do that again.  I've seen slaughter horses being transported in the TX heat first hand, it is bad enough but to end up in Mexico, OMG what a nightmare.


Where is the Temple Grandin for the horses? 

I currently own 3 rescued horses.  I rescued them myself.  One from a sale lot (starved and beaten), one from a crack head (left starving in a dirt corral) and one from a dear friend in dire straights.  (All three would have ended up at the slaughter/render house for sure.)

Each had to be rehabbed and retrained, all still have issues.  We deal with them. 

There is a horse rescue here where I live now that really needs to be shut down imo.  Some are good (I volunteered at Houston's ASPCA, and I loved it) and some, well, you know.

Wish folks would just stop breeding horses so much.


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## Shiloh Acres (Sep 1, 2010)

Don't have much info to add, but it's been an eye-opener. I used to have a friend who worked for a "real" rescue, so I know they exist. 

I browse the farm ads often, and was shocked to see how cheaply a horse can be had. I'd love to have one but I don't feel I have the cushion I'd want for emergency vetting nor is my pasture truly adequate, so I just read about them. 

I do know there is a generic "farm animal rescue" near here that promises to take in any unwanted livestock and give them a loving forever home on open clean pasture under sunny skies. Ummmm ... It's my understanding that most of those "rescues" come in the front door and go right out the back door, for a profit. 

I guess there are all kinds. My neighbor up the road has some acreage and wanted some animals, so he's taken in some free horses, donkeys, and goats. He's working with them and giving them a good home, but no tax-free status or anything.


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## big brown horse (Sep 1, 2010)

Hey SA! 

They can't give horses away up here.  I see lots of CL ads for free horses.

I'm at my limit with three, I wish I could take in more.  Heck every animal here is a rescue of some sort, even my pig.


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## ducks4you (Sep 1, 2010)

I thought I'd add another point.  Horse care at the rescue.  DD pointed out that "Buster" (below) 











had a rough, winter coat when we got him, and started to look and feel sleak after we had had him for a few months.  I don't want to look down on the rescue, but I know that they feed what they can get, and they currently have over 20 horses, though they  keep them on 35 acres.  I own 3 and they wander 4 acres of grazing during the warm months.
Also, his back feet have both had problems, and are now almost completely healed.
On the other hand, he very sociable from all the handling from their volunteers.
My horse, "Corporal" was a rescue of sorts.  I bought him in 1986 at an auction.  He was the last horse to bid on, and I was bidding against the meat market for a skinny four year old Arabian, showing with no tack and no harness.  I paid $145.00 for him, which was $5 more than the price of his hide.
I have done everything with this horse, including chase cows back to their paddock, shot guns off of him, survived stepping in a yellow jacket's nest, rode a 26 miler (it wasn't planned) after a 1/2 week grueling campaign, taught people to ride on him, took him on lots of vacations--even rode double with my daughter on one trip when I was thin, and DD was about 6 years old. Best horse that I've ever had.  (Corporal, Owned August, 1986 to June, 2009, RIP)


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## big brown horse (Sep 1, 2010)

Aren't those nice looking horses? 

That is how I ended up with Twinky,  I was bidding against the slaughter guys.  Thank goodness I won b/c she has been the best darn children's horse ever.  Worth her weight in gold.  I'll dig up her photo in a bit.  She is a golden palomino ex-quarter racer.

eta: here she is: 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Here is Joe (my big brown horse).  He was starved by a crack head.  I got him from her for $200 cash.  He is out of  Poco Bueno's line...well all horses in TX practically are.  He has been my horse for the last 4 years and after a bit of retraining and rehab, he is now the best horse (for me) that I ever owned.






It is hard to loose a horse, I'm sorry about Corporal.


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## Shiloh Acres (Sep 1, 2010)

big brown horse said:
			
		

> Hey SA!
> 
> They can't give horses away up here.  I see lots of CL ads for free horses.
> 
> I'm at my limit with three, I wish I could take in more.  Heck every animal here is a rescue of some sort, even my pig.


Hi BBH!  

Guess I'm not surprised. I suppose the economy has hit a lot of folks. A young man from up the road knocked on my door a few days ago, trying to sell me his horse. I guess he came cuz I have the barn, pasture, animals. I think I just saw the horse appear over there a few weeks ago.

 Typical price on CL is $200 or so. They talk about how well bred they are. I'm asking myself whether it's worth it to the owners to breed a horse if they're only going to get $200 for it, and that for a yearling or so.

Most of my goats were rescues of a sort. Good job of you to do that.


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## Horsiezz (Sep 18, 2010)

I know exactly what you mean about how these people claim to be rescuers. Just recently, we have been scanning the area for good,broke,OTT Thoroughbreds,at Rescues,as well as just regular people. We called this one woman,who claims she rescues thoroughbreds. She is a friend of a friend.She keeps giving us lame  excuses why we cant come see the horse she has advertised for sale. Well we were in the area one day and decided to stop by and see if shes home. We park on the street and walk up the hill of the driveway,and see that nobody is there. We take a look at the horses from the fence,and my gosh,these horses are cramped into small fields,no clean drinking water,all skinny,barely any grass left to munch on. Plus,no shelter. These horses have rain rot,and some even have terrible bad pasterns,probably because of racing but I dont know. They have 2 stallions,lots of mares,and about 3 geldings,along with a pony and miniature. They are in separate fields by gender it seemed. Some of the mares had foals,and some looked pregnant. Clearly,she hasnt been feeding them right,and has been breeding her "rescues"!? WHAT?!?! So anyways,we are disgusted and leave immediately. 

Then we came across an ad on craigslist,a family giving a
way a free Morab. We go and look at it,the family tells us that they are new to horses and they bought a  morgan mix mare,and didnt no she was pregnant.They later found out from previous owners she has been running in the field with an Arabian stallion. The wife then had a son who was terribly ill from birth and ended up dying,so they havent handled the morab colt since he was born,and he is now 4 years old. He has only been wormed once,and never had his feet trimmed,and not even halter broke. We didnt blame the people,they are good people and just didnt know what they were getting into,and its understandable at times.  They feel terrible about it,but they said they were scared to death of him because they couldnt go i the field to handle the other horses without him trying to chase,bite,or kick them. So they really couldnt do anything. Other than that he was a good healthy weight tho. We consider him kind of a rescue. We have only had him 3 weeks,and we already have him undersaddle. Yes,I know we rushed into it,you dont have to tell us. haha but he is taking it all in well,only bucked once so far.He actually seems to enjoy having a job. He is one of the most beautiful,smartest,most graceful horses I have ever seen in my life,in my opinion. You will be amazed how much we have gotten this horse to do in only 3 weeks. He is going to be an AMAZING horse,and if we end up keeping him I am hoping to start breaking him for jumping!
Here he is:




Under Western. For a horse that has never been handled,he is very willing and is taking a liking to us.




Under English. 




Here he is again!


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## dianneS (Sep 19, 2010)

Horsiezz said:
			
		

> Then we came across an ad on craigslist,a family giving a
> way a free Morab. We go and look at it,the family tells us that they are new to horses and they bought a  morgan mix mare,and didnt no she was pregnant.They later found out from previous owners she has been running in the field with an Arabian stallion. The wife then had a son who was terribly ill from birth and ended up dying,so they havent handled the morab colt since he was born,and he is now 4 years old.  is going to be an AMAZING horse,and if we end up keeping him I am hoping to start breaking him for jumping!
> Here he is:
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/1097_spirit4.jpg
> ...


Wow, looks like you did luck out and so did that horse!  Sounds like he's going to turn out great!  

I just read an article in our local paper about another horse siezure.  something like 58 horses and two cows starved, plus seven or eight horses dead and one that had to be put down because it was dying.  

Well, guess where these horses were being kept?  A so-called rescue!  The owner surrendered all of the horses, the starving thoroughbreds as well as her own personal horses who were *nice and healthy and well cared for!!*


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## Horsiezz (Sep 25, 2010)

dianneS said:
			
		

> Horsiezz said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That is just HORRIBLE. Those people distgust me. I hope she gets some serious jail time!


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## ducks4you (Sep 27, 2010)

Funny you mentioned that--just heard about another rescue with starved horses, not all that far from where I live.
Wouldn't you rather have these horses slaughtered to feed you dog, instead of suffering?  I just DON'T get it....


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## w c (Sep 27, 2010)

I think a lot of people think they'll pick up some cheap horses and say they're a 'rescue' and sell the horses and make some money.

Most of them aren't really doing rescue work at all.  They're actually 'pinhookers'(i think for the thin pin bones jutting out of the hind quarters, or the cheap auction tags that used to go on the horse's rumps), people who buy up cheap horses, keep them very cheaply, and try to sell them at a profit.

Generally, they don't do very well financially and keep the horses in very bad conditions.

It doesn't always work out well to buy an untrained, unhandled horse out of a field.  Hopefully it's the right type of horse that adjusts well.


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## dianneS (Sep 28, 2010)

Well, here we go... this is one of the rescues in my area that I've been suspicious of for a long time.  One of the reasons I posted this thread in the first place.

This rescue posts horses all over Petfinder.com and Horsetopia.  I've contacted them in the past and really got the run around.  I got the impression right away that the rescue doesn't have an actual farm where one can go visit.  The one guy I did speak to, didn't even know which horse I was inquiring about.  No one ever got back to me and they didn't seem very motivated to re-home these unwanted horses.

This is a long article, but worth reading.  The word should be spread about people like this.  And that New Holland auction!  Ugh, just such a shady miserable place!

http://fuglyblog.com/


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## FarmerMack (Mar 15, 2011)

ksalvagno said:
			
		

> Just like anything else, there are those that will take advantage of what they can. We have a farm animal rescue near me that is on the level and honestly a rescue. They do a great job and have adopted out many rideable horses. I think the best you can do is research them and find out everything you can to make sure they are legitimate.


There is one near me in Kentucky that has a 4 yr old mare that they rescued, my adoption cost is what they had in her for $$ "nothing". I'm going to be taking her in on my farm. her choice at the auction , because of a rear leg injury were rescue or bullet. (GRR) a year later and one foul she is ok, still not 100% but dont tell her that they told her lol. I have a rescued a cat, and a dog both of which have been the best pets i have had yet.


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