Horse Life – Adoption, Rescue and Sanctuary

“Don’t breed or buy, while homeless horses die!”  Nicki Branch of Falconridge Equine Rescue in Valley Center summed it up beautifully.   In this economy, the number of homeless horses in San Diego County has been difficult to quantify, but it is huge.  A search of the Internal Revenue Service official Publication 78, which lists every tax exempt animal rescue, shows 831 officially sanctioned animal rescue organizations in the state.  That search only keyed on the terms “equine rescue”, it did not include any organized horse rescue facilities which do not have IRS non-profit status, private rescue homes. Nor does it include the many other organizations,  such as Therapeutic Riding Centers, who take in quality rescue horses to serve the community as Equine Therapist.

 UC Davis Center for Equine Health reports in their Equine Sanctuary and Rescue Facilities Guidelines document   “Currently many horse owners find that their economic circumstances preclude them from being able to afford caring for their horse. Whatever the reason, there are tens of thousands of horses who find themselves unwanted, abandoned or neglected in the United States every year”. Lieutenant Denise Gove of San Diego County Department of Animal Services said that of the approximately two hundred to three hundred calls they take each month, roughly 5% are horse calls.  Many of those horses are turned over to Animal Control or one of the San Diego County sanctioned horse rescues.   Nicki Branch posted on her blog recently that Falconridge was at capacity – 50 horses – she was in need of a foster home for 4 more rescues from out of state.  Tearsong Equine Athletes Rescue and Sanctuary in Ramona, a relatively new rescue, has grown from 6 horses in 2008 to 20 horses today.   That kind of growth is representative of the normal population grown in horse rescue facilities throughout San Diego County.

San Diego county horse enthusiasts are trying to wrap themselves around this problem with the birth of San Diego Equine Safety Net Coalition.  The San Diego Equine Safety Net Coalition was established in January 2010 by the ASPCA.Their mission: San Diego Equine Safety Net Coalition is focused on both the immediate and long-term care of San Diego's at-risk horses through guidance, support, and education.  Founding Members of the San Diego Equine Safety Net Coalition are Member Rescues/Sanctuaries: Blue Apple Ranch, FalconridgeEquine Rescue, Horses of Tir Na Nog, and TijuanaRiver Valley Animal Rescue.  Member Veterinary Practices: Creekside Veterinary Service, East County Large Animal Practice, Paniolo Equine Veterinary Services, San Luis Rey Equine Hospital.  Advisory Members: ASPCA, County of San Diego Department of Animal Services, San Diego Humane Society & SPCA,Dr. Don Moore.

What does it take to adopt a rescue horse?  Lieutenant Gove of San Diego County Department of Animal Services stated that in San Diego County, citizens should assume the cost of horse keeping will be between three hundred and five hundred dollars per month.   That includes housing, feed, vet bills, farrier care, and overhead such as truck/trailer expenses, and utilities if kept at home.  It does not include insurance, training or fees for showing or other activities.  The  UC Davis Center for Equine Health reports in their Equine Sanctuary and Rescue Facilities Guidelines document   the average 1000 lb horse should consume 1 – 3% if their body weight in good quality feed that equals 15 to 30 lbs of hay or dry feed.  The same 1000 lb horse will drink as much as 25 gallons of water and produce approx 54 lbs of manure daily. Sanitary horse keeping involves regular stall maintenance (mucking or manure removal) and bedding to absorb moisture and give the animal a comfortable place to sleep.   In a boarding situation, these needs are generally covered in the board fee, in San Diego County boarding facilities charge anywhere from $185 - $500 per month.   Horses also need regular exercise,  room to run is important to its physical and mental well being.  This covers the physical needs of the horse.  What else the horse may need is dependant on what the horse will be doing.

Falconridge and Tearsong both have resident trainers who work with the horses prior to adoption.  Any quality rescue facility will work with the horses in their care to assess the animal’s health, training and temperament to be able to properly place it with a well matched human partner.  Most rescue facilities provide some sort of monitoring of the horse after adoption at least for a short period of time.  The goal of most rescues is the long term well being of the horses in their care.   Each rescue has its own criteria for adoption, detailed in a contract and adoption fees to cover their costs.   Some offer training after adoption, others expect new owners to have proper training support of their own. 

The joy of adopting a rescue horse can be seen in the faces and feedback from rescue horse owners. (see photo)

 Horses have touched the lives of humans since before Christ, some thoughts to ponder about why so many fight to rescue horses are in these words from various people with familiar names:  

"A man on a horse is spiritually, as well as physically, bigger then a man on foot."  John Steinbeck  

"The horse.  Here is nobility without conceit, friendship without envy, beauty without vanity. A willing servant, yet never a slave."     Ronald Duncan   

"Riding a horse is not a gentle hobby to be picked up and put down like a game of solitaire, it is a grand passion that lasts a lifetime."  Ralph Waldo Emerson

"No philosophers so thoroughly comprehend us as dogs and horses."  Herman Melville

"The ouside of a horse is good for the inside of a man." Sir Winston Churchill

"Care - and not fine stables, makes a good horse."  Danish Proverb

“It excites me that no matter how much machinery replaces the horse, the work it can do is still measured in horsepower.....even in this space age.  And although a riding horse often weighs half a ton, and a big drafter a full ton, either can be led about by a piece of string if he has been wisely trained. This to me is a constant source of wonder, and challenge.”   - Marguret Henry