We Ride Sport and Trail Magazine December 2017 | Page 50

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DORSET EQUINE RESCUE

EAST DORSET, VERMONT

receive horses through law enforcement who had to seize animals because of a severe neglect or abuse situation. When we have room, we also pull horses from auction or kill pens to protect them from ending up on a slaughter truck bound for Mexico or Canada.

Often these animals arrive at the slaughterhouse seriously injured from transport due to the extreme overstocking of trailers. It’s common for them to be extremely dehydrated having had nothing to drink or eat for days. It is an exceptionally long and grueling trip for them. Slaughter is a terrifying and brutal end to a horse’s life and is not the answer to the overpopulation of our horses. Horses have played a major role in building our country and deserve better.

Each incoming horse to our rescue goes through a 30-day quarantine to protect the current horses already on the farm from possible contamination of contagious illnesses. During this time, they are thoroughly evaluated by our team of skilled equine experts, from veterinarians to our trainer to our farrier. We provide all necessary care for them and make sure the transition into their new herd is as stress free as possible so that they can start to thrive.

When each horse is ready, they slowly start into a training program. Our trainer works closely with the veterinarians to assure the best possible outcome for each horse. We believe that horses are happier and healthier when they have a job. The Dorset Equine Rescue has a full time trainer who evaluates each horse’s abilities and physical condition. Because we rarely get much history on the horses that come to us, we treat each horse as if they do not have any training. We make sure that we get to know our horses very well and continue their training for as long as they are with us. We want to assure the best possible home for them, so the better we know what they are capable of, the better we can match them with their future adopter. An educated horse is far more adoptable than an uneducated horse.

Sometimes age or injury prevents horses from being ridable but that doesn’t mean that they are useless. Some of those horses are the best companions to our younger horses that are insecure and need stability. Some of them end up being good lead line horses, or therapy horses for people to pet and brush, or they get adopted out as a companion to another horse who is alone. All of our horses, including the ones who are not ridable, are brought into the barn regularly and taught to have excellent ground manners so they are a pleasure to be around and well behaved for the veterinarian and farrier.

When a Dorset Equine Rescue horse is ready for adoption, it is listed on our website and shared on social media. Anyone who is interested in one of our horses is asked to fill out an adoption application as well as provide references, after which point we also require a barn check. We require every new home to provide a certain level of care including shelter, a good sized turn out area, and basic vaccinations. After a home is approved, the new owner will sign a contract to help insure the horse continues to be well cared for. If they can no longer keep the horse, the adopter is required to agree to notify us first before rehoming their horse, so that we are part of the rehoming process. Once a horse comes through our rescue, we do everything in our power to keep it forever safe from falling on hard times again. We strive to make sure each horse and adopter is compatible so they both have the best chance of developing a life-long and successful relationship.

When good people blindly buy a horse from an auction or rescue a horse from a kill pen, it’s always a big risk. This is because many people really don’t know what they are getting into. The horse could have major medical issues or behavioral issues that surface after they get the horse home.

Rescuing a horse is a wonderful thing to do. By adopting a horse from a rescue, you are not only providing a home for one horse, you are also opening up a spot for the rescue to save another. The best and safest way to adopt a horse is through a reputable rescue where the horse has been well cared for, evaluated by a veterinarian and is consistently worked with by a trainer.

The Dorset Equine Rescue runs completely on donations which is made possible only by the generosity of people like you. If you believe in what we do, please consider a tax deductible donation so that we can continue to help these amazing animals. Our mailing address is: The Dorset Equine Rescue, P.O. Box 92, East Dorset, VT 05253

For more information about our organization, please visit our website, www.dorsetequinerescue.org and like our Facebook page. www.facebook.com/dorsetequinerescue

Although I had been a horse owner for many years prior, it wasn’t until I adopted my first two rescue horses, “Daisy” and “Duke”, that I realized the severity of the situation that so many of these majestic animals face. Horses were being neglected and needed help not only all over the country, but even right here in my back yard of New England. With approximately 140,000 horses that ship out of our country to Mexico and Canada every year to slaughter, I knew I had to do something to help.

Horses come to us from a variety of situations, including many from owner surrenders. Our organization gets contacted almost daily by people who wish to surrender their horses to us for many different reasons. In some cases, there has been a loss of a job, serious illness, divorce, loss of interest or death of the owner. It is difficult to turn any horse away, but due to limited space, we are forced to be selective on which horses we take in and mainly focus on the ones who are in the most dire situation.

We are happy when we can help not only the horses in these tough situations, but also the folks who have fallen on hard times and have no other options for their horses. By intervening, we prevent the horses from ending up in a worse situation or going to auction which would put them at a high risk of shipping to slaughter. Occasionally we

The Dorset Equine Rescue is a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of neglected, abused and slaughter bound horses of all breeds and sizes. Nestled in the beautiful Green Mountains in East Dorset, Vermont, the rescue began in 2012 when I acquired my first two rescue horses.

By Jennifer Straub,

Dorset Equine Rescue Executive Director