Wondering what to get the horsey girl who has everything this holiday season? Why not make your gift one that gives back to the very creatures she loves—a sponsorship of a horse in need.
How many times have you heard a horse lover express how much they’d love to adopt a horse from a rescue? We’d love to but we can’t afford another horse. Sponsorship is another, more affordable, way to adopt a homeless horse and make a difference in the life of a horse who has suffered hardship.
Equine rescue organizations throughout the United States need help, especially those in areas where hay prices have gone through the roof and people are abandoning their horses in record numbers. An Associated Press story reported that in Oregon, where the price of hay went from $125 a ton last year to $200 a ton this year, and a rescue organization in Bend, Oregon, noted that people were just opening their gaits and kicking their horses out. Such abandonment, along with the rising cost in hay, strains already tapped out rescue groups.
Rescue and rehabilitation groups have horses that have been abused, starved, abandoned or neglected, along with horses surrendered by their owners because the animals were no longer rideable. Additionally, the groups care for horses rescued at auction, such as Premarin foals, former racehorses, wild horses and others. The goal is often to rehabilitate the horse and adopt out to a loving family, but some horses will never be adopted and remain permanent members of those groups.
At the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, New York, if you sponsor an ex-race horse, you’ll receive a photo and his race record. The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation began when the rescue’s soon-to-be founder was covering a story for the New York Times at an auction. He saw an ex-racehorse, an allowance horse no less, auctioned to a killer buyer. He made an offer on the horse—called Renaissance Bob—to the buyer and so began the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.
At Habitat for Horses in Texas, the rescue and rehabilitation group spends between $1000 and $2000 on a horse before it is adoptable. You can adopt a horse in rehab, a resident horse who is not adoptable or a program horse—one that makes the educational rounds to schools and hospitals. You can select a virtual horse adoption from the list of dozens of occupants at Habitat for Horses. For you eBay enthusiasts, donations can conveniently be given through PayPal.
Return to Freedom in California is a wild horse sanctuary with some 200 wild horses and burros. The organization’s goal is to preserve natural family groups, preserve the natural habitat and conduct non-hormonal contraception with the wild mares to maintain manageable levels. Sponsorship helps to support and maintain the wild horses there.
The Horse Rescue and Sanctuary in New York has a wish list of items it hopes to receive for horses, including alfalfa cubes. The Colorado Horse Rescue, in operation for 20 years, also has a wish list including feed, muck buckets and rakes, among numerous other items. Sponsorship of a horse there gives the donor a picture, the horse’s story and the ability to visit the horse.
For nearly all the rescues, you can make a one-time or monthly donation. Most don’t have a minimum donation as they could use every little bit they receive. This holiday season, make a socially and environmentally equine conscious decision to give a gift that makes a difference in the life of a special horse that needs your help. As for me, for the holiday, I’ll be sponsoring a horse in memory of my mare Mysti who passed away this year. It will be my New Year’s resolution to sponsor a homeless horse; it will certainly feel better on many levels than giving up chocolate or going to the gym!
