Horse Rescue

By, Melody Perry

After beginning to volunteer at a local horse rescue here in Helena in early 2018, I fell in love with the rescue horse. I watched malnourished horses gain weight and go on to be perfect kids’ horses. I watched fearful horses learn to trust and carry a saddle. Near my second year, I was hired on and became more involved in the everyday life of a horse rescue.

With around 80,000 horses sent over the border to slaughter every year according to the ASPCA, something needed to be done. So, people began rescuing horses. They opened horse rescues and gave these animals a second chance at life. This is where you, the reader come in. These rescues still need help. Even if the horse isn’t on a truck, some of which go nonstop for 24 hours without food or water, they’re still in need of help here in the U.S. Let me show you the life of a rescue horse to help you understand why.

A horse is typically chosen for slaughter at an auction house. Blind, injured, and old horses are easy pickings for a kill buyer who can get them cheap and make a profit when he sells them to the slaughter house. But, young, trained horses can go to slaughter as well. A lot of times they’re just forgotten horses. For example, out at the rescue we took in a small, grey horse named Clint. After gaining some weight, he proved himself invaluable for giving riding lessons and was even leased out to someone to use in a clinic. With minimal tuning up he was able to work under saddle as good as any horse. Horses that run loose into the pen, as opposed to ridden in, are a sign someone didn’t care for the horse so they’re easy picking to. Many kill buyers will stop bidding if they see someone who really wants a horse, because they don’t want to pay a high price for a horse that’s going for meat. Horse rescues go to auctions and bid against kill buyers or adopt them from pens that hold them before shipping them off. While horse slaughter is illegal in the U.S., the last slaughter house being closed in 2007, there are holding pens across the states.

At the slaughterhouse for the unlucky 80,000, the horses are not killed humanely. According to the ASPCA, “The methods used to kill horses rarely result in quick, painless deaths for these animals and sometimes they even remain conscious during dismemberment.” A popular form of euthanization is an electric bolt, where the horse is shocked in the head with a bolt of electricity, which typically stuns them instead of killing them.

Once the rescue owners have the horse, or horses, they take them back to the rescue. Some come from across borders, others come from right in your backyard. The horse is put into quarantine for a few weeks to ensure he doesn’t develop any illnesses he could give to other animals on the property. All the while, the horse’s are fed good quality hay, feed and supplements to help them gain wait. Many rescues feed senior feed regardless of age since it’s designed to be easy on the horse and help them gain wait. A vet comes out to look at any injuries, and a farrier comes out to look at the feet, if the horse tolerates being handled.

One horse in particular who’s been saved out at the rescue I work, is Beauty. She was given to the rescue in a trio of arabs who were all malnourished. Beauty was a senior and in serious need of help. It took plenty of feed, hay, and love but now she’s at a safe weight and will never have to worry about starving again. She’ll live out the rest of her days at the rescue being a pasture pet, helping others learn about the tenacity of the rescue horse.

Once the horse has a body score of 3.5 or higher, which means there’s slight fat over the ribs among other things, the horse is ready for training. Some horses are badly broken and fearful, so it takes an experienced trainer and a lot of time to gain their trust and heal them so they can go on to a new home. Some are even feral and have had no human contact, just like a mustang. Other horses are better in the head and well trained, so a few rides are all it takes before they’re adopted out. Horse’s are sold for a small fee, normally a few hundred dollars. Then, the process repeats itself.

As you can see, rescuing horses is a time consuming, expensive process. Often rescues scrimp and save just to rescue one more horse. This is why they need your help! Whether you volunteer your time by brushing, feeding, handling or training horses if you’re experienced enough or making a monetary donation, horse rescues need assistance. 93% of rescue horses sent to slaughter are good, rideable horses according to SaviorsRescue.com, so you can even get in some more riding time and experience training horses if you’re interested. Look into your local horse rescues and ask what they need. Just be sure it’s a legitimate rescue without a past of abuse or neglect, because unfortunately some rescues just don’t cut it.

You have the power to help save a horse, so why not do something? Just like any other animal, horses can’t choose what happens to them, so it’s up to us to make the right decision.