HfH Assists Financially Strapped Texas Horse Owners
Bart, Harley and Pele all adopted from Habitat for Horses ~ Photo by Terry Fitch
“I can get by with a little help from my friends…” In the middle of a financial crunch, the difference between a horse staying with the family that loves them or having to send the horse off to a rescue, or worse, sending it to auction, is often a matter of needing just a few more dollars. When the choice comes down to either buying hay and feed or feeding the family and putting gas in the truck, the horse suffers.
It isn’t the horse owner’s fault. Bad things happen to good people – jobs are lost, illness strikes – and what was once a secure home for the horse becomes torn by a family that is struggling to hold it together.
That’s where we can step in to help and where you can keep your eyes and ears open to direct horse owners to Habitat for Horses for assistance. We ask that you help provide a bit of oversight by occasionally checking on the horse and making sure things have leveled out. Our number one, primary goal is to keep the horse in the home. If a little bit of financial assistance can help, we’re willing and able to step forward.
All it takes is a phone call. The Habitat for Horses Financial Assistance Program is often able to step in and grant that brief amount of monetary assistance that helps a family get through their money crunch. Our goal is to keep the horse out of the rescue, out of the auction house and staying in the home with the family.
- There is a brief application for assistance that will need to be filled out.
- Once approved, money will be sent to the service provider (vet, farrier, feed store, etc).
- All we ask is that the applicant agree to follow up visits so that we know the horse did actually stay in the home.
Habitat for Horses will help pay for:
- Hay
- feed
- necessary medical attention
- farrier
- vaccinations
- dental work
Please contact the office for more information – office@habitatforhorses.org or call 409-935-0277 during business hours Monday – Friday
Please pass this along to your vet, feed stores, riding clubs – anywhere horse people gather. You never know how close someone might be to needing financial help.
Categories: Equine Rescue, Horse News
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
What a wonderful offer for all cash strapped horse owners! Pity there is no such assistance for the Irish people – I am absolutely horrified by that situation there.
As I tell everyone here at work – the horses and the car get new shoes – not me!!
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Hello. Do your services extended to Alaska? Thanks. Sandy
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Let’s see…SS wants to kill and eat horses as part of her equine “humane” plan;Jerry and his staff want to help owners get through the tough times so they can keep a living, breathing family member.
Hmmmmm…which individual is really helping horses and their owners? No brainer for me. Thank you HfH.
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What a wonderful organization. And it’s so nice to hear a little good news. Too bad every state couldn’t have a Habitat for Horses. I know Missouri could use one. I’m one of the many people who could use some help but so far I’m the one going without, not my horses. If it doesn’t get better I at least hope it stays that way. I could stand to lose a little weight. 😉
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This is such a supportive program. People and their horses who get this help will be very fortunate. mar
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Wonderful.
And one might ask why the far sighted, keen minded and highly educated men and women in Washington are not supporting and otherwise funding such groups rather than the viscious, special interest based blow hards at the BLM and their behind the times ilk.
DUH.
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From the title, I assume this assistance is only for Texans? It would be wonderful if it could be nation-wide.
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We have a program here for which I helped plant flowers – it’s called Colorado Horsecare Foodbank, they have helped horse people in other states, to keep their horses home.
http://www.horsefoodbank.org/index.html
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I always liked to work with horses. I think I could be a volunteer.
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There are rescues and rescue support nonprofits that do support within their own states and across state and international borders.
Let’s just be grateful that an org like HfH has officially stepped up for those neighbors in their own Texas. Also, last I was informed of, HfH steps outside of their geographical Texas box all the time to help equines AND the people that care for them.
Maybe more orgs and citizens outside of Texas will follow HfH lead. In the meantime, feel joy for those that will be helped in Texas and probably coming to a town near you with the right financial and volunteer support.
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There are solutions – we have got to find them and breathe life into them. Thank you Habitat for Horses.
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It’s really neat when an organization can help an owner keep it’s pet/companion. I would rather die than lose any of our kids. Hopefully, RT and I will never be in a situation where we have to make a choice. However, if we do, it’s nice to know there are organizations out there to assist. Maybe others will follow suit.
There are most likely going to be a lot of hands out there wanting help. Having been the treasurer of the organization at one time, you wouldn’t believe what even the foster homes expect out of the organization. It’s ludicrous! I completely understand why HfH is staying within the state lines. It’s not like they are a multi-million dollar organization. I would like to see some of the ‘big’ name organizations take on a project like this. We’ll see.
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A Huge Thank You is in order for the Genuine Caring and loving people of Habitat for Horses, BRAVO !!!!! This is a Divine effort !! Thank You for all…….
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This is, as the saying goes, “where the rubber meets the road”. The true horse lovers step up to the plate. I do so agree with Terry. How good it would be for the multi-million dollar organizations to help. They could and they should. It seems that so often, the ones that have the least give the most.
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We all need to be writing to the horse community companies that we have all been buying things from all these years and ask them for help for all our domestic and wild horses. Many have grant programs and we need to be reaching out to them and involving them. We need their participation and support. mar
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In asking if this assistance is for Texans only, I didn’t mean for it to sound critical. It’s wonderful! I just wanted to verify that it is only for Texans before passing the info on. I also hope to hear that other groups in other places are offering this same wonderful and much needed aid.
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It didn’t sound negative to me. It sounded like a very reasonable question. 🙂
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Just donated. We are all one!
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HfH has a legitimate donation site and a new cause for Texas equine owners. They always have their “Amazing Grace” fund for donaters to add to this list of equine concern.
The point is, in this case why ask a univerisal question regarding pain and abuse of any human or animal with regard to the point of one entity providing relief in same way for same.
But if you (or other critics) have a better more productive way to unscrew this holocaust for equines…..please advise.
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The United States Equine Rescue League has an Equine Assistance Program for the states of Virginia and North Carolina at this time. It sounds like it is structured very much like HfH. I think this is such a great idea and makes so much more sense to me than removing a horse from a home where it is already loved and cherished. So, if you are reading this in Virginia or North Carolina, you may want to go to http://www.userl.org for more information. If the program is successful in Virginia and North Carolina, it might be expanded to other states. This is the rescue I volunteer with.
In fact, I think that this model of animal rescue and humane treatment might be one that could be tried in other breeds. It broke my heart to see all the dogs with hats, scarves, and toys lovingly left with them by their families who turned them into shelters after the Gulf Oil disaster.
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Sometimes a helping hand can make all the difference, both physical and emotional!
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Excellent information! Thanks so much for sharing it. I’m working with a rescue operation (one person!) right now trying to help her find grants to help keep everyone fed and safe – I will check out some of the places that might have grants available.
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For those who want info, we have a program here in Colorado, Juliana Lehman started this, we planted flowers in her greenhouse here in the mountains… repotted them over and over and then sold beautiful hanging baskets.. it has expanded now and she has assisted people in other states… it is geared to help with hay and expenses, to keep horses home with their owners.
http://www.horsefoodbank.org/index.html
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Bless you! You do wonderful things for horses, & the humans that love them!! Happy Holiday’s to you & yours!! 🙂
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THIS IS WONDERFUL WHAT HABITAT FOR HORSES ARE DOING. A FEW YEARS AGO I KNEW THE FEELING AND WORRY OF WHERE IS THE NEXT DOLLAR COMING TO FEED MY HORSES BUT THANK GOD I HAD SOME JEWELRY TO SELL WHICH REALLY HELPED. THE PLAN HfH HAS WORKED OUT IS A PERFECT ONE DUE TO THE FACT THEY WILL CHECK TO SEE THAT THE MONEY IS GOING FOR THE HORSES. IT SEEM THE ONLY RELIEF FOR THE HORSES MUST COME FROM THE HORSE PEOPLE THEMSELVES. THEY CERTAINLY CANNOT COUNT ON THE BLM.
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