Tag Archives: Equine Rescue

Jun 13 2017

Nancy Turner (Pres., This Old Horse) and Elaine Nash (Dir., Fleet of Angels) on adopting the remaining ISPMB horses, on Wild Horse & Burro Radio (Wed., 6/14/17)

painy

Wild_Horse_Burro_Radio_LogoJoin us on Wild Horse Wednesdays®, June 14, 2017

7:00 pm PST … 8:00 pm MST … 9:00 pm CST … 10:00 pm EST

Listen To the archived show (HERE!)

You can also listen to the show on your phone by calling (917) 388-4520.

You can call in with questions during the 2nd half hour, by dialing (917) 388-4520, then pressing 1.

This show will be archived so you can listen to it anytime.

Black stallion

Our guests tonight will be Nancy Turner, President of This Old Horse, a Minnesota volunteer-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide sanctuary to retired, rescued, and recovering horses, and Elaine Nash, Founder and Director of Fleet of Angels, a not-for-profit organization with thousands of on-call members across the US and Canada who offer crisis management and transportation assistance during equine-related emergencies, as well as other services.

Nancy and Elaine will talk about the many ISPMB horses that still need to be adopted (as soon as possible). These horses are good looking, smart, and willing. Please help us find homes for them.

To learn more about how you can adopt or help: Wild Horse & Burro Sanctuary Alliance.

This show will be hosted by Debbie Coffey, V.P. and Dir. of Wild Horse Affairs for Wild Horse Freedom Federation.

To contact us: ppj1@hush.com, or call 320-281-0585

TO LISTEN TO ALL ARCHIVED WILD HORSE & BURRO RADIO SHOWS, CLICK HERE. Continue reading →

May 16 2017

Update: Status on Massive Former Wild Horse and Burro SD Rescue

Source: Wild Horse and Burro Sanctuary Alliance

It has been a long and difficult journey for the 907 horses that the State Attorneys in South Dakota found to be suffering from serious neglect last  October. From freezing temperatures and soupy mud, all of the unadopted horses healthy enough to make the journey have been relocated to a safe staging area in Colorado. (or to a new adoptive home.) We’ve come so far and we couldn’t have done it without you!

But we aren’t done yet! There are still 170 horses waiting to be adopted  and transported to their new adoptive homes, the Wild Horse and Burro Sanctuary Alliance members and partners continue to work hard to raise the $8,000.00 a week still needed to complete one of the largest horse rescues in U.S. history (bolded) as soon as possible.
Alliance members have been providing support to Fleet of Angels and its ground team by doing our part to raise funds for feed and care. With your help, and the support of the citizens and ranchers from Faith, S.D., 312 horses were relocated at the end of March to a well-equipped adoption hub in Ft. Collins Colorado.
Since last October, 712 of the 907 horses have been adopted minus some 24 horses that had to be euthanized due to medical reasons (like broken bones, cancer and other irreversible conditions). The numbers are staggering. It has been a challenge to get this far and it could not have been done without everyone’s help- every contribution and ‘share’ with friends has made a lifesaving impact.
The Wild Horse and Burro Sanctuary Alliance will continue to do what we can to raise funds to help cover feed and labor until all the horses reach new homes. Weekly costs for board, feed and laborare over $8,000.00. Thanks to contributions from the ASPCA, all Coggins costs have been covered and thanks to Shirly Puga/National Equine Resource Network and The Unwanted Horse Coalition, all gelding fees have now been covered! 
This is a team effort and without the support of The Griffin-Soffel Equine Rescue Foundation, The Humane Society of The United States, the ASPCA, the Wild Horse and Burro Sanctuary Alliance, Victoria McCullough, Best Friends, and every individual or group that has contributed, more than 600 horses would have been sold at auction last December, with most winding up hauled to Mexico or Canada for slaughter.
Since October, when a ruling of neglect was made against the International Society
for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros (ISPMB), an outpouring of generosity (has) made it possible to feed the horses and reimburse costs incurred by two South Dakota counties.
That allowed the counties to call off a planned public auction of the ISPMB horses at which many would have fallen into the hands of kill buyers, and feed the horses and ground crew. At the same time, adoptive homes were found for over 270 of the estimated 907 horses originally found on the ISPMB property, and the health of most of the others began improving. Since then, all but 170 horses have been placed with safe homes- but we need help. Every dollar helps make this possible.
Now, we need your financial contribution to cover the remaining cost of housing and care for the 170 horses who are still in need of adoptive homes. We need to cover costs for hay, facilities and labor this week.
We are grateful to EVERYONE who has chosen to be part of this effort and remain committed—with your help—to leave no horse behind.
On behalf of the Wild Horse and Burro Sanctuary Alliance, please help us in this final stretch of reaching that goal.
Thank you and please help today,
Apr 13 2017

Saving vulnerable equines from a deadly fate

Source: Register-Star

Susan Wagner, president of Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary, stands with Pensacola Pete, a donkey that was rescued by the organization in 2015.

By Amanda Purcell Columbia-Greene Media

CHATHAM – After 15 years working in the horse racing industry, Sue Wagner rescued her first horse from slaughter in 1994.

Since then, she has not looked back.

“I couldn’t handle it,” she said. “I just thought to myself, ‘If a horse becomes injured – whether by racing or being used for rides – that is no reason to send them to the slaughterhouse.’”

Two years later, she founded Equine Advocates, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting horses, ponies, donkeys and mules.

“I decided I wanted to use my experience toward helping horses that were treated inhumanely,” she said. “I saw that a lot of the horses in the horse industry – not just racing, but all other horse industries – were sent to the slaughterhouse after they outlived their use.”

In 2004 she established Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary, located at 3212 State Route 66 in Chatham. The 140-acre sanctuary now offers shelter to 80 horses, ponies, donkeys and mules, most of which were rescued from slaughter, abuse and/or neglect.

At the sanctuary, every horse has a story, and every horse represents an industry where they have been exploited, killed inhumanely, abandoned or neglected.

“We rescued quite a few from slaughter and placed many not just at our own place, but in other organizations all over the country,” Wagner said. “All of these horses, or most of them, were rescued from terrible situations. The horses that are coming here are horses that have nobody to speak for them. The horses that we have that are slaughter-bound, abandoned, some of them were seized by police in cruelty cases.”

There’s Bobby II Freedom, a former New York City carriage horse that was rescued from slaughter in a kill pen in New Holland, Pennsylvania, in 2010. He has permanent scars on his throat latch and muzzle, and wears special shoes to keep his balance, Wagner said.

And there’s Pensacola Pete, a donkey that was abandoned by ranchers and found walking alongside the road in Pensacola, Florida, in 2015.

Read the rest of this article HERE.

Feb 12 2017

Feel Good Sunday: Clydesdales Help Purina Deliver Surprise to Horse Shelter in Need

Source: Purina Mills TV

“Annually, many Americans wait to see the ultimate and final “Big Game” of the year which just concluded in our own backyard, here, in Houston.  But also there are many who may not be football fans but annually look forward to the next installation of the heart tugging, mini-sagas put forth by Budweiser featuring the gentle giants of the equine world, the Clydesdales.  This year, the fans of horses were disappointed when Budweiser benched the ponies and went a totally different direction and suffered poor reviews on their attempt to document immigration history.  The result was a lose/lose on both-sides with Bud slipping in the ratings and the Clydesdales fans left without a horse fix, so we are here to help correct that oversight, today.

We issue a “tissue alert” in advance and would also like to add that we are not endorsing any one horse rescue but instead tipping our hats to all of the fine organizations out there filled with good folks who donate their time, their money and their lives to the effort of finding good forever homes and futures for equines in need.  There is no need to identify them as you already know who you are and we love each and everyone of you bright points of compassion, caring and love.  May you have a wonderful ‘Feel Good Sunday’ and never give up the good fight.  Keep the faith!” ~ R.T.

Feb 6 2017

300 Former Wild Horses in South Dakota Need Homes as Deadline Looms

Source: ISPMB/Emergency Adoption Mission

“The ‘Hallelujah Horses’ Need Your Help!”

Volunteers are scrambling to find homes for hundreds of wild horses in South Dakota that were spared a possible trip to the slaughterhouse but are now suffering through a harsh winter.

The horses, some of them blind, were once kept at a troubled South Dakota sanctuary. Now a small group of volunteers from across the country is working 10 hours a day to feed and care for animals, using rented plows to carve paths through 15-foot snowdrifts. In a nearby hotel room, other volunteers are sorting through adoption applications and networking through social media, desperately trying to find homes for the horses before they are forced to leave the property next month.

“We are working to get the whole herd out of the 15-foot snow. Some are blind and are walking out right over the fences. It’s really hard to work with so many horses with so many problems,” said Elaine Nash, director of horse rescue organization Fleet of Angels, who is spearheading the operation. “Every time we get over one hurdle there’s another one waiting for us.”

Some 500 horses have already been placed in sanctuaries and ranches across the country, from Arizona and Oregon to California and Minnesota. But the effort near Lantry, in northern South Dakota, isn’t done.

The remaining 300 wild horses could be more difficult to sell or have adopted, Nash said. Nearly 200 are stallions that need gelding before anyone will want them. Dozens are old and have health problems. Others are blind from what Nash suspects was toxic farm runoff in their drinking pond.

But Nash was grateful for the response so far to the neglected herd. Many of the less desirable horses have already found homes, and Nash is hopeful that most will be out of South Dakota by their deadline.

When Nash first spread the word in October, This Old Horse rescue in Hastings, Minnesota, agreed to take two older mares.

They wound up taking seven stallions, all blind, instead.

“I don’t know how it happened,” joked Nancy Turner, board president of This Old Horse. “Elaine is really good at convincing people.”

Turner said it’s not easy. The horses are wild, after all, and need special handling and transportation. Most have never been inside a barn or trailer.

“But part of it for me is that these aren’t poor needy horses,” Turner said. “They are magnificent. I thought that we could celebrate them rather than see them as poor things that should probably be put down.”

More than 800 horses were impounded in October at the nonprofit International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros after a state veterinarian found they were being neglected and a former ranch employee said they were being starved to death. All but 20 were eventually surrendered by their owner.

By mid-December, a third of the horses had been adopted or sold while the other 550 or so were being held as collateral by county officials seeking reimbursement for the cost of caring for the horses. When it didn’t come, the counties started planning to auction off the rest to recoup the cost, making animal rights groups fear many of the horses would be brought to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico.

Fleet of Angels and other animal rights groups raised the $78,000 still owed to the counties and stopped the auction. They then assumed the costs and responsibility of caring for the horses

The group is now gathering, microchipping, collecting blood samples and trimming the feet of the remaining horses and gelding the stallions. Meanwhile, they still need financial support to feed and care for a herd burning through $1,000 in hay each day.

Nash said horses won’t be euthanized unless they have broken bones or serious conditions — even horses that might be difficult to adopt.

“We know that someone will come forward and give them good homes. People care about these horses and about making this mission a success,” she said.

Note: “200 stallions” was the total number of the stallions out of the total 810.  Also, about 95% of the horses look great after receiving $150,000 worth of hay since mid-October.

Jan 29 2017

Feel Good Sunday: Old Horse At ‘Kill Lot’ Decides To Rescue Himself

by Sarah V Schweig as published on The Dodo

“He was intent that this was his ride out of there.”

BubblesAn old horse was at a “kill lot” in Texas when he realized he would simply have to save his own life.

So when he spotted a group of people who were there to rescue some mini donkeys in the same life-threatening predicament, he decided to go with them.

“This skinny, grey gelding walked straight up to our trailer, past the gates, disregarding the commands of the kill lot employees,” Becky’s Hope Horse Rescue in Frisco, Texas, wrote earlier this month. “He was intent that this was his ride out of there.”

Sarah McGregor, a spokesperson for Becky’s Hope, explained that the “kill lot” in North Texas where the horse, named Bubbles, comes from is the last place animals get a chance to be rescued before heading to Mexico for slaughter.

“Oftentimes, the horses or donkeys are old, or the owners lost their property, or the owners passed away or simply are unable to care for them and they are sold to auction,” McGregor told The Dodo. “If they are not bought at auction by people or other farms, the slaughter pipeline will buy up all of the animals and resell them.”

This was very nearly Bubbles’s fate — before he decided to adopt his own rescuers. “We stood there staring as this old guy with crumbled ears from frostbite waited patiently for the group of mini donkeys to catch up so he could jump on the ‘freedom trailer’ out of there,” the rescue wrote. “There was just no way we could leave him behind!”

Luckily, the rescuers had just enough money from donations to Becky’s Hope to rescue this old guy — so they did. “This sweet, old man won our hearts the minute he decided it was the perfect time to escape the kill lot,” the rescue wrote. “It seems that he thought nobody would notice him escaping if he simply mixed in with the mini donkeys!”

Now he’s safe and happy at Becky’s Hope, meeting people who want to stroke the nose of the horse who rescued himself. “He is adjusting so well as if he knew that this rescue was where he belonged all along,” McGregor said. “He loves attention, loves grazing and getting special treats.”

Click (HERE) to read more.

Jan 7 2017

South Dakota State’s Attorneys File Motion Seeking to Transfer Control of At-Risk Wild Horses

Source: Fleet of Angels

“If the motion is approved, the wild horses would be placed in safe homes rather than sold at auction…”

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A Black Stallion stands, snow encrusted, in sub-zero temps. with no shelter at ISPMB facility in Landry, SD

The South Dakota state’s attorneys in Ziebach and Dewey Counties have filed a motion requesting that a judge transfer to two equine welfare organizations control of 540 wild horses found starving and neglected at the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros in Lantry, S.D.

Filed in the Fourth Circuit Court of Ziebach County, the motion requests that management and placement of the horses be turned over to Fleet of Angels, an organization that provides emergency assistance and transportation to at-risk equines in the United States and Canada, and Habitat for Horses, an equine rescue based in Texas.

If the motion is approved, the wild horses would be placed in safe homes rather than sold at auction, where they could fall into the hands of kill buyers who would transport them to Canada or Mexico for slaughter. This would be one of the largest known equine rescue and adoption efforts in U.S. history.

Fleet of Angels has already received a large number of applications for the horses. During the adoption process, the horses would be placed in a variety of approved homes, sanctuaries and rescues. Options to keep some of the herds as intact as possible are also being pursued.

The court filing follows a unanimous vote on Dec. 22 by the South Dakota Animal Industry Board to recommend to the court that the horses at ISPMB be turned over to another animal organization or group of organizations in order to allow adoptions to continue.

In mid-October, State’s Attorney Steve Aberle asked Elaine Nash, Executive Director of Fleet of Angels, to conduct a national adoption campaign with the initial goal of placing one third of the 810 ISPMB horses. By Christmas, Fleet of Angels member Palomino Armstrong and team had gathered, sorted, and loaded the currently allowed limit of over 270 horses onto adopter’s trailers for their trips to safe new homes, despite difficulties caused by especially harsh winter weather. The Wild Horse and Burro Sanctuary Alliance helped supply hay, and generous contributions by Victoria McCullough made purchasing hay, needed panels and other critical materials possible.

On Dec. 10, a consortium of animal welfare organizations reached an agreement with the state’s attorneys in Ziebach and Dewey Counties that averted a planned auction of the remaining wild horses, to give them every chance possible at avoiding slaughter and reaching a good home.

County officials and the state Animal Industry Board approved the agreement.

The counties had planned to auction the horses to recoup the costs they had incurred. The auction would have taken place on Dec. 20 in Faith, S.D., but the participating animal welfare groups established a fund that would reimburse the counties instead. Participating organizations will continue to raise funds for the care and feeding of the horses during the second phase of the adoption process.

Return to Freedom will work with Fleet of Angels and Habitat for Horses to ensure that suitable homes for the horses are found. Return to Freedom, an organization known nationally for its work with wild horses, will be working to facilitate the placing of whole herds when possible, helping ensure that many family bands are kept together, and that stallion groups are placed responsibly.

fleet-of-angelsFleet of Angels and Habitat for Horses will work together with Return to Freedom will work together to ensure that suitable homes are found for the horses. Return to Freedom, an organization known nationally for its work with wild horses, will be working to facilitate the placing of whole herds when possible, helping ensure that many family bands are kept together, and that stallion groups are placed responsibly.

The Humane Society of the United States, another national equine welfare organization, and Patricia Griffin-Soffel contributed toward a fund to cover what the counties expended in feeding and caring for the horses since October.

About 540 horses are still in need of good homes. The ongoing cost of feeding the horses is estimated at $40,000 per month. Those costs will continue throughout the adoption mission. Public support through donations is critical to the success of this campaign.

The health of the remaining mustangs varies widely. While some are in excellent condition, many are underweight and most are infested with parasites. Some of the horses also suffer from blindness or vision impairment, the cause of which is still being investigated.

Fleet of Angels and their participating partners will offer post-adoption subsidies for gelding and other veterinary needs, as well as microchipping each of the horses.

How the public can help

Feed and Care Fund: The public can support the wild horses while adoptions continue by donating to a fund created to for feed, veterinary care, and other costs related the lifesaving mission for the ISPMP horses by donating to the Wild Horse and Burro Sanctuary Alliance or to a fund to assist with transporting horses to safe new homes at Fleet of Angels’ ISPMB Rescue Mission.

Adopt: It is critical that adoptions continue so that every horse can be successfully placed and transported safely to approved homes in the next few weeks. If you would like to help by adopting wild horses in pairs, groups, family bands, or herds please contact: Fleet of Angels at HoldYourHorses@aol.com or on the ISPMB Horses / Emergency Adoption Mission page on Facebook.

http://www.fleetofangels.org/single-post/2017/01/06/SD-state%E2%80%99s-attorneys-file-motion-seeking-transfer-of-ownership-of-at-risk-wild-horses

Jan 3 2017

Video: “Maybe Next Year”

“We post this video, today, knowing that New Years was two days ago but this small slice of equine/human goodness just came across our desk yesterday and we could not help but want to share it with you, straight away.  Although produced to sell a commercial product, it touches upon on a nerve that many of us have lived and feel tightly bonded to as strongly today as we did yesterday.

To all those who fight the good fight; never give up!

Oh, tissue alert.” ~ R.T.

Dec 17 2016

Life-Saving Adoption Program for ISPMB Wild Horses Takes a Break

Information supplied by Elaine Nash

“The adoption campaign will resume after the holidays”

15326583_10212107200381850_3486444747550365876_nThe Fleet of Angels adoption program underway on behalf of the ISPMB horses is winding down for the holidays over the next few days. In spite of the extreme cold today (-39 degrees chill factor), 11 horses left for Colorado, Arizona, and California with Janna Lasher and Matt Clifton. Four stallions will be heading for Florida tomorrow with Jan and Aly Chapman, and four more horses are going to Wisconsin with Alexia Gannon early next week. Then, Palomino and Matt Armstrong– who have provided critical help with the gathering, sorting and loading of adopted ISMPB horses for almost six weeks, will load up five more of the horses adopted by their own rescue, and will head for Nevada to spend some WELL deserved time off with their family for Christmas. An estimated 250 horses have been adopted since this campaign was launched by FOA in mid-October.

The adoption campaign will resume after the holidays. The restart date will be announced. In the meantime, the ISPMB horses are safe from auction, and will continue to be fed by the counties.

Dec 8 2016

SD Sheriff Moves Wild Horse Auction to Undisclosed Location Amid Threats of Violence

Forward by R.T. Fitch
Statement from Dewey County Sheriff’s Office
Reaction from Restore the Legacy of ISPMB – Demand the President and BOD Step Down

“Just when you thought it could not get any worse…”

bangheadondesk“It is often times disheartening to realize that people (humans) are probably the most pathetic and at the same time dangerous life-form that walks (or slithers) on the face of this planet.

We have been involved and engaged with equine advocacy for well into two decades (one day we would like to retire) and witnessed that history continues to repeat itself over and over again with no lessons being learn.  The formula for disaster (which always leads to horses and donkeys paying the price) is this:

People create a serious problem for the horses; then people attempt to correct the problem that other people created who are then blocked or further impeded by people who think that they are correcting a wrong only to whip up a bigger problem for the horses and donkeys that people had created in the first place ultimately resulting in the equines paying the price for the stupidity of…(drum-roll)…PEOPLE!  I HATE IT!

I have further opinions on this topic but I do not want to overshadow the disgusting course of events, detailed below, that were caused by PEOPLE!

Below is an official statement of the Dewey County Sheriff’s office as published on their Facebook page; directly following that statement is a comment made on Facebook regarding this course of events, it pretty much sums up what I was alluding to above.

PEOPLE if you want to make a difference you can do a variety of things other than put the horses at risk and showing your asses, recommendations would be as follows:  (contact numbers are listed in previous posts)

  • Donate to the county for hay for the horses
  • Support Elaine Nash and Fleet of Angels to help transport the horses
  • Get up off your dead ass and volunteer for on the ground work
  • Call up the ASPCA, HSUS and with respect and controlled passion seek their assistance in this case
  • But above all, don’t threaten, harass, demean or insult those who are in control of the horses.  Even the twerpyest, little sniveling geek can sit behind a computer screen in the wee hours of the morning and act like some big bad ass, twisted gangster but it takes a real, self-actualized individual to bite their lip, raise their hand and selflessly offer to assist in a situation where confrontation would be an easy out.

Get after it, do the right thing, grow some kahunas and most importantly…do it with dignity and grace.  The horses and donkeys need us.” ~ R.T.

THE ISPMB HORSE SALE WILL NOT BE AT PHILLIP LIVESTOCK

THE SALE OF THE ISPMB HORSES IS STILL SCHEDULED FOR THE 20TH OF DECEMBER. HOWEVER I WILL NOT LIST WHERE THE SALE WILL BE HELD UNTIL CLOSER TO THE SALE DATE

THE REASON IT IS NOT BEING RELEASED IS TO PROTECT THE LIVESTOCK YARD FROM THREATS, ECT AS WERE RECEIVED BY PHILLIP LIVESTOCK

YOU HAVE CAUSED THIS ACTION IN ORDER TO PROTECT THEM FROM BEING HARASSED AND THREATENED.
I TRIED BEING OPEN WITH INFORMATION SO THE PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO BID WOULD HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO PLAN. MY ONLY OPTION NOW IS TO SHORTEN THAT TIME. I WILL PUT THE LOCATION OUT BUT IT WILL ONLY BE A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE SALE

DO NOT ASK EARLIER AS IT WILL NOT BE RELEASED

 Restore the Legacy of ISPMB – Demand the President and BOD Step Down

“This deserves it’s own post. The main reason the Auction has been moved is because there were people who took it apon themselves to call and threaten the stock yard in Phillip. While I don’t think this was done by any of our active members, I have no doubt that the Special Snowflakes reads our page religiously. I am sure that you feel like you scored a huge victory…..Here’s the reality by acting like an idiot you just gaurenteed a longer haul for sick injured and pregnant horses, not to mention young foals. You also destroyed the groundwork of alot of people who were working with Phillip Stock yard in order to be ready to purchase as many horses for as low of a price possible. Know what you didn’t destroy? The reality that unless a miracle happens these horses are going to be Auctioned. Continue to bully and intimidate the smaller yards they will simply go to a major one. That’s a longer trip, to a place that eats the threats of Activists for breakfast and use their tears to sweeten their coffee. They won’t work with anyone and will simply run the horses through and go about their day. So if you really want to see these horses shipped to Mexico by all means keep up your stupidity.”