Seizure by Law Enforcement

Often, local animal control or the department of agriculture is contacted when an owner is not providing proper care for their horse. The owner is usually given several warnings before (and if) their horse is taken away for good. We work with Walker County Animal Control to help place the horses they pick up. They will take the horses to the animal control facility and if a new home is not already lined up, we bring the horses to the rescue for rehab and eventual placement in a new home. Athena, the horse pictured at left, was seized from her owner by law enforcement and then brought to the rescue. She was extremely malnourished (see the Before & Afters page) but is doing great now and is available for adoption.

Abandonments

Unfortunately, it is very common for owners to simply walk away from their responsibilities. We have taken in horses that were left to fend for themselves in a pasture when the owners moved. And others have brought their horses here for boarding only to disappear, leaving the horses at the rescue. The abandoned horses we take in are usually in the worst shape but we do manage to adopt some of them out. The rest, of course, live a happy life at the rescue. Flyer, the thoroughbred gelding pictured at left was abandoned here by his owner who brought him here under the guise of boarding him. Flyer was a very successful dressage competitor in his younger years and before that, he was raced.

Owner Released Horses

Particularly with the bad economy, more and more horse owners are desperately trying to find a good home for the horse when they can no longer provide for them. It is admirable to make provisions for your animal when you know you can't give them what they need and we try to help these owners however we can. If the rescue is full, we maintain a list of approved adopters looking for a certain horse and we may be able to place them without the horse coming to the rescue. We also work with a network of other rescues in the area to help place horses in need. There is no reason to abandon a horse in a field, turn them loose and hope someone finds them (yes, it happens), or leave them at a rescue with no prior discussion. There are plenty of rescues willing to help owners place their horses into a good home, and we are one of them. We have placed a very large number of horses just by working with owners who see themselves getting into a bad situation and taking action before it gets to that point. Cochise, the horse pictured below, was sent to the rescue by his owner after she found out she'd be losing her job. She contacted us immediately and made arrangements for him to come here, ahead of time and while he was still healthy and well cared for. Cochise is available for adoption.