10/07/2026
Equine Rescue Network once posted: “We rescue horses not people.” 🤔 🤔 🤔
How do you interpret this?
We see this in vivid black & white. We expect horse owners, whether for pleasure or business, to act with integrity & compassion.
- No 1 Worst Excuse that horse rescue nonprofits hear every day of the week:
I impulsively bought a horse online from a trader/KB and it isn’t the fairytale unicorn I expected it to be. Now I expect a Rescue to jump at the chance to take it. Oops, if you don’t have the experience or funds for extensive veterinary and/or retraining expenses, think twice next time. Or better yet, consider adoption aka rescue with training wheels. What were you possibly thinking when you became a rescue dupe of an online equine extortion scam?
- Your riding horse ages out, or becomes injured. Retire it on your dime, or euthanize it.
- You can’t afford a new horse w/o ditching your old horse. Don’t get a new horse.
- Or the variation of ditching an old horse by going on social media with a compassionate post about needing a companion horse home for my lovely unridable horse. Heck no & shame on you - Pay for its retirement.
- You expect horse rescue nonprofits to rescue you from your bad choices or bad planning. Get ready for the chorus of No’s that you deserve.
- My parents left me a pair of bonded senior horses who have never lived anywhere else, so I expect a rescue to come get them. Both unkind to the horses, and unrealistic for the rescue.
- We don’t have control over breeders & horse gambling ‘sports’ who dump their horses (often bred back broodmares). Once slaughter export becomes unlawful, they will be forced to act responsibly in breeding with nowhere left to cull/discard horses.
Thank you for this ultra important reality check.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1GPNav6LvD/?mibextid=wwXI
We receive requests daily from horse owners who want to surrender their horse. We are part of a vast network of equine rescues that sprung up from the hearts of people who saw a problem and wanted to help. But we can't do it alone, and we were not established to just take every owner's horse. This is difficult for some to hear, and I am sorry. We are asked every day to take in horses. MOST of the are choices, not crises.
So of course are financial constraints, and I think everyone reading has faced those at some time. Here are some of the messages we receive;
-"We are downsizing and hope you will retire our horses" (Translation; 'we don't have the money, or want to spend our money retiring our own horses, and hope you will do it for us')
-"I can't afford the horse since he can't be ridden" ('Translation; 'I could afford him if he could be ridden but my desire to ride comes first, so now I don't want to pay for him')
-"He has medical costs that are too expensive, I need a horse that costs less" (Translation; 'I can't really afford a horse, I won't pay for a 'Pre-Purchase Exam', and want to get rid of this one so I can get another'... OH this is sometimes followed by 'Can I trade mine in for one of yours that rides?)
-"I have cancer, and need to place my horse" (this one used to really get to us, until we learned about a group chat where someone advised another person to tell us they 'had cancer' and we would say yes... so it's unfortunate that we are now cynical about even that reason. Usually this is one of the first situations above)
-"The owner died and I am helping to find a home for the horses" (another situation we nearly fell for, but when I looked for the obituary, there was none. Turns out the neighbor wanted the horses gone, so just lied to us about the 'living status' of the owner)
-"This horse can't be used anymore" (Translation; "I thought you loved horses and would retire it, isn't that what you do?")
-"But my horse would be so happy there!" (Translation; "I am hoping that 'stroking your ego' will work, because I don't want to make the changes necessary for my horse to be as happy here as he would be at your place, and if you say 'yes' that saves me a lot of money'... this is also usually one of the first scenarios above)
-"My relative died and I inherited a horse; can I send it to you?" (This one is truly tough, if the owner really died, and the Executor of the Estate really didn't know a horse was in the picture. But often the horse is a senior with issues, or the horse is several states away, we can best help with advice only)
-"If you take my horse I will leave you lots of money in my Will later" (This one has yet to come true, we won't hold our breath)
And I can't tell you HOW MANY TIMES we have been promised supporting funds, and none came. Even this year.
There is often a long story attached to the above scenarios, as to why this person is not 'really' responsible for the situation, they were lied to etc etc, they are the victim, and how they are trying to 'do the right thing'. And sometimes that is true. Sometimes they are good humans in a spot. Of course from our perspective, the right thing, most of the time, is to KEEP YOUR HORSE. And sometimes we get through to people, but often we do not... and we understand that horse is losing their home.
And that hurts, for the horse. Even if a home is lacking, it's still 'home'.
The problem for us is, someone else's 'need' does not create space or funds here. So even if we believe and empathize, we can't help. This is painful for us, and we always offer advice. And often the advice is to consider euthanasia at home, where the horse has been happy.
We receive more requests tan anyone could EVER fulfill. We usually must say no.
It is simply a question of available space and available funds. Our care is not free for us to provide and donations are tough to come by.
Whenever we say no, we offer suggestions. We try to help. But I remember what a DVM said once, she said "I cannot care more about the horse than the owner does"... and that is something we struggle with. We do care about each of the horses above, and seeing their photos makes it harder. We empathize with the change that horse is facing. We simply cannot say yes to every horse, nor is it always even the right decision for every horse. Some are best served by humane euthanasia at home, where they have been happy. Many owners don't want that answer, but we give it anyway. Some get angry, try to say that we only want 'adoptable' horses, or horses with a 'dowry', or insult us some other way. And it hurts but it doesn't change our answer. Of course a dowry helps, because horses cost money to live. Our horses cost between $6k-$16k each, with the average being $8,500 per horse per year, soup to nuts. That is less than many boarding barns, and it includes every expenditure here, from new gravel to truck insurance to prescriptions to vet care, and everything in between.
So yes, it's serious, heavy business.
This is why EDUCATION matters so very much.
Helping horse owners understand the nature of their horse, and the availability, or lack thereof, of 'free retirement' for horses. No one is likely to love your horse more than you (present company excepted!). But we are not the solution for most horses. We are the beacon, we hope, of what is possible, and we are here for a very few that suffered the worst answer, and were dumped without protection.
We hope that the above stories end well, as the result of a more educated owner making a better choice. And we will keep answering the phone and emails to try assist.
It's not always the journey we thought it would be!
But for 109 equines, this is home.
Thanks for sharing, and caring. YOU make the difference.
