maggie
03-04-2008, 07:56 AM
Has anyone had experience with rescue horses? I have time and heart to invest in helping the animals. Looking for advice..... Thanks in advance.
shawnaJ
03-04-2008, 08:58 AM
The cost to own can become extrodinary. You are trying to do a good thing but as we know it can be costly. We (boyfriend and I) took on a rescue but was costly. She is the most gentle horse I've ever seen. Good luck.
HooverH
03-04-2008, 10:46 PM
My boy came from a rescue, he was actually free. The rescue deemed him useless because he "threw" the girl who had adopted him before, and he has low pasterns. I donated two hundred for him anyway.
My riding instructor's wife runs a much tighter rescue. The horses never actually leave her ownership, return to the rescue if someone cannot care for them anymore, and are party to occasional unannounced check ups.
With any rescue, get as much information about the horse as you can. Spend some time with them before you make a decision, ride them a couple times, and ask for a vet visit if they have no history of it. A good rescue will make you jump through some hoops, inspections, have your vet and farrier picked out, do a background check, make sure you have rudimentary horse knowledge. While the bad ones still have horses who desperately need people, you sometimes don't know exactly what you're getting and have to prepared that the horse may have more problems than you were originally told. Hoover for example, is very good under saddle and has never as much as bucked me, let alone thrown me, but has some serious ground manner issues that I was never party to.
More power to you for wanting to rescue, I am a huge supporter of rescuing instead of buying. Just get to know the horse, and make sure the two of you click, which is needed for any horse owner. Just be ready for more than you bargained for, don't expect a perfect horse. If you get one, awesome. Just be ready that they might need patience, time, and work.
HooverH
03-04-2008, 10:54 PM
Oh! I just realized...are you asking about buying or volunteering?
I already answered buying, so I'll address volunteering...
The thing there is simply finding a rescue you are comfortable with, with an owner you can tell concerns to. Make sure the owner is interested in their volunteer's safety, and willing to help you understand how to best care for the animals. If you're in Ohio, I can recommend a couple you might check out. :D