In The Beginning
June 28, 2010 No CommentsI guess it all depends on what or when you consider the beginning. From the time I was a small child, my heart has belonged to horses. Horse was my second word. My first dream was to grow up and be a veterinarian and have a million horses. Dreams get modified a bit as we grow up and so while I have always owned a few horses, I have never made it to a million and while I take care of horses and have worked for vets, I did not become one.
I have always been involved with horse rescue in one form or another. When I was a child, we went to horse auctions regularly. Frequently I could cajole my parents into buying some poor old skinny horse or pony to keep them from going to the killers. We had quite an assortment of horses, ponies, and donkeys. There were a couple that we took home, turned out in the pasture and never caught them again. While my parents loved horses, they were not exactly horse people.
My first real pony, Star, was a very young and very skinny boy when we got him. I learned to ride and I think he probably did too before he got fat and sassy. From the first day we got him, he was my best friend. We learned a couple years later at a pony club clinic that he was really a stallion and not a gelding. Whoops…. I told you my parents weren’t horse people.
I have continued to either rescue a horse here and there or to work with rescues in one capacity or another over the years. A rescue should have the horses’ best interest in mind and their health and well being should be the first and foremost consideration. This includes humane euthanasia when it is the kindest and most humane option.
Recently I seem to be collecting needy horses or at least they seem to be finding their way here. There is Rosebud the elderly Amish mule and Magic the asthmatic mini both of whom have ongoing special needs. There are other horses that I have had to turn away due to a lack of funding. I have come to realize that I can’t do it by myself. If I am going to help even a few horses, I am going to need to let others help as well.
Recently I have found that there are too many horses that need rehabilitation in one way or another. They may have health issues that need to be dealt with or they may have just fallen on hard times and need general health care and food. In many cases this care is hundreds or even thousands of dollars more than the horse’s value. Do we just throw these horses away?
There are perfectly healthy and sound stallions and colts that are in danger of euthanasia because their owners cannot afford to geld them. My goal is to be able to take these guys in. There is nothing wrong with them that gelding and a few months of board will not cure. The problem is that the cost of gelding plus the cost of keeping them separated from the general population of horses for those months is much more than the horse is worth in todays market.
Central Virginia Horse Rescue and Rehab is dedicated to taking in unwanted horses and rehabilitating them. Hopefully, each horse can be brought back to good enough health that they go on to a forever home and a new life. If not, they will be remain here as a resident of the rescue.
At this point in time, we are not a 501 (c)3 and donations will not tax deductible. Time and funding will determine whether we go forward with the process of incorporating and applying for full non profit status. All funding and donations will go directly to paying expenses for the horses.
