Animal Response Foundation

We love seeing former ARF horses living their best life! ARF Bing. ❤️

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Our message begins with herd groups, because that is what is most important to a horse. Their family. Too many domestic horses are unable to recognize this themselves, because they were taken from their family of origin very young, and moved, and moved and moved. Even they don't understand 'what is wrong with them'. Horses evolved as a herd species, and if they have the opportunity to live as such, and could explain it, they would see themselves more like a finger on a hand, rather than the hand itself. They are calmest, happiest, and safest when part of a herd group. Fact fact fact.
NOW, some horses will be sold, and nearly all domestic horses will change homes, owners, etc, over their lifetime. If they have had the opportunity, at some point, to learn HOW to be a healthy horse, they take those skills with them and given the opportunity, will make a new family. Think of a child raised in a good home as compared to one raised in a broken home, and how much more they have to overcome.... just to be a healthy self.
So no, we don't rush to take babies from mommas, and no, we don't separate bonded friends, and no, we don't push to turn over horses... even to (as some say) 'save more'. Are we really saving If we compromise their care? And how can we choose an adoptive family if we don't even KNOW the horse in front of us, yet?
To every horse we welcome we promise to offer all we are able. Sometimes it is not enough, but often, with time, and with consistent friends, they can heal. This is the gift of Sanctuary.

As we enter the fall, and soon winter, hay production slows.

The unwanted horse ads start to appear.

“Beautiful pasture ornament available, very sweet and kind. Cannot be ridden. But only 6 years old so lots of life left!”

Or

“Retired senior horse. Very arthritic so only pasture sound. We love her but can’t justify keeping a horse we can’t ride. We also can’t keep weight on her and she costs too much to feed!”

There are not enough homes out there for horses that have health issues and are “less desirable” due to not being rideable.

Not saying it’s fair but it’s the reality.

If a person doesn’t love a horse enough to keep them through their retirement, expecting a stranger to do so does not make sense.

In fluke cases, sure you may find the unicorn retirement home that has no bad motives and actually intends to keep the horse until they pass.

But, the fact of the matter is that these types of horses are most valuable when sold to auction, usually for meat.

And if the person who lamed them or owned them into their senior years doesn’t care enough to take care of them for life, a stranger with no attachment to the horse isn’t particularly likely to.

Are there some incredibly generous and kind strangers who do this? Yes.

Are there enough of them to keep up with the “demand” of all of these unwanted horses? No.

Rather than rolling the dice and hoping that these unwanted horses will find a soft landing when they’re given away for free or cheap, consider what kindnesses are within your power to offer them.

1. You could keep them, because an unrideable horse generally costs the same as one who is ridden.

2. If you’re unwilling to do so because of their health issues and lack of “usefulness”, you could give them a humane ending with euthanasia.

Horses don’t fear death like people do. They live in the present moment. They don’t spend time worrying about their mortality or if there’s life after death.

So, if that present moment is a miserable existence, that is what their life is. Miserable. That is their reality.

If all they know in the moment is suffering, that’s what their life is comprised of.

Passing off the unwanted horse to be someone else’s issue in lieu of giving them a humane ending may feel more noble because it extends longevity of life, but it doesn’t factor in quality.

A horse being passed off from home to home, always a second class citizen due to being unrideable, isn’t a kindness.

It is humans continuously evading accountability for the care of the horse and instead passing the horse off to be someone else’s problem.

It is the humans feeling morally superior for doing so because they think keeping the horse alive is a kindness.

Even if the life is no life to live.

Or even if it is condemning the horse to be taken to the auction and sold to a kill buyer.

Love your horses enough to love them through their lack of rideability or at least give them a humane end if it’s between that and rolling the dice and throwing them into a market that is already flooded with unwanted horses.

Horses should hold value whether they’re rideable or not but currently, that’s largely not the case.

Rather than ignoring that fact, people need to be honest with themselves about what they’re actually doing.

What their choices put their horses at risk of.

Let your elderly horse pass in the home they’ve known for so long instead of throwing them out into a new environment as soon as they can no longer be ridden.

Give your lesson horses the gift of retirement after they’ve kept your business afloat instead of pawning them off when they are no longer useful.

Or give them the gift of a good death instead of just making them someone else’s problem.

If you do not love the horse that you’ve spent years bonding with enough to keep them through their “less desirable” stages of life, why would a stranger be more likely to do that for you?

Winter is coming. Don’t throw your damaged horses to the “wolves.”

Part of owning horses is caring about them enough to give them a good end.

If you feel like a bad person for euthanizing them because you know retiring them would be the kinder option, that’s likely a sign that you should buck up and keep them into retirement.

The answer is not playing Russian roulette with your horse’s quality of life.

Stop pawning old and lame horses off onto other people.

There is not the amount of kind and caring homes available that people are making it out to be.

I am tired, our team is tired, but there is hay to throw and meds to give out, and many rescued horses living a great life here because of those who help and donate and care. Losing one this week was very difficult because of love, and it is wonderful she knew love. She has friends of both species. And the tales of the decimation of the South Steens wild mustangs is hurting our hearts, the destruction of beautiful nature that can’t be replaced. And today, nearby, tired unwanted horses who worked all summer at camps will be paraded at an auction, many walking a floor for the last time. So long as our bones and muscles work, we can stand up for a few. We can change a few lives.
Julian, rescued last fall, modeling his new fly boots. We can’t fix his deformed leg but we can offer daily palliative care, we can offer him good food and supplements and friends and scratches and love in action. He is enjoying a life nearly lost. This is rescue.

ARF Mr Blue Jeans enjoying life to the fullest in his new home. He was fighting for his life on the streets earlier this year when a group of senior citizens saw what was happening outside their apartments and called for help.

They met for the first time 5 minutes before this picture was taken. We've talked before on a lot of our posts about matching horses based on temperament and personality. We are so happy for this duo. ARF Conagher gets the soft landing at a great home that all horses deserve.

ARF Sasha from frightened feral to indoor family member. 💕🐾

“Know that old gelding of yours? You know, the trusty gelding who taught you to ride. We all have one in our pasture. He was the first horse you trusted with your kids. Everything this horse has done has had a purpose behind it.

Now his joints are starting to show arthritis from all the learning you two did together. He probably has slowed down and need a little extra food. Your family is ready for something with a little more speed and he doesn’t fit the bill. So you convince yourself you are letting him go so he can help teach another child. In your mind, you see him happily trotting down the road with a sweet little girl on his back.

In reality, that little girl will ride and love him for a few years. However, she outgrows him. He’s even slower and she’s ready to run. Her family is not bonded with your horse like you were. They sell him to the inexperienced family down the road.

This family knows nothing about horses. They don’t know how to feed an aged horse. He looses weight. Soon it’s so bad they keep him in the back pasture where no one can see him.
Finally, they take him to a sale.

No one at the sale wants a neglected, aged horse. So he goes through the ring and sells for $400 to a killbuyer. The killpen is where I find him. I know nothing about his history and nothing about his health. All I can see is the wisdom and pain in his eyes. I take him home.

As much as I love what I do, I would love to never see one of these poor old guys again. It breaks my heart to know that this is the story of so many animals out there.

So please, please keep your aged horses. If you can no longer afford them, lease them to a friend or put them down. No one deserves for their life to end this way.”
Credit*
Shishana Rourke. (writing/ photo)

We love making great matches! Matching horses with other horses that they feel comfortable with and have compatible personalities is something that we take a lot of pride in. I couldn't be happier for this duo! The buckskin mare needed a new home and the grulla mare needed a new friend who would be a gentle leader because she definitely does not want to be the herd boss so this worked out just perfectly. ❤️❤️🐎

The kindest people are not born that way, they are made. They are the ones that have experienced so much at the hands of life, they are the ones who have dug themselves out of the dark, who have fought to turn every loss into a lesson.
The kindest people do not just exist – they choose to soften where circumstance has tried to harden them, they choose to believe in goodness, because they have seen firsthand why compassion is so necessary.
They have seen firsthand why tenderness is so important in this world. ~Bianca Sparacino

(Source: Unclear/Consider one of Sparacino’s most celebrated books: A Gentle Reminder https://amzn.to/4eCbc0o [ad])

(Art: Photograph by Nina Leen)

Just like with people you know that you're not going to be good friends with everybody you meet. It might be a difference of opinion or in personalities. Horses have individual personalities too and we work really hard to group horses together based on their personalities and their comfort level with one another and where they like to be in the herd. The herd boss in this pasture, the red dun in the middle, is one of the most quietly supremely confident horses I've ever met. With the flick of an ear or just moving a certain way he keeps his herd happy and calm and he's a very kind leader. The horse on the far right has extreme anxiety problems but with this group of horses he can relax because he knows where he's supposed to be in the herd. This is a mixed herd of mares and geldings. Grouping horses with similar personalities is very important for their mental health and for keeping stress and injuries to a minimum.

Here's to the ARF crew! They give it their all!

Today is Animal Sanctuary Caregiver Day!

Sanctuary caregivers are superheroes. They care for rescued, ill, and injured animals in all conditions. Rain or shine. Round the clock. Every day of the year. They carry a sense of love and purpose that's impossible to miss, fueling the beautiful and incredibly difficult work.

Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) & North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance founded Sanctuary Caregiver Day to recognize those caring for animals in need. This year, we're joined by Asia for Animals Coalition, PASA Primates: Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, The Homes for Horses Coalition, and Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance to make sure you know just how much we value caregivers in sanctuaries and rescue centers around the world.

These organizations, representing a global movement, join together in a resounding THANK YOU to caregivers in sanctuaries and rescue centers of all kinds. We support you. We are here for you. We couldn't do this work without you.

Please thank an animal caregiver today!

Handsome man with all the hair ARF Kahuna ❤️

We could not be more happy for ARF Gretel!  We had planned on bringing her along over the winter and then looking for the perfect home in the spring, but when the perfect home for her presented itself, we jumped at the chance to place her with this wonderful family! Happy trails Gretel!


PLACEMENT PENDING 😃
ARF Bing, the big bay (16.3hh) warmblood 9 yo gelding on the left, is available through the ARF Forever Foster program as a pet and pasture companion. His vet care is sponsored for life by Jennifer Dunlap, DVM. He is not rideable due to some fetlock issues behind but does not need any medications for this. He has a lot of love to give and is a great companion and has been turned out with mares, ponies and geldings. He is good for vet and farrier care and is an all-around good guy.

From Dr Jennifer Dunlap: This is the time of year when we see the most patients with toxic plant ingestion. We've already seen three this fall and fortunately all pulled through due to their owners' quick thinking and getting them into the clinic so that we could pump their stomachs and provide supportive care along with IV fluids. The ending is not always a happy one for a horse that eats a toxic plant.
1) be aware of the plants you have in your pasture. Most horses will not choose to eat a toxic plant but some horses are curious or like to scavenge or develop a taste for things they shouldn't and others in some situations may not have anything else to eat.
2) If your horse begins acting colicky or becomes depressed or has discolored mucous membranes so basically the gums are red or muddy colored or your horse is breathing heavily and appears to be slightly out of it or if you see multiple horses from the same pasture behaving in a similar manner, which can be a huge clue, get veterinary attention immediately.
The first thing we would do is get a tube down them to get as much off their stomach as we can and then institute supportive measures such as low dose Banamine to help prevent endotoxemia, basically bad bacteria leaking from the gut which can lead to toxic shock and founder and gut shut down, and GI protectants and IV fluids to support the cardiovascular system.

If your horse eats dropped leaves from some types of maple trees, fast action will be required to save his life. >>>https://bit.ly/EQPreventRedMaplePoisoning

Dr Jennifer Dunlap did a zoom presentation on What To Do Until The Vet Arrives for the Homes for Horses Coalition a few weeks ago and if you missed it here is the link below to watch it!

What To Do Until the Vet Arrives Join the Homes for Horses Coalition and Dr. Jennifer Dunlap to learn equine emergency response skills. This webinar introduces the basics of Technical Large ...

Romeo’s second Chance Training

Four ARF horses (the gray, Chrome, has been adopted by his foster family) living their best lives with some wonderful families! Happy trails Winter, Roman and Big Red! Thank you foster families!!

We had to say goodbye to our beloved ARF Samson today. I know I speak for all who knew and loved him- he took a piece of our hearts with him. He came into ARF four years ago with terribly foundered feet and he and we worked very hard to overcome his hoof issues and through the efforts of Daniel Bishop, our farrier and getting his insulin resistance under control and the incredible care and love he received from our ARF volunteers, we were able to get four more years I don't think he would have had and they were good years. Samson was our gentle giant teddy bear and truly one of the great loves of my life. He never met a stranger and he loved to be loved on. He had been dealing with a severe abscess and when he didn't bounce back this time when it popped, we knew something was wrong. Radiographs revealed that his coffin bones were disintegrating after all the wear and tear of being a street carriage horse before coming to ARF and the chronic founder. We knew as soon as the radiograph popped up that it was time to make the decision to say good bye. I know he will be waiting on us at the Rainbow Bridge.