Phil the Horse

Besides building nations, they’re teachers. A wise man once said, “Horses teach you a lot. Very little of it has to do with horses”. With a horse, you learn collaboration and trust. A horse is your best friend who you’ll never have to tell if your happy or sad. Just ride him and he’ll know. While they’re not endangered, the alternatives facing horses are daunting as they move from being wanted to unwanted. Few options exist for them: euthanasia, slaughter or rehoming via the work done in equine rescues. Unfortunately, the plight of the unwanted horse is fraught with unclarity and a lack of oversight. There aren’t any reliable statistics on the total number of horses that become unwanted each year. We do know that 90,000 to 150,000 horses are sent to Canada and Mexico for slaughter annually. The meat is exported to Europe and Asia for human consumption. The idea of slaughtering companion animals is unacceptable and has never been embraced by the American people. A 2012 national poll found that 80 percent of Americans support banning horse slaughter for human consumption. Heartbreakingly, the vast majority of the horses sent to slaughter could be rehomed. The USDA documented that 92.3% of horses sent to slaughter are in good condition and are able to live out a productive life. These horses could have been sold, donated or otherwise rehomed; however, kill buyers outbid legitimate horse owners and rescues at auctions. How does a horse end up unwanted?
• Their owners die.
• Their owners fall on hard times.
• Horses can live over 30 years and many people are not prepared to care for any animal its entire life
• Lame or un-rideable horses almost always end up homeless
• A sport or competitive horse stops winning
• Over breeding by “backyard “breeders
• Wild horses are rounded up to give their land to cattle ranchers
• A horse which is not the right color, confirmation or temperament
• Horses with any type of medical condition

A sobering fact is that 80% of first time horse owners get rid of their horse within 5 years

Although there are numerous equine rescue facilities throughout the United States, these facilities do not have enough capacity or resources to accommodate all the unwanted horses. On average, rescues turn away 38% of horses brought to them. Horse rescue facilities are not federally regulated. Although most are reputable and caring places, there is no way to guarantee that they will (or can) provide adequate care for the horses they take in. Phil the Horse has done careful research to select the rescue organizations it partners with, ensuring they provide the very best and most humane conditions to the horses.

10% of the net profit generated from the sale of Phil the Horse original design apparel and goods is donated to partnering horse rescues. Phil is a horse with personality who’s taken up some human interests – he’s into yoga, surfing, ballet and even tries his hand at saving the world in a cape. That's his mission – Phil to the rescue, ...the horse rescue, that is. Why Phil? It’s a double meaning. First and simply, it’s in his nature to be Phil-anthropic. Second it’s short for Philippos, which means “friend of horses” in Greek. It’s a project that means a lot to us. We both have a deep commitment to helping as many of these amazing and majestic animals as we can. To learn more please check out the website at www.philthehorse.com and thank you!