I did NOT write this. But I wish I had! Thinking about donating to save a horse from slaughter? WHOA! Easy there! Before you rush in and give your hard earned dollars to save a desperate horse, please take a moment to read this. Rescuing horses from rescuers has become a trend due to folks getting horses via donations that they really cannot afford. Please dont buy horses for strangers without considering these factors: 1. If the person cannot afford a minimal purchase price, can they really afford hay, grain, wormer, vet, farrier, training etc? 2. Do you really know this person? People develop a sense of relationship chatting on Facebook, but this can be deceiving. Please dont trust that everybody knows this person and what they do, because often no one actually does and instead they are just going off of collective assumption. What do you really know about this person? How many horses do they already have? How long have they had them? What kind of care do they provide to their animals? What is their level of horse experience? 3. Has this person already gotten other horses via fundraising? One of the biggest red flags we run into is habitual fundraisers. There may be a reason why someone cant afford the purchase price of one horse, but can manage its care. However there is almost never a reason that someone can afford proper care of many horses and not their small upfront purchase price. 4. Is this person calling themselves a rescue? If so, please be very wary. When an individual calls themselves a rescue it usually simply means that they have a lot of horses and need help affording them. Legitimate rescues are organized and made up of several people and rarely need help getting a horse since they tend to have waiting lists of horses needing to come in. 5. Is this person planning on keeping the horse, or simply fostering it? If they are fostering it, who is responsible for ongoing expenses and rehoming? Who will take the horse if it outstays its welcome? 6. What is the backup plan? Lots of times folks say they will take a horse and then, after the horse is paid for, have second thoughts. What then? If you have provided money for the purchase of the horse, arent you in part responsible for it if the intended home backs out? I want the horses to all get homes and I appreciate your desire to help them do so. However, you are not helping the horse if you send them to a bad home because you didnt do your research before donating... in fact you may be contributing to their suffering. Anybody who is asking you to donate to a fundraiser for them to get a horse should be more than happy to answer your questions and provide assurances of their intent and abilities. Wanting to help a horse is a noble thing and donating to save their lives is generous indeed; please dont let your efforts be tainted by unworthy people. You deserve better and so do the horses!
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 02:51:53 +0000
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