Recently, I started volunteering at a horse rescue operation. I know why I volunteer there, but a question has been bugging me, especially since this rescue is currently looking for a grant writer to raise funds.* Why in the world, with such a lousy economy, and many human problems which need addressing, would anyone want to give funds to a horse rescue? Why should anyone even care what happens to horses, which many people see as a luxury item?
These horses have not simply been abandoned. They have been starved and beaten. One horse at the rescue has had his tongue cut almost in half by what I can only guess was cruel restraint. Several of the horses there were seized by the county from a well-meaning and respected horse breeder who simply didn’t ask for financial help with her horses, or simply was too blinded by her own problems or pride to see that she was harming her beloved horses. There is one horse that ended up in the unfortunate situation of lax ownership: he was a local champion racehorse, and ended up in the stock yards for slaughter. A watchful person recognized him before it was too late. You know what’s weird though? All of these horses seem to be willing to give new humans another chance, after all that they have endured. Some are beginning to trust again.
So, why not just euthanize these guys and put them out of their misery? Because their new human companions want to give them a measure of comfort in exchange for the torture they have endured. Because as horse lovers, we can’t turn away. Because as humans we feel moved to provide comfort where there is pain and fear, and animal suffering is a hot button issue for many people. Because as a civilized society, we take care of those who don’t have a voice.
Those are the emotional issues, but what are the practical issues? If this rescue gets a grant to manage its manure collection and disposal system, the local environment benefits, and the earth benefits by having properly composted materials returned to gardens. If they get a grant for a new barn, there will be a beautiful, safe new place to store hay, tack, and house more horses, not to mention the great aesthetic improvement to the property and the neighborhood in which the rescue sits (the current storage situation is unattractive but affordable).
Rescued horses have another chance. Some will never be ridden again, but that’s not the case with most of the horses. Some will lead productive lives as mounts, companions, show horses, and as any horse owner can tell you, a life-long pal who just happens to be a great “therapist”. Horses can be used to rescue people, as well. In many cases, people have been helped by simply working with horses. You can’t be violent with horses and achieve good results. The only way to achieve great results with a horse is to treat him with the same behaviors which make for a good human life: healthy boundaries, firm but kind expression of your wishes, and working together. The only real difference is that the person needs to be the leader in the relationship with the horse, but a kind, decisive leader, sort of like a parent.
Luxury items or not, the good I get from the horses outweighs the good they get from me, I’m sure! (Although I hope they like the clean, poo-free paddocks I leave behind when I go home).
*Are you a grant writer? Contact me.
