What Do You Consider To Be A Rescue Horse?
I was just curious because I have herd so many people say their horse is a rescued horse. I think it is great if so many people are finding horses to take in that are in desperately in need of a home.
Do you call a horse that you bought in fair to poor condition a rescue or is the horse adopted from a horse rescue organization? My husband and I have doctored, put training into, and found homes for lots of unwanted horses who would have otherwise gone to the auction yard but I never called them rescued horses. Do you think people use the term to much?
What are your thoughts on it?
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In my mind a Rescue horse is a horse that has be literally rescued from a less than ideal situation. The horse could have been a SPCA confiscation from a abuse case and then adopted out to a new (and better) home. It could be an unwanted horse that was given over to a rescue organization if the current owner could not care for it properly. It could be an OTTB who’s career is over and would generally go to a questionable end if not retrained and adopted out to a new home.
These are just some examples, I am sure there are plenty others.
my horse had been past from piller to post having 7 owners in 3 years every one wanted a horse in the summer not the winter he was labeled dangerous and unridable and i was given just 6 days as a loan purchase [as he was then getting put to sleep]
as if a horse could get to know you in that time scale ive still got him 15 years i ride him all the time hes perfect i wouldnt call him a rescue horse hes my horse and if i couldnt ride him i still would have kept him he derserved a chance
My horse SAKI is a rescue horse she was a physically abused broad mare. I don’t know her whole situation but the Humane Society rescued her with around 150 other horses. I’m so glad they did She is my pride and joy. I think if you are taking a horse out of a bad situation and making there life better you are rescuing them from a horrible demise, so yes in a way you are rescuing them. And if you are someone who does “rescue horses” then you are an angel.
you wont like this answer because nobodies wants to believe it true … but i got a rescue horse and so did a friend of my daughter and they came from from the same group / place / area .. ours are Thoroughbred ex race horses ..complete with mouth tattoos and papers .. once they don’t pan out they toss them out like last weeks trash …
I do think people use it too much. I consider a rescue horse a horse literally “rescued” from a horrible situation. Some people use the term “rescue” if its a little skinny, or if someone was giving it away.
I do think the term is over used or used more ‘loosely’ than what I would probably consider to be a rescue case.
My only rescue was a little colt who was at a slaughter house. In essence I rescued him from certain death.
one that was previously in poor conditions/underweight/abused
we saved me horse AJ from the slaughter house, id say he’s a rescue horse
i consider most rescued horses to be ones that have come from poor living conditions and are underweight and not looked after at all or ones that were physically abused. but horses that are mentally abused in a way i consider rescue. for example; my sister got a haflinger in june ’09 and when she went to go see him he was well taken care of and such but she noticed he was scared of her and you had to move slowly around him. she bought him anyway and we soon found out he was basically terrified of people and if you had him on a lead rope and had someone else walk around him he would try to whip around to keep his eyes on that person. he would also flinch whenever you went to pet him or brush him. we found out from his papers(registry papers) that he had had at least 5 other owners and we are now convinced that someone hit him. wether it was with a crap to get him to go faster or a hand because he did something wrong we don’t know but because of that he doesn’t trust people easily. so thats another thing i consider abuse. Charlie(the hafliner) now trusts a grand total of two people who are my sister and i because we are the only people who handle him. sad thing what people can do to horses
any horse who was taken out of any kind of bad condition abuse/neglect, no matter the degree it is. Any underweight horse is still an underweight horse. If someone is not caring for it properly, it should be taken out of that situation, as well as any other horse there, and that person should not have horses.
ex:
not feeding properly
no regular vet care
no regular farrier care
any kind of abuse
if a horse is put into a frightening situation, and the owner does no better to remove the stimuli.
horses that are to be sent to slaughter, and are removed from that
I currently got my first horse, he’s a 22 yr old belgian draft stallion. He was to be sent to the MSPCA (and probably would have been put down, as vets refuse to geld after 15-18 depending on the vet, and is green. I was told he can ride and drive, but has not been worked in years. He ground drives ok, but is VERY green under saddle) if no one took him within a month that I looked at him due to inadequate shelter in the winter (or personally summer). I visited him several times, and he had no hay, only little water with bugs completely covering it, a dirty stall, the ceiling was starting to fall in, and he had lost probably 50 pounds from the first time I saw him)
I got him about a month an a half ago, and and working with him under saddle, and he’s doing well except for the bruised sole he got 2 weeks ago, but is fine now, and is gaining weight.
The women i got him from had 4 horses, and could no longer afford him, so i took a risk, and brought him home. I know it sounds crazy as a first time horse owner, but i go to school to train horses, have been riding for 5 years, and have worked at several farms. One this summer where i reconditioned a QH that threw people, an appendix that reared towards you, and my best friends colt, who was probably the nicest one of all while managing the barn alone.
but anyway, i know i got off topic, but i hope this helps.