I am glad the point about quarantine is made. Beside, for health reason, most of a truely horse, needs to gain strenth and trust, of it's surrounding before being put in with your herd. Slow is the best advise to give.
I recently rescued a blind Belgian mare who I have named Haddie. Anyone can read her story on Gofundme.com by searching 'Haddie Needs Help.' I've raised the money needed, but her story is still there. She is a huge challenge for me, but I love her to pieces!
We took in a rescue horse. It had rabies. Nine of us were in danger and vaccinated. The entire thing was tragic. The only "silver lining" was that we were able to offer the pony love and as comfortable a passing that she could have. Immediate vaccinations are a must. Although horses can harbor rabies for up to a year undetected. But, awareness is most important.
If you are thinking about rescuing a horse and you are not experienced with rescue horses, don't. Rescue horses need specialized diet, care, and rehabilitation. If you see a horse that needs help, contact a local rescue organization. If you want to help, support a rescue group financially, volunteer, or adopt.
I totally agree with all of this and would like to add, talk to some who has rescued horses before you rescue one and understand each horse is different just like people. I know that for me most of the people I knew when I got my first rescue were against it and it made it really hard because I didn't know better and I had no help. I can now proudly say that that mare I rescued so many years ago is one of the best horses I've ever worked with. I can also proudly say that out of my 12(+1in April) horses and ponies only 1 is not a rescue of some sort. I have found great joy in not only rescuing but also retraining them and my little sisters are now following me on this path of rescuing by choosing to rescue and retrain ponies instead of buying a trained one.
this article is for someone taking in a horse NOT been through proper care of a rescue facility. this article perpetuates the garbage ideas out there that a horse coming out of a rescue is more likely to be broken, dangerous, trouble, have issues and things to worry you. PLEASE do a better job of writing your articles to help people understand the difference between taking in a horse in trouble and adopting a horse form a proper rescue facility. PS: EVERY data point made here is valid about bringing home **ANY** new horse. In many cases, a horse coming from a reputable rescue facility is likely to come with MORE and BETTER information than teh average horse purchase!
We are completely honest about every issue we know about our rescue horses. We don't rely on adoption fees to cover expenses. People are often not told the truth by someone dealing horses. They are out to make a buck. By the time most rescues get horses ready for adoption they know what issues they are dealing with and they want to find the right home because the horses are coming from bad situations. We say "no" often, we want our adoptions to be permanent. We have the horses best interest at heart, we won't adopt unless the adopters meet our criteria. I think people need to be a lot more realistic when rescuing from the auction. You need to be prepared for anything, you aren't going to know the horse is really lame, but was on bute and ran through the sale sound. You need to be responsible for that horse the second it becomes yours. Not call a rescue when the going gets tough because the horse wasn't exactly what you wanted. You have to be willing to put the time, training, and money into helping the horse. If you don't have solid horse experience or someone that can help you, you shouldn't consider rescuing a horse. Your comment about a rescue horse costing more than an average horse is really unfair. We would not adopt out a horse that required major medical or farrier care until it was rehabilitated. Any horse can have major medical bills, colic, get kicked, go lame etc... I don't think this article supports the legitimate rescue groups out there. Our lives revolve around the rescue horses 24/7. People need to be responsible horse owners regardless of whether or not they are adopting a rescue horse or buying a horse and will face issues in the article above with any horse, not just a rescue.
Very good points. In essence, one should not have any expectations but to prepare for the unprepared. You never know what you might end up with. As for the rescues making comments on this article, obviously HC is writing about rescue horses and NOT Equine rescues.