We would like to give a huge shout-out to Kristen, who works tirelessly matching horses in transition at our shelter with adopters. So far this year we have had over 100 adoptions at our TN shelter! She amazes us every day on her hard work and dedication. We would also like to thank the Right Horse Initiative for giving us a grant for an Adoption Specialist to help increase adoptions, and hiring Kristen has definitely fulfilled that goal of increasing adoptions!
Dixie was adopted since our last blog. Her new family writes “I have been talking with Ms Kristen for several weeks trying to arrange a time to make the trip down there and see their horses, and I finally made it this afternoon. It was a wonderful experience and I will definitely be back when I want to find another. I adopted Dixie and my wife absolutely loves her! All the ladies that were there were very nice and greeted me with smiles upon arrival. You can really tell they care about what they do! Highly Recommend! Thanks!” Facebook Review – Horse Plus Humane Society
We are so happy for Dixie and her new family.
Silhouette and Diamond were also adopted by a great family. Just look at those huge smiles! We have put a program in place where we waive the adoption fee on horses that need additional training as long as the horse is placed with a professional trainer and the adopter will work with the trainer. It’s a great program and we are seeing amazing success with it. It really helps tune adopters into their new horse, and gives the horse a great start at their new home.
We would also like to thank our great volunteers who come out to help care for the horses and clean up. One of their favorite things to do is take the shelter horses for trail rides. The horses really enjoy it too.
We are an open door shelter and will never turn a horse in need away. This mare, Storm, came to us recently. She is very old and has chronic health problems. Most horse rescues if asked to take a horse like Storm have to say “No” as they are not open admission, and know a horse like this would instantly require medical expenses along with quite possibly euthanasia due to her chronic heath problems. We believe that turning a blind eye to horses like Storm is not helping the problem, but is leaving owners in a desperate situation. Many owners cannot afford the high cost of euthanasia and disposal, so they either leave their horse to suffer from pasture neglect, take them to an auction or give/sell them to someone on Craigslist who promises a “good home.” The reality is, chronic health problems that cause suffering are not going to go away. The Last Act of Kindness is the most merciful thing we can do for horses like Storm.
Since our last blog 7 horses have been surrendered to us. Not all of the horses make it into the blog, but all of the adoptable horses are posted on our website. This little guy, Chance, is the latest surrender. He came to us from an Animal Welfare Agency that does not deal with horses. We were told he is extremely hard to load, so Jason and Tawnee headed over to pick him up. After backing the trailer up to the round pen, and opening the door, Tawnee let him get acquainted with the trailer. The second time she asked him to load, he just hopped in on his own. We did a live video and asked for name suggestions, and the name Chance was chosen by popular vote.
This time of the year in Tennessee all the Big Lick horse trainers are in full display at the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. We have seen so many young horses from the big lick industry dumped at auctions, their bodies completely giving out on the them. Horses as young as 4 years old having to be humanely euthanized because they are suffering from extreme arthritis in their hind legs and hips. Big Lick horses are forced perform an exaggerated, artificial gait which is extremely detrimental to their well being. The only way to achieve this gait is by soring: putting toxic chemical on their pasterns, wrapping their lower front legs in plastic so the chemicals will literally cook into their skin, then putting heavy chains around their legs so when the chain hits the skin it causes pain and the flinching is known as the big lick. All while wearing the heavy, giant stacked shoes. Billygoboy, a Facebook page exposing the cruelty going on with the Walkers, videod the 2 year old class at the Celebration.
We rescued a horse from an auction who had won the 2 year old class at the Columbia Spring Jubilee. She was dumped at the auction because her show days were over. Her body was giving out on her at only 5 years old. Every step she took with her hind legs her hips would pop and snap, the vet said her body was literally falling apart. No horse should ever have to do the big lick, but 2 year old’s with developing bodies are being ruined by this industry. To watch the video of the 2 year old class, click here.
We went to the Celebration to protest the heinous abuse that the horses endure.
Our firm belief is the only reason the big lick industry is still going is because it is a “sport” for the very wealthy. The amount of wealth around this industry of cruelty is unbelievable. When legislation is introduced to put an end to this cruelty, wealthy individuals in the industry pay off key legislators to keep the law from passing.
Tawnee did a short video while protesting, she says this is not a celebration of the horse’s talent, it is a celebration of horse abuse. This institutionalized cruelty must be stopped! To watch the video, click here.
We would like to thank everyone for your support! Without your support, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do for horses. Operating an organization like Horse Plus is costly, and this year we have helped hundreds of horses around the United States! Please make a donation to our mission of mercy. Thank you!
