2017 was an amazing year for our organization. We were able to help horses across the United States and rescued 620 horses, donkeys, mules, ponies and a few other kinds of animals that were in jeopardy. Looking back over 2o17, it’s mind-boggling how many horses we have helped in so many places. Because so much happened each month last year, we will share a brief summary of each month below. We cannot possibly thank each and every person who donated to our organization, YOU are the reason we were able to help these precious lives! We also cannot thank the Right Horse Initiative enough for granting us the funds to hold the 1-Day Open Door Shelters around the nation. The majority of transfers in the statistics below were from 1-Day Shelter horses being transferred to local adoption partners.
January 2017
In January we rescued 32 animals: 3 cats, 2 chickens, 1 dog, 12 donkeys, 13 horses and 1 mules.
We were able to rescue 18 precious lives from a slaughter auction in Oklahoma. We also had 14 owner surrenders between our main shelter in TN and our two branch shelters in OK and CA. We had 5 adoptions between our 3 shelters.
Our TN shelter was still in the process of being set up, and January was a very cold month. The two horses in the photo, Lucky and Buddy, were getting adopted in Florida and this is a picture of them before they left for a warmer climate.
February 2017
In February we rescued 10 animals: 1 dog and 9 horses. 1 horse was saved at an auction in TN by a volunteer. He was a victim of soring that is done to TN Walking Horses. He had chemical burns on his legs. We had 9 owner surrenders.
9 horses were adopted into new homes.
These two horses in the photo were at our Oklahoma branch shelter. They were both rescued from the slaughter pipeline and were adopted when the right homes were found for them.
March 2017
In March we rescued 153 animals. There was 1 chicken, 3 mules, 26 donkeys, and 123 horses. 102 horses were surrendered at the CA 1-Day Open Door Shelter and 43 were rescued from a slaughter auction in Tennessee, 8 owner surrenders outside of the 1-day Open Door Shelter. 9 donkeys and horses were transferred from the OK branch shelter to CA branch shelter as they were more adoptable in California. A majority of them were miniature donkeys which are highly adoptable in CA.
The 1-Day Open Door Shelter was the largest 1-Day Open Door Shelter we have ever had. The need is so big for this type of event for helping horses.
44 animals were placed during March. There were 15 adoptions and 29 were transferred to adoption partners. What a busy month!
April 2017
We were able to help 37 animals during April. There was 1 chicken, 6 donkeys and 30 horses. The 1-Day Open Door Shelter in Oklahoma saw 10 horses surrendered, and the 1-Day Open Door Shelter in TN had 19 horses and donkeys surrendered. There were 8 owner surrenders outside of 1-Day Open Door Shelters. We also transferred 6 horses and donkeys from Oklahoma to Tennessee.
We placed 61 animals. There were 49 adoptions and 12 transfers.
We did a waived adoption fee program at our California shelter during National Help a Horse Day, and were able to place a lot of horses in new homes during that time. These two little girls certainly like their new friend they adopted from our TN shelter!
May 2017
We were able to rescue 46 animals during May. That includes 7 donkeys, 2 mules and 37 horses. 26 precious lives were saved from a slaughter auction in TN, the 1-Day Open Door Shelter in TX had 18 surrendered, and 2 owner surrenders happened at our TN shelter.
35 animals were placed during May. There were 28 adoptions and 7 transferred to adoption partners.
This poor draft horse is one we rescued from an auction in TN. He was very old and someone heartlessly dumped him at the auction, not caring at all what happened to him, or what would have been the right decision for him. We were able to give him love and kindness. We thought he was going to make it, but sadly his life slipped away and there was nothing we could do for him other than give him love and compassion.
June 2017
During June we rescued 95 animals. There were 5 cats, 1 donkeys, 86 horses and 3 mules. 12 were rescued from the infamous New Holland auction in PA, 37 were surrendered at the 1-Day Open Door Shelter in PA, the CO 1-Day Open Door Shelter had 35 animals surrendered and we had 11 owner surrenders.
We placed 74 animals during June. There were 22 adoptions and 52 transferred to adoption partners.
The PA 1-Day Open Door Shelter had an amazing group of people ready to help the horses. There was a volunteer vet who worked until 4:30 am helping the horses. There was a volunteer equine dentist who made sure the horses teeth were all good, and a local farrier volunteered her time.
July 2017
During July we were able to rescue 14 animals, including 1 cat and 13 horses. 10 were rescued from an auction in TN and we had 4 owner surrenders.
13 animals were adopted into great homes.
The horse Tawnee is hugging in the photo is a young blind stallion that was sold at an auction. The auction staff knew he was blind but they never mentioned that during the sale. He was sold as a “Great breeding stallion, he will throw great color,” the auctioneer said. Tawnee knew he was blind the moment they sent him into the auction ring as he was very uncertain with every step he took. At our shelter we had the vet geld him, and we were able to adopt him into the perfect home for him. His new family love him so much, and we are thankful that thanks to you we were able to save him and find him such a great home.
August 2017
During August we saved 27 animals, including 26 horses and 1 mule. 19 were rescued from auction and we had 8 owner surrenders.
There were 10 adoptions during August.
Our team spent a lot of time trying to iron out the 1-Day Open Door Shelters and prepare for the next one that was coming in MS.
The pony in the picture is one we rescued from auction in TN. You could tell that she was once loved, she had old braids in her mane and tail. At the auction she was sick and miserable. We were able to rescue her and she has been adopted into a great home.
September 2017
During September we saved 74 animals, including 5 donkeys and 69 horses. 17 were rescued from auction, 54 were surrendered at the MS 1-Day Open Door Shelter, and 3 were owner surrenders.
We had 43 placements, 16 were adopted into great homes and 27 were transferred.
The MS 1-Day Open Door Shelter was a very good event. A lot of the new policies were put in place and it went a lot smoother. After this event it was decided we needed electronic forms. There is always a huge amount of paperwork, and when you are having over 50 horses surrendered in 1 day, it makes the whole process a lot easier.
October 2017
We rescued 73 animals during October. There were 71 horses and 2 mules. 20 were rescued from an auction in TN and at the 1-Day Open Door Shelter in Wisconsin 49 were surrendered. 3 animals were owner surrendered and 1 horse was dumped on the side of the road. Thankfully we were able to save her before she was hit by a car.
We had 8 adoptions and 24 were transferred to adoption partners.
The Wisconsin 1-Day Open Door Shelter was a huge success and the electronic forms made the process go a lot smoother. The horse Jason is holding in the photo is a Norwegian Fjord. We were very surprised when this horse was surrendered. The Fjord was placed with an adoption partner and she was quickly adopted into a great home.
November 2017
In November we rescued 40 animals. There were 3 donkeys and 37 horses. 30 were rescued from an auction in TN and there were 10 owner surrenders.
We started a new program at our shelter in TN called “Home for the Holidays” where we waived all adoption fees through the end of the year. We had 21 adoptions in November, and Kristen, our trainer, worked extremely hard matching up the horses at the shelter with adoptive homes.
The horse in the photo was adopted through the Home for the Holidays program. She came to us from the 1-Day Open Door Shelter in Mississippi.
December 2017
During December we saved a total of 14 horses. 8 were surrendered at the 1-Day Open Door Shelter in Arizona, and 6 were owner surrenders. The Arizona 1-Day Open Door Shelter was one of the smallest, but we are so happy we were able to help the horses we did. The local veterinarians said that summertime, when temperatures are reaching 120, would be a better time to hold an event like that. Horses in the Phoenix area suffer the most during the summer.
We placed 31 horses, including 27 adoptions through the Home for the Holidays program, and 4 were transferred to adoption partners. We are very happy with the success of the Home for the Holidays program! We launched the program halfway through November, and by December 31st we had 40 adoptions. What a great success!
Thank you all again for your support in 2017. As you can see, we were extremely busy during 2017, and with your financial support, we will continue to do our great work of rescuing, sheltering, and adopting horses into great homes.