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Adoption programs helping abused horses

Monday, September 11, 2006

KEYSHA DREXEL and JEREMY GRAY

News staff writers

Abused and neglected horses in Alabama are getting a chance to move on to greener pastures, thanks to a small but growing number of people who have taken it upon themselves to save the animals.

After patiently nursing the horses back to health, they're finding them homes using the kind of adoption programs that animal shelters have long provided to save dogs and cats.

One of those people is Calera veterinarian Rhonda Ellison, who created an equine adoption program two years ago. She works with the Shelby Humane Society to rehabilitate horses at her Calera Equine Hospital.

"They come to me so skinny, so neglected," Ellison said. "Sometimes they are so wild, you can't even put your hands on them. But if they are given the care they need, you watch them become the fat, happy animals they should have been all along."

The issue of horse care has gained national prominence in recent months as Congress debated the American Horse Slaughter Act, which it approved last week. If it becomes law, the act will prohibit the sale of horse meat overseas for human consumption.

Bonnie Beaver, past president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, testified before Congress in July that horse rescue and retirement facilities nationwide have a maximum capacity of 6,000 horses. The AVMA fears 10 times that many horses will need the services if the American Horse Slaughter Act becomes law, she said.

Horse adoption programs have multiplied in Alabama recently.

In Montgomery, Wyatt Orendorf and his wife last year received nonprofit status for their Dusty Trails Horse Rescue. A year before that, Greta Bassett, a school bus driver, started Another Chance Equine Rescue in Beulah, a small town near Opelika.

Orendorf said he and his wife soon will try to find homes for 10 neglected horses. "We are pretty much at our max capacity now," he said.

Ellison began her program after realizing the Shelby Humane Society needed help finding homes for abused or neglected horses seized by Shelby County Animal Control.

Donald Kendrick, the county's animal control officer, is working with Ellison to find homes for almost a dozen emaciated horses found in Helena several weeks ago. Pictures of the animals show them milling about a pen, their ribs visible through their skin.

The horses are still too malnourished to leave the vet's care, Kendrick said.

Often, Orendorf said, the horses he works with aren't the victims of cruelty, but rather have illnesses their owners are unable to treat. Many times, owners themselves become too ill to care for their horses, he said.

Ellison said some people don't realize the costs associated with owning a horse until it's too late.

"A horse is a luxury," she said. "You'll spend at least $1,000 a year on vet bills and food and hay for a horse. That cost increases to about $1,500 a year if you have an older horse or one with special needs."

Sara Shirley, a kennel manager at the Shelby Humane Society, said the efforts of Ellison and other veterinarians have saved many animals from being euthanized.

Ellison said since she started her work as an equine adoption agent, she has seen an increase in the number of abused and neglected horses being taken into custody. She had four horses in the first six months. Since then, she has had as many as 10 up for adoption at the same time.

"I don't know exactly what's behind the increase, but it probably has something to do with the economy," Ellison said.

Bassett said of the 25 horses she has taken in since she started her organization, only five have been adopted. She has kept many of the others, and a few have been euthanized.

Screening process:

It takes a certain level of commitment to be a responsible horse owner, Ellison said, which is why she screens potential adoptive owners carefully.

"People think they can come here and tell us exactly what kind of horse they want," she said. "This is not a candy store. This is more like adopting children. It's a serious consideration."

Ellison said she tries to match a person with the right horse.

"Every horse has its own personality that's as unique as a person's. I try to learn about people first to see if we have a horse that fits them," Ellison said.

The hospital has eight horses ready for adoption now. Six of them live on a "foster farm" in Clanton with Robbie Bagwell.

"I do this because the horses need help, and I have the pastures to put them in," Bagwell said. "What Dr. Ellison is doing by opening her heart and her practice to these animals is amazing."

The only cost associated with adopting a horse from the Calera Equine Hospital is a $300 adoption fee that covers state-mandated immunizations and health screenings.

Ellison pays for the food and medicine for the horses out of the money she makes through her practice.

She plans to expand the equine hospital and rescue center, but in the meantime is looking for more foster and adoptive owners to give horses a second chance.

"We can't just give up on these animals," Ellison said. "We have a responsibility to help them live the way they should."

For more information on the Calera horse adoption program, call 668-2300. kdrexel@bhamnews.com

DTHR Newsletters

October 2007

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