Want to Adopt a Rescue Horse? - Things You Should Know

I had seven acres of land that needed grazing, a fair amount of horse experience and enough time to care for a horse that might have special needs. The time seemed right to consider a rescue horse. I had owned horses on and off for twenty years, but I'd always bought mine from individuals and occasionally from auctions. I knew there were rescue organizations for horses, but I had no idea how to begin or what I might be getting into. In my search for the right situation, I learned quite a bit about rescuing horses and the twenty-three year old mare now in my pasture seems content in her retirement. It hasn't been without pitfalls, though, so perhaps others can benefit from some of my experience and gathered research.

Before you even worry about evaluating your property or figuring out where to obtain a rescue horse, sit down and consider some important issues that might save you some heartache. If you are a total beginner with horses, you may be better off to purchase a well-trained horse from a reputable seller, and save adoption for a later time. You can read more tips on becoming a first-time horse owner in this article on "Thinking of Buying a Horse." After that, the first two things I would suggest evaluating are the types of rescue horses that are available and the resources that you have to care for these types. It is easy at first just to look for any available horse, but this can definitely get you into trouble. Horses of average age that are well broke and healthy are rarely available for adoption. Horses that need "rescue" in the first place are going to involve some particular care. Most available rescue horses will be in one or more of these categories:

-Advanced age (usually over 15 and most over 20.)

-Very young age or green with an inexperienced owner

-Health problems, usually requiring ongoing and perhaps permanent treatment

-Health problems that are temporary but serious, such as extreme malnutrition

-Feral (wild) horses that haven't been handled or have been handled badly

-Vices that may be quite difficult to correct (serious bucking/biting/kicking/etc.)