About Our Grants
AHMS grants are for rehabbing, retraining and rehoming horses in need. This is ideal for trainers, pre-vet students and vet students, animal science/ equine science students, pony clubbers with regional and national level certifications, and those looking to further their horsemanship skills under the guidance of a qualified trainer.
These grants support and empower individuals to rescue and rehome horses, one horse at a time.
Rescue Grant: The rescue grant’s purpose is to provide support for learning horsemanship, while getting animals out of an at risk setting and giving them foundational training to assist in transitioning to a new home (the grantee or someone who purchases/ adopts from the grantee).
The grant pays (up to a maximum allowance) to purchase the animal, ship the animal to the new setting, and will reimburse up to $300 of qualified expense each month for up to one year.
Young Horse Rescue Grant: Available for horses under four years of age. Grant pays purchase (FMV up to maximum allowance), shipping (based on mileage), and a $300 per month feed stipend each until age four (unless animal is sold first) for young animals to grow and mature prior to training, so that a professional trainer can purchase the horse from at risk setting, allow it time to mature, and put time into training in order to sell the horse in the regular performance or amateur horse owner markets.
Common Types of Horses Sent to Slaughter
1) Too Young to Be Profitable to Keep to Marketable Age - Young (weanling to four year olds), sound, unstarted horses often go to slaughter because of the specialized skill needed to train them and because the expense of feed means that a professional trainer would take a monetary loss by keeping the horse long enough for it to grow to an age that is appropriate to start training under saddle, and then long enough train the horse so that it is a good fit for amateur riders. The Horsemanship grant is intended to support the process for professional trainers or advanced horsemanship students under guidance of a qualified trainer to be able to give these young horses a good start, so they have the opportunity to have options for homes.
2) No Longer Suitable for Industrial Use - Many horses that are “by products” of industries, such racing, ranching, breeding, and Amish work and carriage horses, end up at auction, when their usefulness in that industry declines. These horses may have training that is related to specialized purposes, racing, driving on the road, working the fields, ranching, packing, etc. and with a limited time in training to transition, are able to learn skills to be solid trail or arena riding horses for beginning or intermediate amateur riders. These horses are often sound. Others are sound with some maintenance and may need knowledgeable rehabilitation to assess their needs and support future soundness.
3) Less Marketable Due to Older Age - Many “older” horses (horses age 16 and older) end up at auction, because their age makes them less marketable. These horses are often sound or sound with maintenance and often have some prior training. Often, they have lots of miles on ranches or as work/carriage horses, and can be good fits for beginning or intermediate riders with a good transition plan.
4) Companion Horse and Mercy Situations - Many horses of all ages end up in the slaughter pipeline, because they have soundness concerns. Someone made a profit by putting them up for auction at price per pound, as opposed to the expense of keeping them in pasture or giving them a peaceful end. Some of these horses had significant training, occasionally even to FEI levels, and have been let down by people when they are not serviceable.