The Rescue Grants are inspired by a horse, Ruby, and her transition from a kill pen to a happier life.
Ruby is not a recipient of funds from this grant program, but the experience of her rescue, rehabilitation and success are the inspiration for establishing it. Ruby is a 16 yr old, big moving, Morgan mare, who was pulled from a kill pen in Texas on 9/1/2022, the day she was slated to be sent to slaughter. The Western United States was experiencing an unprecedented heat wave, and to save her life, she was shipped from the auction lot in Texas to her new home in California. She arrived with her lot number still epoxied to her tail.
Ruby’s Arrival
Ruby was delivered to a parking lot by the freeway in Stockton, CA. The trailer pulled up, and the hauler unloaded her. She walked right onto the trailer in workmanlike fashion and was on her way to a new home. She was very thirsty and tired when she arrived. Her whole body shook for several minutes after she lay down, and as she realized she was safe, her release of tension caused her upper lip to crinkle up, which nearly looked like a smile. This was not like a Flehmen response, in which the upper lip curls (she now does just like other horses do if she smells something unusual), but the upperlip crinkling up and quivering for 15 minutes or so.
A Happy Ending
At the beginning, Ruby would stand in the corner of her pen, looking like she hoped that no one would notice her. She jumped forward to run if someone clucked or picked up a rope or stick. With connection work and consistency, she came out of her shell over a couple of months to be a sweet, solid mare that goes in a hackamore, is fun to ride, and gives her rider confidence.
Her resilient and giving nature is the inspiration for establishing this grant system, to support those with a drive to better their horsemanship skills and to provide an avenue for other horses to find a way home.
Although we can’t get them all, it makes a difference to the ones we can.
In 2007, the slaughter of horses in the United States became illegal; this did not solve the problem. Instead, this created a foreign market for horse slaughter over both northern and southern borders, where horses are trucked over the borders to slaughterhouses. Both the transport and slaughter conditions are incredibly inhumane. In 2022, the ASPCA reported 19,600 horses in the US were transported across the northern and southern borders for slaughter. It is estimated that over 7,000 of these were thoroughbreds.
Lots of young, sound horses go through auctions and are purchased by kill buyers. There are lots of older horses with training that go through these auctions too that can benefit from a let down in a safe environment to be a good fit for many amateur riders (like Ruby, who is a safe and easy ride). There are also many older horses that are great first horses for kids or as lesson horses or could use a soft spot to land as a companion horse with some dignity and kindness at the end of their lives. There are many registered, as well as grade, horses that go through auction.
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