Equine Advocates
This autumn, I decided to replace my horses' winter blankets with brand-new ones. We were wondering what to do with the old ones and Betsy Perreten, my stable manager, came up with the perfect solution. She thought we should donate the blankets to an organization called Equine Advocates, a national nonprofit equine protection organization founded in 1996, promoting equine rescue, retirement, and the humane treatment of horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules, located in Chatham, New York. Susan Wagner, the founder and president of this wonderful organization, is very passionate about and proud of what she does. "The mission of Equine Advocates is to rescue, protect, and prevent the abuse of horses through education, investigation, rescue operations, and the dissemination of information to the public," she told Betsy. "The organization deals primarily with five main issues of importance: equine rescue, horse slaughter, wild horse issues, the PMU [pregnant mares' urine] industry, and the prevention of equine abuse."
Lovely rolling hills and paddocks:
The 128-acre center is called Safe Home Equine Rescue and Sanctuary, and welcomes visitors to see the dozens of rescued animals finding shelter there. It's really heart wrenching to learn the sad history of these animals. The center also has an education facility where you can attend seminars dealing with all aspects of horse care and equine issues. Susan is extremely active with many political causes and conducts symposiums and fund-raisers for her mission. Betsy was very inspired by her visit and looks forward to returning again. She and I both feel very good that the horse blankets she delivered that day are keeping five rescued horses warm for the winter. All photos today were taken by Betsy.
Susan and Betsy holding one of the donated blankets:
Every equine has his or her own story. This is about Willie and Nelson, two rescued American Mustangs:
This is about Jerry and Jeffrey Mac, two other amazing rescue stories:
Some of the horse stables:
A cute pony:
Martha Pins
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