Georgia Equine Rescues: Part Two

Since my dear darling children decided that 5AM was the perfect time to get up, I took a moment while sipping my coffee to try and catch up with some of the equine news. One of my favorite places to do this is TheHorse.com. Today, they had two spots of interest to me; one detailed the challenges being faced right now by rescue groups, and the second was on horses being abandoned on state lands.

The challenges facing equine rescues this year are pretty obvious- increasing numbers of horses needing help, the hay shortage and drought in the southeast, issues finding affordable, RELIABLE hay suppliers, not to mention the rising transportation costs. Some blame "the economy" (which I won’t go into here, as that is a political discussion, not necessarily an equine one.) Others will blame the drought, or the recent ban on horse slaughter in the US. Even more will say that the stories of horses being left on state lands (or private ranches) are bunk, and complete fabrication. Hey, each unto their own delusions.

Whatever the root cause(s) may be, the end result is the same: there are more horses needing help, and that help is harder to find for many of them. That simple fact has been bothering me for months now. I have been wracking my brain in an attempt to find a way to help- ANY way to help. Since we have very limited room here, taking on a rescue horse at this time is not an option. Monetary donations are always welcome, but how many of us have extra cash at Christmas time? After days of trying in vain to figure out some way to help, I hit upon using Oh HorseFeathers as a resource. Sure, it’s a brand new blog, but with the right care and promotion, maybe it can help get the word out some, and get donations of hay going to some of these rescues.

Several rescues took the time to email back, granting permission to link their web sites to Oh HorseFeathers. I know there are more out there, but I have not been able to find recent contact information for them. If anyone knows of an equine rescue, please by all means have them contact me with some information and we will post them here. It can be a private or 501 ( c ) 3 organization. If there are any events planned, let’s get them posted here.

There were two rescues that contacted me back that don’t have websites:
Coyote Creek Equine Rescue, Holli Deal Bragg in Statesboro, (912) 865-2352, danceswithnews@yahoo.com

And the Ellebelle Zoo, ellabellzoo@webtv.net 912-858-3828.

Lets work together on getting in touch with these hard working folks, and see what they need to make it through the winter here, so that they may continue to help the horses in need!
As always, stay tuned!

Merry Christmas! Now go kiss YOUR horse, and be thankful he or she is fat and happy.