# Declaring a horse as Rescued



## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

This is so true. Back 3-4 years ago I was rather naive about horses still and made the mistake of calling my miniature horse filly a rescue. She'd been fed, had her hooves trimmed (though not well at all...haha), had hay, saw other horses...so definitely not actually neglected or abused in any way. Yes she'd be handled roughly, but had never been truly beaten. She had a terrible personality and I tried to blame it on her 'neglect.' I soon learned though, that this was simply her personality and that she actually did require a very dictator-like relationship with a human because otherwise her 225 lb self would walk ALL over you! 

And then, last year, I met REAL neglect in my filly Kenzie. She was at half the weight she should have been, 12.2hh and 14 months old, thrushy, covered in lice and rainrot, cut up, sick, and left alone without a single bite of hay or sip of water. THAT was neglect. It took a very long time for her to recover physically from all of the trauma she had been through. Then she was abused, by purposeful malice when someone nearly sliced off her ear and posted a warning note in her pen. She is what real abuse and neglect looks like. 

But even so, you know what? The best thing I did for her is treat her like a NORMAL horse when it came to training! She wasn't halter or lead line broke at all when she came to me, but the moment she could walk she began to learn. Even when I was tending her hanging ear, I expected her to behave. I didn't let her push me around, didn't let her spook at nothing, didn't let her grab grass because she was starving and didn't let her act like an idiot around people she "might be afraid of." And you know what? She turned out 100% normal with NO fears of humans, ropes, knives, small spaces, trailers....nothing. I don't know what she went through before she came to me but I did know what she'd have from then on so I never gave her an excuse to act up!

You will know when you see real neglect. No, not all horses live in ideal conditions. Most don't get trimmed every 4 weeks, chiropractors, or saddle fitters. But none of this is abuse. It is simply a lack of education on our part to horse owners across the world!


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

"Rescued" is only an important word if you sign a contract. I did that when I "Adopted" my QH, "Buster Brown" from a legitimate Horse Rescue, and the contract demands that I return the horse to them if I no longer want him. I am not allowed to sell him.
You have good points, but I don't really care what someone calls the efforts gone through to get their horse, if they care for and train their horse.
You are right. Many starved/beaten horses were left to starve bc someone thought they could exert control if the animal was weakened. After good feeding the monster comes out of the barn again.
I think all comes down to BEWARE, new horse owners. Most of the horses EASILY AVAILABLE out there are somebody else's problem horse..._which you just bought,_ so it's YOUR problem.


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## Clava (Nov 9, 2010)

A horse's condition can fairly easily be quantified by one of the condition scoring charts which takes away the point of it being simply someone's opinion and helps to make things clear to everyone. 

As to abuse...it happens, but one person's use of a crop or spurs is good horsemanship while to another it is abuse. Again I have no problem with the word but often it will need clarifying.

In the Uk many animals do go for slaughter from an auction, but are often shipped alive for meat to the continent which is depressing. I have absolutely no problem with horses going to slaughter though (not shipped) as it is not the worst thing that can happen to a horse. Personally I think there are so many horses for sale at low prices that it is unlikely I would every rescue one from slaughter, but I have rescued one from malnutrition.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Here's an example of "abuse. A friend bo't a 3 yr old from a noted trainer. Got the horse home and locked him up. The stall was huge but no window so he was isolated from the rest of the world. Horses hear things we don't and he became nervous with his living situation. Hubby decided to get on first (not a rider but a blowhard), she literally held the colt's head and, to say the least it didn't go well. Now he was a dangerous horse. I paid a visit to see the new colt and again he was closed up in the dark. As I approached him she kept telling me how dangerous he was which I ignored. I told her he wasn't dangerous, just that he was young and afraid of his unnatural living situation. So my opinion of him was very different from hers. He reacted to my confidence and sought my company while he moved away from her because of all her negative energy. I suspect she was about two sentences shy of telling me the trainer must have been abusive.


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## kiltsrhott (Mar 11, 2012)

I agree with you. I get a little irritated when people say their horse is afraid of something or behaves badly and they say "oh, this horse must have been abused!" I know plenty of horses that have spooked or behaved aggressively and have never known the meaning of the words "abuse" or "neglect". A horse can just as easily behave like that from spoiling or because they're smart enough to know that they can get away with with their current owner.

However, I will admit that I am one of those that has called my horse a "rescue", though I do not do this because of assumptions based on her behavior. I did not rescue her myself but I purchased her from a woman who only had her for 4 months. She bought the horse with the sole intent of nursing her back to health and rehoming her, and everything I say was told to me, as witnessed by her second owner.

Ursula did not even have a name. She was bred and owned by a man who was being forced to sell his herd to avoid facing cruelty charges. She was the result of an accidental breeding from parents that were likely unregistered. She was emaciated and living in a mud lot. I was told her first owner would ear twitch her and drag her around by her ear instead of putting a halter on her, which I believe. I've never seen a horse react so violently to hands near her ears, and she was super difficult to halter.

The prepurchase veterinary exam I had done confirmed a history of neglect. She has scar tissue on her hip, likely from an old puncture wound that went untreated, and has scarring on the underside of her neck, likely from running into a wire fence (words straight from the veterinarian's mouth). And there's no way this horse could be thin if she's being fed. She gets fat just looking at hay and I don't feed her grain.

Though I don't think she was ever beaten senseless. I think any behavioral issues Urs has are from careless, rough handling, that any horse with a less sensitive personality would have handled without too much issue, and the fact that she was green and didn't have much handling at all to begin with. If a horse is not used to being handled, they're going to be a bit wary, abuse or no. The only behavior I encountered with her that I fully blame on her first owner would be her ear shyness.

Honestly, I don't think her first owner would recognize her if I talked about her or posted her on this forum. Draft crosses with her build and markings are common in that area, and he doesn't know her current name.


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## EquineObsessed (May 24, 2013)

I hate the word rescue. Never use it. I'm working with three auction horses right now. The only I 'saved' them from is the possibility of a naïve, 'gotta rescue them all' type person. All three horses were handled well, a healthy weight, and a decent ride. I did think that at first, that one had been beaten, but now I am inclined to believe that it was just a little roughing up at the auction house, seeing as he very quickly got over his nervousness around humans, and was obviously very well cared for not long ago. 

The only horses I call rescues come from a rescue. (Often, horses need to be rescued from the rescue, as they attempt to do too much.) I only consider those rescues to be 'true' rescues if the horse was truly starved, or beaten very badly. I call horses from auctions auction horses. Real simple, especially when I say it nice and sloowww.

I agree with Endiku, that the best way to approach training is *GASP* the same to a regular horse! Some things might take longer to learn, depending on the horse, but that goes for every horse. The only difference is in health- taking care of desperately overgrown hooves, malnutrition, extreme weight loss, etc. Training is training.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

Sometimes you definitely CAN call a horse a rescue with a clear conscience. If you pick up a horse with a body condition of a two/ten and bring them back to a five, then that's a pretty clear sign :wink: If you post a picture of a horse with acid burns on his face, then it's pretty clear that this fellow has been through some rough times. 

A lot of other times, it's not so clear. I used to board at a barn owned by a trainer whose methods I would consider borderline abusive. They were often times extreme and unnecessary, IMO. I took lessons from another trainer there, and the owner never sat on my horse during the entire duration of our stay. I just wasn't gonna let that happen... but I'm not a person to disagree with disciplining a horse if it needs to happen. I'm not afraid to pop a horse, but the whip isn't my go-to weapon. It IS hers. However, if I acquired a horse from he then I wouldn't go posting about how he was abused or a rescue. Too much could go wrong from that. 

Unfortunately, this kind of training abuse is SO subjective and you do need to be careful what you say. It's not as easy as seeing an emaciated horse and calling animal control. Calling some abusive without proof can get you into big trouble, especially on a public forum. You can post a picture of your recently acquired horse, say that he is an abused rescue that you are retraining. The former owner may stumble across the forum and have words to say about the issue. If you don't have your proof, then you need to watch what you say.


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## EquineObsessed (May 24, 2013)

That's true. I definitely believe there are plenty of rescue-worthy horses out there, but the term is misused and overused a lot, so I avoid it as much as possible!


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## kimberlyrae1993 (Mar 20, 2013)

But some times they truly are "rescues" I myself have rescued two one gelding left in pasture when his owners abandoned him after sticking foreign objects in him rear...and causing him to not trust people and not let you behind him.. and the other is my very underweight thoroughbred that was left to fend for herself..
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I have tow horses that arrived with different issues. One is very protective of his ears and his muzzle and the other was always white eyed and very tense around people. Had I not had a lot of experience with horses, I could easily have misconstrued why these horses are the way they are. There was no abuse in their history, sometimes it's just glitches we have to deal with. Kimberly, just because your horse would rear and not let anyone behind him doesn't mean people stuck him in the rear unless you actually witnessed this. Horse's can't see directly behind (their bum is in the way) and so can be quite protective of it. This is where predators go to hamstring a horse to slow it down.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I don't consider any horse that was obtained from a Rescue, either "adopted" or bought outright, to be a rescue any longer. They didn't need rescuing, they were safe. Or, they should have been, if it was a reputable and legitimate rescue organization. 

I don't consider a horse bought at auction to be a rescue. Anyone can buy that horse, as Saddlebag said, there's no such think as a strictly Killer Buyer auction. And the KB's will happily turn a profit if you want the horse they just bought, they'll sell it to you. I have one of the biggest KB's in the US living just a couple miles from me, he buys and sells daily. Some horses he buys just to turn around so he can sell them again. He's got a bunch of young cowboys who will hop on a horse and see what can be done with it. He doesn't send every horse he buys to slaughter. Far from it. He's also into reining and cutting horses, I've seen him at some high end breed auctions and he's been selling as well as buying. So, just because a known KB buys the horse, doesn't mean they're headed for slaughter if he thinks he can turn them around for a better price. 

To me a true rescue is one that's been abandoned in dangerous circumstances or left to starve or is actively being mistreated by an owner. I say mistreated rather than abuse because I don't think it needs to go to outright abuse before the horse can be intervened on, if it's done right. 

I had sold 3 horses to someone who fell on hard times. I saw a picture of one of them that made me nauseous and I contacted her and told her I was coming for the horses. I managed to only re-possess one horse and sent animal control out for the others when I got home. They seized all of her starved horses. Notice, I repo'd the horse, I didn't rescue her. I sold her to that person, it was my duty to go get her. When she back pedaled and refused to let me take the other 2 geldings I'd sold her, I got the law involved. They rescued the horses from actively being starved and it was way more than 2. 

I think a lot of folks misuse the word rescue because it gives them an ego boost to say, "I rescued this horse from the KB auction." rather than to say, "I went to the low end auction tonight and bought 3 really cheap horses by the pound.".


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## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

> I don't consider a horse bought at auction to be a rescue


 I do consider some. Yes, some kill buyers resell some horses, but you just need to see the feedlots around here, crammed full of horses being fattened for slaughter, to know that is a fate worth 'rescuing' from, particularly when you know they are crammed onto trucks, shipped to slaughtering facilities which by any definition are not nice places, then executed like cattle(no, I don't agree with the mass slaughter process of any form of livestock). For example, buying a cheap, healthy horse from an auction is not rescue. Buying an unhealthy, unhandled horse off the meat buyer is, in my mind. My BO bought a filly this last year, a weanling. She was the only one to bid against the meat buyer, and didn't pay much. The filly was very young, crusted in poo, very underweight, had an abscess on her chest and was unhandled. She was not a resale candidate for the kill buyer, and I doubt she would have survived a feed lot situation. she was, in my mind, a rescue.

To me, a rescue is a horse that has been removed from a situation(by the current owner, a horse is not a 'rescue' for the rest of its life) that promises an untimely death or severe physical or mental injury/harm. Thus the skinny thoroughbred that had a full round bale but needed grain was NOT a recue. Nor would the spoiled, reactive or poorly trained horse, nor the horse who's feet were a little too long, or was not on a deworming program, or who's owner didn't have time for them, so they lived in a large pasture full of grass.

when I think of an abused horse, I think of one that has been beaten harshly, tied up in a painful, unnecessary manner, or in other was unnecessarily mentally and physically abused. Some training methods are harsher than others, which does not necessarily equal abuse. Many people look at a horse that flinches or is reactive, and cries abuse. This is usually false. My BO has a mare that was born on her farm, out of her favorite mare, by her excellent stallion. Now, at 7 years old, she is a great saddle horse. From birth to 4 or 5 years old was another story. She was crazy reactive, mentally immature, and slow to catch on. Everyone who saw her thought she had been terribly abused, but in truth, she had never been treated harshly a day in her life. The term needs to be used carefully.

But regardless, as another poster mentioned, it should not make a difference in how you train and handle them. My arab mare was scruffy, wearing ill fitting tack and had shoes on that had probably been on for 4+ months. She reacts EXTREMELY to putting anything other than a bit in her mouth, to the point of her being willing to injure herself to get away. She had a similar reaction to getting shoes put on or taken off. Both the farrier and the vet, two men who are trustworthy, experienced horsemen not prone to sentimentally tagging horses as 'abused', told me that they believed she had been badly mistreated. That doesn't mean I treat her differently, or tell everyone she was abused. The fact is, I don't know what happened to her, and it really doesn't matter.


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## Paradise (Jun 28, 2012)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> I think a lot of folks misuse the word rescue because it gives them an ego boost to say, "I rescued this horse from the KB auction." rather than to say, "I went to the low end auction tonight and bought 3 really cheap horses by the pound.".


This!! ^^
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

I have some horses that came from a 501C3 rescue that were auction horses most went to slaughter, so yes I have rescue horses. But I dont always call them rescues. 
I have a horse that was given to me, as it was to skinny that the local auction turned the horse away, so yes , she was a rescue, if i did not take her she was going to a mexican rodeo for the horse 'roping' . 
If I go purchase, or am given a horse that is starved, scarred from being whipped, then I say it is a rescue. If I have a horse that was given to me, or signed over to me, that is what I tell people, I dont consider those rescues. Buying a horse at an auction is not always a rescue, but if it is lame, underweight etc , and it looks like the only people buying it are slaughter , or sometimes they get purchased by facilities that keep large cats , as in lion food.
what is the meaning of ^^^ is that sposed to be cussing ?


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## cakemom (Jul 4, 2010)

Mine is a true rescue, now I need to be rescued from her- because I'm pretty sure she has powers over my mind!! 
Mine was forcefully taken from her owner who had her in a dry lot no hay no feed so far underweight she could barely walk and nearly slipper footed. Whole body covered in rain rott and begging for someone to just pet her. I took her on from my nephew who took her from her owner- still so far under that we hid her for months for fear of animal welfare calls. 
Now though, she's stellar and spoiled and wonderful!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## AnrewPL (Jun 3, 2012)

I never heard the term before I came on the forum, I’m kinda bemused by it as I get the impression, probably wrongly, that it seems people are rescuing horses left right and centre. And I wonder how you go about it, and who can do it. Can you “rescue” any old horse that you think is abused? Take my old horse for example. He lives in a paddock up to his wrinkly old belly in grass eating and lazing about. He gets his feet rasped now and then, pushes my uncle about occasionally to get some grain when he is feeling greedy and only has to endure being ridden when I go and visit, he’d have to be about 24 or so now. Could someone figure, “he is being abused because he doesn’t wear a rug in winter”, or something and show up with a trailer and drive off with him and claim they rescued him? If someone tried that they would pay dearly I can assure you. 
And what is it with abuse? People talking about “my horse was abused so its scared of x, y and z, There must be some horse abusers out there (I have seen horse abuse that would make your blood run cold, but the really bad ones are pretty rare).
I’m pretty confused about the whole rescue thing, and just what people think abuse is myself.


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## MyBoySi (Dec 1, 2011)

I have an aunt who loves to tell anyone who will listen that all her horses were rescues. 

Two lived in fields, they got basic care, feet done as needed and hay in the winter. Neither were underweight, just didn't get any attention. 

Another came from someone's backyard type situation. Got plentiful feed, hooves trimmed and vetting as needed, the girl who owned her list interest.

The final one came from a family who didn't use him anymore because he couldn't keep up with their other trail horses due to his mild arthritis. They took great care of him and they would have kept him had my aunt not taken him.

I guess it just makes some people feel good to say they rescued horses...


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## AnrewPL (Jun 3, 2012)

They took great care of him and they would have kept him had my aunt not taken him.

See this is the bit I wonder about, how can your aunt just take the horse if they were looking after it and would have kept it?


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## wyominggrandma (Nov 4, 2009)

I rescued Bones.... He was rated a 1.5 by the vet, had feet that had grown over his shoes, was in a lot of dirt and nothing else, chewing the fence and eating manure to stay alive, fell down twice in the trailer on the way home. He had no skin on his back due to rot, fly bites on his ears, not much mane. He also had teeth that had grown into the spaces left by no teeth, so he was not able to chew real good, some of his teeth were about 4 to 5 inches long that had continued to grow since no bottom teeth to grind. Huge amounts of worms...
He was a rescue... He probably would not have made it much longer. Took months and months to get weight on him..... This photo was after we had him for awhile and he was beginning to gain weight.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

AnrewPL, there is a popular misconception amongst those will little horse experience, that by buying a horse at an auction they they are rescuing it from the slaughter buyers. That is a misnomer. They are brokers and are in it for the money, not necessarily to send a horse to slaughter. No one can enter someone's property and remove an animal. By the term "taken him", the horse wasn't removed without the owner's permission. I am sure you are aware that it is much easier for prospective buyers to view many animals in one day at an auction than run all over the countryside viewing one or two during the course of a day. The gist of my original thread was to be careful about making "rescue" declarations on a public forum as it may come back to bite someone.


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## AnrewPL (Jun 3, 2012)

Saddlebag said:


> AnrewPL, there is a popular misconception amongst those will little horse experience, that by buying a horse at an auction they they are rescuing it from the slaughter buyers. That is a misnomer. They are brokers and are in it for the money, not necessarily to send a horse to slaughter. No one can enter someone's property and remove an animal. By the term "taken him", the horse wasn't removed without the owner's permission. I am sure you are aware that it is much easier for prospective buyers to view many animals in one day at an auction than run all over the countryside viewing one or two during the course of a day. The gist of my original thread was to be careful about making "rescue" declarations on a public forum as it may come back to bite someone.


OK, like I said I had never heard the term before hearing it on this forum, the way people talk about rescuing horses it sounded to me as though if they saw a horse that they thought was being neglected they could go and take it and claim they were rescuing it from something; which sounds a bit like theft to me. 

So basically people buy a horse they think was abused (actually or not, who cares) or they thought was going to the knackers, so they buy it and feel god about it?


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## Britt (Apr 15, 2008)

My girl Joyce was a rescue. 

She was pastured with two other horses and was a low-to-mid-2 on the Body Condition Scale. Hadn't had her hooves trimmed in years, no vet care in years, extremely wormy, never got feed, no hay during winter except for what concerned horse-owners around the community bought and GAVE her owner (who even then tried to refuse the hay, stating that he wasn't giving the horses anything during winter), no salt block in years, the water trough, when filled, was green and slimy, she was covered in burs and emaciated. She was so weak that she fell down in the trailer and for the first week I wasn't sure if she was actually going to be ok, because whenever she lay down, she struggled to get up.

So yes, she was a rescue. She also still needs some weight, but she's lots better.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

AnrewPL, yes, in most cases it does make them feel good. I've seen horses "rescued" from slaughter when that's where they needed to be. Sometimes, we run out of options and the vets run out of options and there's only one solution, like it or not, and that's the kill pen. And someone comes along who thinks the horse is salvageable and takes it home, only to prolong it's agony. They "rescued" this poor animal. That is precisely why mine don't go to the auctions.


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## MyBoySi (Dec 1, 2011)

AnrewPL said:


> They took great care of him and they would have kept him had my aunt not taken him.
> 
> See this is the bit I wonder about, how can your aunt just take the horse if they were looking after it and would have kept it?


Well she didn't just take him lol, he was given to her. They just had no use for him, they would have kept him if they didn't find a suitable home but I guess they wanted him to get a bit more out of life then sitting in a field. He was only 16 at the time, a bit young to retire completely and his arthritis is not very severe, just makes him uncomfortable after long rides. He's a great kids horse, just couldn't keep up with the rigorous trail riding the family did and he would also get very upset when left behind all alone.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I don't know why people seem to think arthritic horses aren't in pain. Ask any person with arthritis and they are on medication to control the pain. Horses are stoic animals. To show pain tells the predator that this is the one to pursue.


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

IMO it's just semantics. "I rescued him" vs. "He's a rescue."

Honestly I have no issue with people calling a horse a rescue if it came from A RESCUE. Seems just silly to be upset about that. Maybe they personally didn't rescue the horse, but somebody did. 

If someone goes to an auction and bids against the meat man and they want to call that horse a rescue, or say they rescued him, I have no problem with that.

The only thing I take issue with is someone buying horses from traders/jockeys and calling that rescue. You'd just be giving them money to buy the next one. 

I don't feel as if I personally rescued any of my horses. Someone else did, which may technically make them "a rescue horse," but I just call them "horses:"

*Bandit*: purchased, never in danger, not a rescue.
*Cody*: purchased, never in danger, not a rescue.
*Royale*: a friend of mine took him from a bad situation, gave him to me, and I rehabbed/trained him. My friend rescued him and he would have been safe with her even if I hadn't agreed to take him on. 
*Mirage*: purchased for $250, and I really can't decide if the organization was a trader or a rescue. Most consider it a rescue, but there was no screening process. I paid the money and they delivered the horse. He was in terrible shape. I rehabbed him. Can't say I rescued him because I paid, and I can't say the organization rescued him because I didn't verify the organization was legit. All I know is that I gave him a few good years before he died. 
*Obie*: The person I bought him from outbid the meat man. He was in fabulous condition when I got him, but just needed training. The prior owner rescued him, I did not. I've heard people at my barn calling him "a rescue." Doesn't bother me. If someone asks his story I tell them, making it clear I didn't do the rescuing. 
*Striker*: adopted from an OTTB rescue. They discovered him at an auction in another state. His breeder paid the auction fee. I believe donations paid his transport fee. He was in no danger when I bought him, but his continued presence at the rescue meant there was no room for them to take in another horse. Still, I'm not going to call him "a rescue." I'm going to call him an OTTB, because, let's face it, OTTBs are friggin' cool.


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## sweetpea (Mar 7, 2014)

I see this a great deal with dogs. I have 7, and yes, all 7 were rescued at some point before they came to me, whether it was by me or someone else. To me, abuse need not be overt, physical beating or starving. Rescue is a term that is often overused, though. I've heard people claim they "rescued" their dog, only to find out they "adopted" it from the breeder. I've also seen people use it to excuse horrendous behavior. There are instances when the past abuse or neglect has profoundly affected their development, but probably 99% of the time they can overcome it with proper care and training. The number one rule is to treat them like a normal animal, perhaps working more slowly or in smaller steps to achieve the same goal. However, abuse or neglect should never be used to excuse snotty behavior.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I've bought several horses over the years to get them out of their current situation and I consider them my rescues.

Some sick and in horrendous living conditions and some starved but all of them came from private individuals and I coughed up whatever it took to buy them. Sure someone else may have come along and bought them but then again maybe not and would it have been before it was too late.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Let me remind you that declarations of rescue may get you in trouble if the previous owner reads what is posted on this public forum.


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## kimberlyrae1993 (Mar 20, 2013)

See I font get why everyone is getting so worked up if you want to call your horse a rescue fine if you paid thousands of dollars for your fat fully trained registered quarter horse then NO it's not a rescue!! I have bought horses who were in bad situations and yes I said I rescued them!! My newest horse Amy hope through homes and the lady got her back after she lost all the weight then I got her so I classify Amy a rescue.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## JohnWayne (Mar 26, 2013)

I once sold a horse to a lady and then found out she was telling people he was a rescue. When I sold him he was fat, happy, current on vet and farrier care, had about a years retraining and she had taken lessons on him for about 6 months. I'm not sure what she thinks he was "rescued" from.... I asked her to cease and desist with calling him a rescue because I don't need people in the community thinking I need animals "rescued" from me, thank you very much!
The same lady then bought a horse from a friend of mine (also happy and well cared for and trained) and proceeded to do the same thing.....
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Chasin Ponies (Dec 25, 2013)

BlueSpark said:


> I do consider some. Yes, some kill buyers resell some horses, but you just need to see the feedlots around here, crammed full of horses being fattened for slaughter, to know that is a fate worth 'rescuing' from, particularly when you know they are crammed onto trucks, shipped to slaughtering facilities which by any definition are not nice places, then executed like cattle(no, I don't agree with the mass slaughter process of any form of livestock). For example, buying a cheap, healthy horse from an auction is not rescue.


 Agreed! There are 2 known slaughter auction barns near me. They are known kill buyer auctions and not all of the horses sent there are sick or starving. Many are perfectly good quality show horses that have been broken down by drugs and abusive training techniques. Of course the kill buyers would sell any horse to you if you offered enough over the meat price. It was especially bad when the recession hit and so many people could no longer afford horses but even now they run hundreds through every week.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

kimberlyrae1993 said:


> See I font get why everyone is getting so worked up if you want to call your horse a rescue fine if you paid thousands of dollars for your fat fully trained registered quarter horse then NO it's not a rescue!! I have bought horses who were in bad situations and yes I said I rescued them!! My newest horse Amy hope through homes and the lady got her back after she lost all the weight then I got her so I classify Amy a rescue.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I think the issue is that what constitutes "mistreating" a horse is extremely subjective, and just because Susie down the road buys a dominant, mouthy horse that has some behavioral problems doesn't mean that Horse was abused. Or, Susie is against the use of whips and because the former owner has gotten after him with a whip in the past because of bad behavior, Former Owner is abusive and Horse is a rescue. Susie treats Horse like a delicate flower, behavior worsens. Susie tells everyone in the area that Horse was abused and is a rescue, it reflects VERY poorly on Former Owner. People take Susie's word, and soon Former Owner is a horse abuser just because she has a different reasonable training method. And Susie is stuck at home with an uncontrollable horse that she won't discipline because he was "abused". I think that Saddlebag is trying to say that this sort of declaration can easily come back to bite you.

By buying a horse that is slightly thin and headshy and calling it a rescue you are really undermining the significance of TRUE rescues. The kind that are almost too emaciated to stand, the ones that have scars across their backs from being beaten. I don't want to see "before" pictures of someone's "rescued horse" and see them a little ribby chilling in a pasture. It gives folks the wrong idea of what a rescued horse really is.

Yes, you CAN buy a horse and deem it a rescue. My friend did this a few years ago with a TB that she saw on craigslist. His owners obviously didn't care too much for him as when they ran out of money, they just stopped feeding him. They didn't think to even post the craigslist ad until he was emaciated. Friend saw the pictures of him, drove out there with a trailer and $200, and took him home. Fattened him up and started riding him, sold him to a fantastic home when he didn't suit her needs. Just because there was money exchanged doesn't make it a rescue. Someone else may have come along for the horse, but if not I'm certain that the animal would be dead.

The people reading this thread with true rescues won't be getting upset by this. When you see a horse that is in those dire straits, you know. There ARE true rescues out there, but people get a warm, fuzzy feeling and a perceived sense of respect from saying that they helped someone else at their own expense. There's nothing wrong with that if you really did rescue a horse. There's also nothing wrong with buying a horse to buy a horse, even if he wasn't in the worst of conditions. A buyer's conditions may be better than their previous home, but that doesn't make the previous home abusive or neglectful necessarily.


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## CaballoBarro (Feb 9, 2014)

I sometimes refer to my quarab as a "rescue"  I always add the wink and quotes because she only needed to be rescued from her owner who thought she had been abused... That being said she was scheduled to be put down before I said I would take her. The last owner felt that the mare was too spooky to live (literally), due to the abuse she suffered at the hands of her breeder... yep she is terrified of everything, the other day she got stuck in her blanket while i was feeding (she rolled and a leg strap came off she had on leg stuck and the neck of the blanket was flung around the other side) any normal horse would have kicked out or tried to run and ripped the straps off the blanket, Jesse stood there and tried to undo the neck straps, then waited until I walked over to help her out of it. 

the only thing she is scared of is people who are scared of her, and a little worried about catching time (she was trapped too many times in her 2 previous homes) but has made leaps and bounds since November

I agree that you can get in trouble throwing the word rescue or abuse around, with no reason, or making assumptions based on a horses behaviour,


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

John, that is precisely my point. Thank you for your post. I think you are the only person who got the drift of what I was trying to say.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

so, if you claim you have a rescue horse, you better be able to verify your claim. 
after reading these post, I had 2 OTTB that came from a 501C rescue , and had 4 PMU auction horses from a 501C rescue. One rescue she was soo skinny the auction turned her away ( I am surprised she even lived so was nothing but bones and hair ) 
and a horse given to me, as he was to old for the intended use, and one signed over .


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

Saddlebag said:


> Let me remind you that declarations of rescue may get you in trouble if the previous owner reads what is posted on this public forum.


Define "get into trouble?" 



Saddlebag said:


> John, that is precisely my point. Thank you for your post. I think you are the only person who got the drift of what I was trying to say.


Perhaps he's the only one who cares. I personally do not care what most people think of me, and I'm certainly not going to lose sleep over people getting their knickers into a twist about things posted on an internet forum. 

I think your post prompted a good discussion, even though it wasn't what you wanted it to be.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

John was the only one who got my point, and that is to be very careful about declaring a horse as a rescue because it isn't always a rescue and the previous owner might get irate enough to take legal action. We hear the term "abused" all to often when in many cases the horses were quick to figure out that the new owners didn't have a lot of experience, and pretty much took over. Absolutely nothing to do with how someone else treated them.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

Seriously, there may some *** out there that would sue for slander.. 
Heck, the horse that was signed over to me .. signed over as the past owner did not have funds to keep the horse, then went and told people I stole the horse. 
I told her go ahead and sue me, I will see you in court. The horse was underweight and lame, and I had letters from a farrier and a Vet. SO I could say I rescued this horse from its past owner as she was negligent in some aspects of the horses care. 
But .. The Point being.. anybody who knows me .. Knows that I would not steal a horse. And that I would not abuse a horse. If you have a good REputation .. some fool that goes around and spreads rumours ,, will just make ill will back towards them


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

Just because people can sue doesn't mean they'll win.  People can try to sue me for looking at them funny, does that mean I should keep my eyes on the ground and not look at anyone?

(BTW I work in the legal field).


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

Saddlebag said:


> John was the only one who got my point, and that is to be very careful about declaring a horse as a rescue because it isn't always a rescue and the previous owner might get irate enough to take legal action. We hear the term "abused" all to often when in many cases the horses were quick to figure out that the new owners didn't have a lot of experience, and pretty much took over. Absolutely nothing to do with how someone else treated them.


Actually, I think I may have mentioned something to that effect as well, along with other things. I don't know if I mentioned legal action, but neither did you in the first post. Maybe would have helped more people see the point you were trying to make, but I think the discussion that did come along was productive nonetheless.

And, Nikelodeon, people can sue for whatever they want. I'm not going to walk around with my head down either, but I'm also not looking for ways to get into trouble. Lots of other people try to avoid legal issues as well, even if no consequences would end up befalling them from these issues. Lots of people also probably don't even think about the fact that the previous owner would take issue with throwing around the "abuse" term, nor do they ever think about a previous owner stumbling across a forum with a picture of their "abused" former horse. Seems like a heads up isn't inappropriate.


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

Why do you think animal abusers go unsuspected for so long, continuing to obtain more animals? Because no one will talk about it. It's a big no no. "Mind your own business," people say. "You might get sued."
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

I'm not telling anyone to ignore clear signs of abuse. In fact, I would encourage people to report it. However, going to an online forum and reporting that you have a rescue horse (whether they were a "real" rescue or not) helps no one and no horse. If someone truly feels that an animal is at risk then I would tell them to call the proper authorities, not to just talking to their friends and do nothing about it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## TrailTraveler (Jan 4, 2014)

Terminology is kind of splitting hairs, but as someone who has experience (I was certified by government Animal Control in Northern California back in the early 00's and am currently a certified foster for the Humane Society), I think of it this way:

"Rescue" is an organizational term, usually implying 501(c)3 status -- a registered, non-profit organization that specializes in saving animals from imminent death. This includes severe, life-threatening physical malady OR those unwanted horses (e.g., Premarin babies) that are sold to feedlots. They will also receive owner-turn-ins (animals that are no longer wanted) for the purpose of re-homing them. The point is: * If possible, a rescuer will re-home the animal to make room for other animals in need of rescue.*

I consider myself a rehabilitator ("rehabber"): an individual who physically rehabilitates animals that are ill, restoring them to health, with the purpose of re-homing them. I didn't train the horses that I rehabbed, but my job included instilling basic ground manners so that they could be handled for treatment. Once they were physically well, I either re-homed them myself (if I had purchased the horse myself); returned them to AC per my contract; or placed them with a 501(c)3 Rescue organization, which would train them and re-home them. Occasionally, I would adopt one of my rehabbed animals -- we call it a "foster failure." 

That said, I really don't care if an individual wants to say that they "rescued" their horse or not. It has no impact on me; but it tells me that the "rescuer" is someone who is compassionate and wants others to know it. Can their compassion be misguided? Sure, but that's not my business -- unless their animal becomes dangerous.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

I dont think that people who adopt or rescue or rehab horses go out of their way to do it for the 
kuddos from other people. 
I am sure there are plenty of people out there like me, who when they are able, take in a horse to help the horse. I really dont give a rats a$$ what other people think . 
Some of my horses are rideable, some are not, some are just pasture pets, and when they Leave my place its to the Vets for that final shot.


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