More horses are being rescued from abuse and harm today thanks to public awareness.
That’s according to Ashley Ford, Executive Director of Horse Haven. The horse rescue agency joined other agencies this week in taking 25 horses and two ponies from a Jamestown property after reports of severe malnutrition and poor living conditions.
“I don’t necessarily think [horse malnutrition] is a common problem,” Ford said. “But, I think that when people have large amounts of horses, or maybe get in over their head in any case, that can cause a financial strain potentially. And Lack of space. And I think that’s a generic thing of what we see.”
Ford said it takes months for a horse to be malnourished. Ford said a malnourished horse will often look weary with visible bones.
The horses were found and rescued by the Fentress County Sheriff’s Office, Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Horse Haven and Volunteer Equine Advocates, another rescue agency.
Ford said in the case of the Jamestown horse rescue, people who drove by the property filed complaints about their condition. Ford said as a result, the Department of Agriculture came in and decided to rescue the horses.
“[Law enforcement] will give us a call and say we’ve got X amount of horses, whether it’s one, 20, 50 or whatever it is,” Ford said. “And we work with partner rescues that are credible rescues. And we’ve got a team called our Go Team, that is available at a moment’s notice.”
Ford said in the Jamestown case, a 28 horse rescue team was assembled in under 90 minutes. Ford said when horses are rescued, they are quickly given a vet assessment and feeding plan. Ford said horses are weighed weekly, and everything they eat and drink is tracked.
“We provide progress updates to any county court,” Ford said. “And every 30 days, we give them an update and say, ‘Okay, here’s how much weight this horse has gained. Here’s what it’s eating.’ And we don’t feed them anything fancy. We just feed them quality feed and quality hay, and our job is to just show that the owner could have just fed the horse.”
Ford said once horses are surrendered or awarded to Horse Haven, they are put up for adoption. Ford said the adoption process includes a meet and greet between the horse and candidate. Horse Haven will also visit facilities to ensure the horse will have proper living conditions after it is adopted.
Ford said state law requires horse owners to have a tree line on the property, and there are no space requirements. Ford said before a Horse Haven horse is adopted, the property must be above and beyond what the law requires. Horses go to candidates who’s facilities have quality fencing, shelter, and at least one feeding area per horse.
