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From the desk of the Equine Campaign Manager.
As summer turns to autumn, equines need extra food and shelter security (©aresauburn @flicker).
Silver, a formerly abused horse now rehabilitating, at the Pony Up event, August 2010. (Photo credit: Robert Muller)
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When I was growing up, September meant our family’s horses would be busy munching on fallen persimmon fruit while we would stock the remainder of the hay bales in the loft, muck the stalls, and otherwise arrange the barn, confident that our Arabians would stay healthy and comfortable no matter how harsh the weather. As good as it felt to be providing for my family’s horses, I was also painfully aware of the neighbors’ neglected horse and pony across the fence, who would have to suffice with a hay bale left out in the open to rot.
I think of that horse and pony every time Fall arrives and the grass recedes, wishing that my former neighbor, if he was in need financially, would have approached my family for help in feeding his animals. As for myself, I could have done more, knowing what I do now. I can’t go back in time to solve that problem, but it heartens me to now administer assistance to horses in a similar situation as coordinator for the Equine Protection Fund.
We’ve recently seen many reminders of the problem of equine cruelty and neglect. Last month, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported on Prince, the emaciated gelding found by a hiker in the Pecos Wilderness, abandoned under unknown circumstances. Prince is now regaining health at Heart & Soul Sanctuary, where he was recently joined by another survivor of cruelty, a mare named Princess who was seized by the Livestock Board. In both news stories, Equine Protection Fund weighed in on the scope of the problem and the solutions to equine cruelty we are developing.
Last month, attendees of Pony Up!: An Art Auction for New Mexico’s Horses learned firsthand of the assistance programs of Equine Protection Fund, including Emergency Feed Assistance and the statewide Volunteer Network. Thank you to everyone who attended the event and purchased art—your support is greatly appreciated.
Join APNM in these endeavors (as well as a slate of upcoming programs) to give greater opportunities to law enforcement, shelters and loving families of equines. If you haven’t yet, please sign up for the Volunteer Network and be a vital part of the campaign to diminish equine suffering in New Mexico: equineprotectionfund.org/survey/. With your support, we can continue to strengthen our community of horse advocates until no one runs out of options when a horse goes hungry.
Phil Carter
Equine Campaign Manager
Animal Protection of New Mexico
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