Animal Welfare United States Project #10783

Can You Make A Horse Smile? You Bet! Here's How...

by EQUUS Foundation

Can You Make A Horse Smile? You Bet! Here's How...

Project Report | Jun 28, 2018
Zoey's Next Chapter

By Lynn Coakley | President

When it came time for Zoey, an 11-year old Welsh pony, to find a new home, the Huber family wanted to explore all the options available and turned to the EQUUS Foundation for advice. Even though a competitive career was still an option, the Hubers thought Zoey might be better suited as a companion, teacher and even a healer and wanted to consider donating her to an equine charity.

"It's important to recognize that there is a great disparity in horse care practices among equine charities," said Lynn Coakley, EQUUS Foundation President. The EQUUS Foundation is known for its unique and rigorous screening process that ensures donor confidence in the equine charities that receive financial support from the EQUUS Foundation each year. "There is no guesswork."

Stabled at the Fairfield County Hunt Club in Westport, Connecticut, it turned out that Zoey's next chapter was just a few steps away. Coakley reached out to nearby EQUUS Foundation Guardian, New Canaan Mounted Troop (NCMT), whose mission is to build leadership, responsibility and confidence in youth through sound horsemanship and to enrich the lives of individuals with special needs through equine assisted activities.

The horses at both Fairfield and New Canaan Mounted Troop are under the care of Fairfield Equine Associates, PC, founded in 1989 with a world-wide reputation as one of the finest equine medical practices in the world, making it very easy to share important health information on Zoey.

Zoey arrived at NCMT in early November 2017 for a 30-day trial. The trial period was to make sure that Zoey would be a fit for the NCMT program and enjoy her new surroundings and new friends. "All of our horses and ponies are donated," said Sara Tucker, NCMT Executive Director. "We could not run our programs without them. Although many ponies and horses may need to step down from the show world, like Zoey, they can continue to lead productive lives and teach children and adults about horsemanship."

"Zoey is a happy ending story. It's very fulfilling and rewarding as a veterinarian to be able to follow a patient throughout their lives and career moves," added Robert T. Neff, VMD, one of Fairfield Equine's owners, and a 1995 Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. "I take the health and well-being of the horses and ponies in our care very personally. They are like family to me. They are a very special group of animals and I am honored to be their veterinarian."

"The work of veterinarians like Fairfield Equine Associates is critical to safeguarding America's horses throughout their lives," continued Coakley. "We depend on veterinarians, like those at Fairfield Equine, to help us carry out our mission to protect America's horses and strengthen the bond between horses and people.

Zoey and Margaret Huber competing

Alexi Goodman aboard Zoey at New Canaan Mounted Tr

Zoey in her new home at New Canaan Mounted Troop

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Apr 2, 2018
Gerda's Equine Rescue Makes Horses Smile . . .

By Lynn Coakley | President

All horses, even champions of the racetrack and the show ring, may only be one unlucky sale away from abuse, neglect and slaughter.

We make it our mission to protect America’s horses and make the horse’s unique ability to empower, teach and heal available to as many people as possible, especially people with special needs.

The EQUUS Foundation Guardians program ensures that equine charities seeking financial support from the EQUUS Foundation are fully transparent and accountable to the public and are operating at the highest standards of horse care.

We are pleased to recognize Gerda’s Equine Rescue Inc. as an EQUUS Foundation 2018 Guardian.

Gerda's Equine Rescue (GER) is a Vermont based 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to rescuing horses from the unthinkable fate of being slaughter bound for human consumption. Since its founding in 2005 GER has been able to able to rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home over 1,000 horses! GER also offers volunteer opportunities to work with rescue horses and to learn through first hand interactions at the farm.

“GER is honored to have been accepted into the EQUUS Foundation’s Guardian Program! We value transparency and want to make sure that our donors know that we’re being good stewards of their donations. We’re excited to share our work with others and hope that our partnership with the EQUUS Foundation will lead to more horses being adopted!” said Gerda Silver, Founder and President of Gerda's Equine Rescue.

Only EQUUS Foundation Guardians are eligible to receive financial support from the EQUUS Foundation. Financial support is awarded based on the amount of funds raised by the EQUUS Foundation over the course of the year and the evaluation by the EQUUS Foundation of the needs of the organization, the merits of the organization's programs, services, and activities and the organization's operating budget. None of this would be possible without your continued support.

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Jan 2, 2018
Relief for Equine Victims of California Fires

By Lynn Coakley | President

The EQUUS Foundation has developed one of the most comprehensive and impartial verification processes to inspire donor confidence in the charities selected to receive financial support each year.

While we are not set up for emergency relief funding, we felt strongly about making a difference for the equine victims of the horrific California wildfires that have been raging throughout Southern California since October 2017.

When our friends on social media asked what horse lovers could do to make a difference and how they could help, we did our research to discover what California organizations were on the ground helping horses. We set up a special fund to collect donations for equine victims of the California fires so that people who reached out to us could feel confident that 100% of the funds would go where it was most urgently needed.

While there are many deserving organizations, we selected the Humane Society of Ventura County to receive the funds as this organization has been at the forefront of the animal rescue efforts in this disaster. The Humane Society of Ventura County has received over $6,500 in donations from us so far.

“We are proud of our supporters across the country who love horses and want to be horse protectors, and who stepped up to make a difference -- we were touched by their outpouring of compassion and quick action for the equine California fire victims,” said Valerie Angeli, VP of Communications for the EQUUS Foundation. “When horse people team up to make a difference we are a powerful force!”

Lynn Coakley, Founder and President of the EQUUS Foundation added, “Our gratitude and respect goes out to the law enforcement, firefighters, animal control and the rescuers and responders who risk their lives to keep people and animals safe from harm in this ongoing crisis situation.”

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