How Equine Nonprofits Have Gotten Creative

In December 2023, the Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue of West Virginia came up with a creative plan to appeal to existing donors and attract new ones without breaking the contributor bank.

The campaign asked donors to send the organization a Christmas card containing between $1 and $5. In response, photos of all the cards and the collective amount of the donations they contained were to be posted on the organization’s website.

As of press time, the rescue had received dozens of cards in the days leading up to Christmas, with more pouring in.

“They have been coming in every day, and they all contained between $1 and $5,” says Suzanna Johnson, Heart of Phoenix education officer. “This was a way to appeal to people who don’t have a lot of money, but everybody likes to send Christmas cards.”

Covid and Inflation

According to the website of the RKD Group, Dallas-based consultants who use data-driven strategies to help animal welfare nonprofits find connections with donors, 2023 donation revenue is down over the past 12 to 18 months largely because givers have been hard hit by inflation.

Meanwhile, the organization predicts that continued inflation and rising interest rates will stifle efforts to attract new donors this spring.

That’s not news to Grace Purdom, president of the California-based Hope 4 Horses.

“We have been in the horse business a long time, both the nonprofit and for-profit parts,” says Purdom, whose husband Scott is a trainer and clinician. “We’ve traveled all over the country and seen horse rescue after horse rescue close—not just in the east, but in the west, too.”

According to Purdom, some of those organizations folded after Covid-connected business grants dried up.

“Some never came back,” she says.

More recently, as financial support has deteriorated, the cost of keeping horses has escalated.

“The same night we had a board meeting and were told that private funding was down between $30,000 and $40,000, we had just gotten a $25,000 hay bill,” Purdom recalls.

She adds that farrier and veterinarian fees have gone up this year as well.

The rise in operational costs all threaten horses’ chances of getting the rehabilitation and aftercare they need.

“We see horses in need from owner surrenders, and there still is indiscriminate breeding out there,” Purdom says. “There were 140 horses from one animal control [agency] out there—where do you put 140 horses?”

Failure Is Not An Option

As a result, rescues have been forced to re-evaluate their own criteria for helping horses in need.

“It has made us focus more on ‘desperate need’ cases, where in years before we could help before things [got] bad,” explains Heart of Phoenix Founder and Executive director Tinia Creamer. “As it is now, if a horse isn’t in dire shape, donors do not step forward, so we have had to get more creative.”

Altogether, the circumstances have created a perfect storm for equine welfare organizations who have adopted whatever tactic they could to meet the challenges.

Most are taking to social media to share the journeys of individual horses as they transition from rescue through rehabilitation to readiness for adoption. They are also engaging the local and online communities to assume a stake in the organization’s success, and they’re cultivating a pool of volunteers to do everything from handling horses to office work.

Whether the current economic circumstances challenging equine welfare nonprofits will subside any time soon is anybody’s guess. But even if the economic picture changes, Creamer says equine welfare organizations will always be challenged to make the most of existing or potential resources at their disposal because failure is not an option.

“I don’t see the economy improving in the short term, and a rescue has to adapt to the world we have,” says Creamer. “Having said that, we’ve made changes and continue to make them to try to be here next year and the year after. Horses depend on us here, and we owe it to them to be here.”

Successes in the Face of Challenges

We reached out to the ASPCA Right Horse program to ask how their equine adoption partner network has fared despite recent economic conditions, and asked for some suggested action items you can do to help.

◆ Multiple factors are converging simultaneously, impacting shelter and rescues’ ability to provide care. Despite challenges, partner organizations of the ASPCA Right Horse program saw more than a 5 percent increase in adoptions in 2023 compared to 2022.

◆ Data from ASPCA’s adoption site shows there is a demand for adoptable horses, including older horses, as evidenced by more than 2 million page views for adoptable horses in 2023 and over 4,000 adoption inquiries.

◆ Additionally, the ASPCA, alongside a rising number of other animal welfare organizations, are focused on services, including subsidized veterinary care and resources, to help keep equines safely in their homes and out of shelters and rescues.

◆ The ASPCA encourages anyone interested to support their local animal welfare organizations by adopting, volunteering their time, donating supplies, or becoming foster caregivers. To find an organization in your area to support, visit myrighthorse.org.

Equine Nonprofits That Help People

For equine assisted services (EAS) nonprofits, humans depend on the horses, too.

The Connected Horse launched in 2015 as pilot projects at Stanford University and the University of California at Davis. It pairs senior horses, some rescued or surrendered, with people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and their caregivers to help them manage stress and navigate the flood of physical and emotional ramifications connected with the conditions.

Through the program, human participants connect with the horses as they brush, walk, and visit with them under the watchful eyes of program personnel.

“The horse is really the teacher,” says Paula Hertel, Connected Horse co-founder.

More than 60 pairs of patients and caregivers connected with equines during the first three years of the university pilot programs. Another 186 people took part in Connect Horse programs at private partner barns, including those that rescue, receive surrenders and place adoptable horses.

According to co-founder Nancy Schier Anzelmo, Connected Horse programs are supported by grants, donations from program participants and their families, and private supporters. And while she admits that the recent economy has affected the fundraising outlook for almost all nonprofits, the mission of equine-focused organizations is critical for the horses and for the humans involved.

“Horses, especially older horses, need purpose just as people do,” she says. “Our country needs to support programs to serve [people] in need right now as well as older horses, or horses who cannot be used for sport anymore. It’s very personal, and making connections in nature and with others is a key to building a community that serves each other.”

Make the Most of Your Donation to Equine Nonprofits

This year a simple trip to the supermarket was an economic shock for many across the country. At the same time, the nonprofit organizations that help horses are experiencing the same trauma every time they order hay, purchase grain, or call for the services of farriers and veterinarians.

But many of those who are challenged by the economy themselves still want to support horses in need however they can.

Grace Purdom, executive director of Hope 4 Horses, shares her best advice for doing that.

“First, we always recommend that people donate locally,” she says. “Visit a local rescue organization and learn about what that organization does and how it does it.”

For that, Purdom recommends that prospective donors sit in on an orientation session that many organizations host for new volunteers, new donors, and members of the public.

“Operators use orientation sessions to talk about the organization’s mission, its facility, how many horses they have, who they have on staff, and how many volunteers it has,” she says.

Then take a tour of the facility. Horses onsite at effective rescues should appear to be in various stages of rehabilitation and look happy and healthy under the staff’s care.

During the tour, ask the staff guide lots of questions, especially if a horse appears to be thin.

“The staff could say that the horse just arrived 30 days ago and is in rehab,” says Purdom. “The point is to ask open questions and expect honest answers; a legitimate rescue is an open book.”

Finally, do a bit more research before making that donation. First, make sure that the organization is a legitimate 501(c)(3) under federal tax rules. That designation recognizes the organization as a nonprofit, which means it is exempt from federal income tax. As a result, contributions to 501(c)(3) organizations are tax-deductible for donors.

Finally, just before writing that donation check, visit charity evaluation websites, such as GuideStar, which allows nonprofits to share information such as address, mission, key leadership, employee identification numbers, tax status and Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (IRS form 990) forms for three fiscal years.

“No matter how large or small they are, donations are very important to all of us,” says Purdom.

Further Reading: Dealing with Inflation as an Equestrian

This article about the state of equine traffics appeared in the March 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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Shortly after bringing her horse home to her Florida farm from a nearby boarding barn, Helen Yakin-Palmer looked up from her desk to find her mare, Cera, peering at her through the office window.

“It was a wonderful surprise,” Yakin-Palmer recalls. “It’s the upside of keeping a horse at home.”

In fact, it’s what some horse owners—especially prospective ones—dream about. But keeping a horse at home is not as simple as it seems. And keeping one anywhere—whether a farm or a boarding barn—is not an inexpensive proposition. Either way, providing for its needs makes all the difference between a horse that is thriving and one in danger of becoming a welfare statistic, whether he is a performance horse, a trail horse or a companion equine.

Your Costs May Vary

Annual horsekeeping expenses vary widely. Here’s a rough look at the major expenses and what they’ll cost per year on the low end and high end for the cost of owning a horse.

Overall Horse Ownership Cost

“The No. 1 reason why horses go into rescue or are sold is because people realize that they can’t afford them,” says Nicole Maubert-Walukewicz, founder of the Palmetto Equine Awareness and Rescue League (PEARL) in Anderson, S.C.

As most horse owners know, the cost of keeping the horse is usually greater than the cost of purchasing it.

“The cost of the horse is going to be the least expenditure an owner is going to make,” says Amy McLean, Ph.D., equine lecturer (PSOE) in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of California. “You are going to spend more taking care of it.”

So how much can owners expect to spend on horsekeeping? Calculating costs can be complicated. While some expenses, such as basic veterinary and farrier fees, are relatively consistent over time, others vary from state to state, region to region and year to year, such as feed and hay.

Horse Ownership Cost: Horse Feed

According to the Unwanted Horse Coalition, (UHC) a horse’s dietary requirements depend on its breed, activity level and age. For example, horses with extensive training and show schedules generally require more feed and forage than horses that are only occasionally under saddle or are not ridden at all. Likewise, older horses may need to eat more just to maintain good body condition.

Generally, a healthy horse should consume at least 1.5 percent of his body weight in forage daily. For some owners, that means making sure the horse has lots of grazing time on pasture, supplemented by high-quality hay. But hay costs vary depending on your location, the volume of the local hay crop, and how far the hay must be transported. As a result, the cost of hay is higher in California than it is in the Midwest, for example.

“Hay is a large and regionally-produced crop that is shipped long distances, so problems in some areas won’t necessarily impact price,” says Daniel H. Putnam, Ph.D., extension agronomist and forage specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis.

In Florida, Yakin-Palmer pays $13.50 to $15.50 per bale for hay. Meanwhile, trainer Clarissa Cupolo recalls buying hay annually by the ton.

“In New Jersey, we had to buy hay by the ton,” says Cupolo. “We would pay $2,000 for hay to feed six horses for a whole year.”

Horses’ diets can also include feed, either commercially manufactured or locally milled. Those costs can vary too, depending on where the feed is milled and where ingredients are grown.

A 50-pound bag of commercially formulated equine feed runs anywhere from $15 to $35; the average stabled horse eats 5 to 15 pounds per day. Don’t forget to add onto this the cost of any supplements you feed, which can vary widely.

Horse Ownership Cost: Hoof Care and Veterinary Expenses

Aside from meeting their horses’ dietary needs, owners must also provide routine veterinary and other professional care to keep their animals healthy. In general, those costs do not fluctuate much from month to month or year to year. Nevertheless, having a plan to finance these costs is critical.

For example, veterinarians generally charge $25 to $75 for a basic farm call, which covers the cost of the veterinarian traveling to the horse’s location. Frequently the owners of horses kept at boarding barns split farm call costs when all the horses residing at the barn receive vaccinations at the same time.

Once the veterinarian has arrived, routine vaccinations, including rabies, tetanus, West Nile, EEE and WEE, range from $75 to $150, according to Jennifer Williams, Ph.D., executive director and founder of the Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society and author of How To Start and Run A Rescue. While some vaccinations are administered annually, booster inoculations represent an additional cost, and an additional farm visit.

General health care costs should also include $50 to $150 for annual teeth floating. Additional dental work generally adds a cost of $100 or more depending upon what the horse needs.

But veterinarians are not the only professionals that help keep a horse healthy. All horses require routine farrier care every four to eight weeks, whether they are shod or not. Cost for trimming a barefoot horse may range between $25 and $40 ($150 to $240 annually), Williams says. Routine farrier care for shod horses ranges between $50 and $150 per visit, or $300 to $1,200 annually, she says.

“If your horse is lame or develops problems with his feet, he may need more frequent farrier work or the assistance of a specialist, which will cost much more,” she points out.

Horse Ownership Cost: Unexpected Vet Emergencies

But even if owners budget for the best routine care, all horses are at risk for injury or illness. When that happens, an emergency farm visit can cost as much as $100 before the veterinarian even begins to treat the animal’s condition. More serious treatment can require transporting the horse to an equine clinic, or even surgery.

That’s something Yakin-Palmer learned when Cera required surgery after a severe colic episode.

“The bill was $15,000 in veterinary, hospital and aftercare costs,” she says. “That’s why people should have an emergency fund for their horses if they can.”

Insurance policies are also available. One type is directly through veterinary equine practices, where owners pay an annual fee that covers routine services, such as vaccinations and farm calls, as well as for reduced “deductibles” for surgeries and other major services.

Other policies are available through equine health and liability insurance. Some supplement companies, such as SmartPak and Platinum Performance, offer a program to cover the costs of colic surgery with a qualifying order and routine wellness care from your vet.

Costs of Boarding vs. Home Horsekeeping

Some novice owners believe that horsekeeping costs will be lower if the animal is kept at home as opposed to being boarded at a local barn. But that’s not always the case, says McLean. Owners who intend to keep their horses at home must factor real estate costs into the horsekeeping equation and balance it against that of boarding.

“For example, real estate costs can be $700,000 to $1 million for 2 acres if you want your own horse facility,” California-based McLean points out. “But boarding costs can run between $400 to $700 for full board, depending on the facility. Barns where Olympic-level horses are boarded can run between $1,200 and $1,500 a month.”

The cost of basic services, such as stall cleaning, turnout, hay and feeding are typically included with full-care board.

At some facilities, blanketing and holding a horse for a farrier or veterinarian is also included, says Clarissa Cupolo, owner of Gemini Performance Horses in Florida. Owners must still pay their own bills for these services, however. Elsewhere, horse handling is passed on to owners at an hourly or per-service rate.

Still, boarding a horse may be most cost-effective for some owners.

“For example, if you have to travel for work, you may want to board your horses,” says McLean. “Also, you have to factor in the cost of your hours feeding your horses, cleaning their stalls, turning them out, et cetera.”

These facts are not lost on Yakin- Palmer, who boarded both her horses before she brought them home.

“Keeping your horses at home is certainly limiting,” she says. “You have to have a flexible schedule, and you have to be there. I work at home so my schedule is flexible, but I can’t just take a vacation; my vacation is being with my horses.”

Ultimately, each owner must decide how to calculate—and afford—the cost of horse ownership. To do that, Maubert-Walukewicz advises prospective owners to gather opinions from local horse owners before they purchase a horse.

“Find out what the costs are [in your area], what kind of work is involved, and what they think of keeping a horse at home versus boarding it,” she says.

For her, the choice was simple.

“I spend about $4,800 a year on keeping my horses at home,” she says. “I’m the one feeding them, taking care of them, and interacting with them every day, so I know them much better than I would if they were boarded. But even if the cost is equal, that choice is not for everybody. Whatever you choose, you have to do what’s best for the horse.”

This article about the cost of horse ownership originally appeared in Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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Tom Mannigel didn’t know much about horses until his wife, Diane, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Thanks to an equine-assisted therapy program offered at a nearby PATH-certified facility (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International), he now knows first-hand that horses can be valuable collaborators when it comes to meeting stress and depression head on, as well as improving the pair’s relationship.

“I’m not really a horse person,” says Mannigel. “I grew up in rural California where everyone had horses, but every time I’d get on ‘em, it was basically a disaster. However, after we took part in the program, things started to get better in our relationship.”

Innovative Programs

The Mannigels took part in the Kids and Horses PATH program in Minden, Nev.

PATH-certified facilities, instructors and other professionals use equine-assisted therapies geared toward individuals who have special needs. Recently, programming at some PATH-certified facilities has diversified to include equine-assisted therapies for veterans and others coping with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Kids and Horses is just one of the PATH- sanctioned facilities that uses a program developed by Connected Horse to help individuals and their caregivers navigate the physical flood of emotions connected to the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.

“I was intrigued,” says Cat O’Brien, Kids and Horses program director and a PATH-certified instructor. “I live in a community of retirees, and I believed it would be an asset to our facility.”

According to Connected Horse co-founder Paula Hertel, MSW, combining the two programs has turned out to be a perfect fit.

“There is a mission alignment with many PATH barns and Connected Horse: We believe the horse/human connection provides benefits to both horse and participant,” says Hertel. “We are advocating that Connected Horse is ideal for people with dementia because it doesn’t require traditional verbal communication.”

According to Hertel, the Connected Horse program focuses on mindfulness, emotional and sensory triggers, and understanding. Horses used in the program allow the person diagnosed with dementia and their caregiver all communicate on the same level.

“The horse is really the teacher,” she says.

Benefits for Caregivers

The horses had a profound impact on caregivers as well, as Hertel and co-founder Nancy Schier Anzelmo discovered in their program-connected research.

“Care partners often experience feelings of being overwhelmed, anxious, depressed and frustrated with the situation in which they find themselves,” Schier Anzelmo explains. “The Connected Horse program helps the care partner and the person who has been diagnosed with the grief and depression that comes after an initial diagnosis.”

In fact, those were exactly the emotions that swept over Leticia Metherell when her mother Maria Murguido was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2017.

“I don’t know if you would call it depression, but there was a deep concern of losing my mother and the impacts this [diagnosis] would have on my family,” recalls Metherell. Along with her mother, she took part in the Connected Horse program offered by Kids and Horses in June and July of 2022. “Also, perhaps a selfish part of me thought about my risks of getting Alzheimer’s and what impact her diagnosis would have on my life.”

In order to cope with her own feelings and those her parents were experiencing, Metherell scoured the internet for something that would provide meaningful activities for the pair. She came upon the Kids and Horses program during one of those searches.

“I was skeptical when I first attended the sessions because I didn’t think they were going to make a long-term impact,” she says. “I don’t think I really had a true understanding until I attended the program and experienced it for myself.”

But she discovered that the horses taught the humans important things about communication and connection.

“There definitely is a form of communication happening between people and horses [that is] influenced by our own moods, body posture, attentiveness, and tone of voice,” says Metherell. “The horses also communicate with us via their responses, whether they come to you, walk by your side of their own accord, or allow you to groom them. This is such an important lesson, because as the ability of my mother to communicate reduces as her disease progresses, these lessons help me understand that there will always be a connection there, and that a verbal interaction is not always necessary for it to be a deep and meaningful interaction.”

Physical Benefits for Patients

The PATH/Connected Horse synergy has physical benefits, too, says Tineke Jacobson, a physical therapist, PATH-registered therapist and hippotherapy clinical specialist at the Xenophon Therapeutic Riding Center in Orinda, Calif.

Jacobson found the Connected Horse program in 2018 while searching for a program that was using horses to assist in the treatment of dementia.

“There was a growing interest in serving adults in our community when it became apparent that horses have exceptional talents with unmounted activities,” she explains.

The Connected Horse program was a good fit for Xenophon, which already offered equine-assisted physical and occupational programs for children and adults.

Jacobson credits working with horses not only with an ability to emotionally lift people out of a depressed state, but she says that the physical benefits of the interactions between humans and horses are just as profound.

She remembers one person who took part in the Connected Horse program at Xenophon.

“His gait was characterized by slumped-over posture, looking at the ground, short stride length—all signs of decline due to aging, depression and maybe also dementia,” Jacobson recalls. “When he was given the lead rope to walk with the horse, the horse did not respond to his cues of a verbal ‘walk on.’ Only when he straightened up, looked ahead, and made a large, decisive stride after a deep inhale to expressively say ‘walk on,’ did the horse respond and walk with him wherever he wanted to go.”

The Impact of Equine-Assisted Therapy

Whether its impact is physical or emotional, Metherell says that she will never forget what she learned from the horses at a very difficult time in her life and in the lives of her mother, father and other members of their family.

“Working with horses has helped bring me an emotional awareness, which helps deal with stress and feelings of sadness,” says Metherell. “[This helps me] better understand nonverbal communication and find gratitude in my life. It’s also a shared experience that [my mother and I] can both fall back on when times are hard, and reminds us each day of all the things we have to be grateful for.”

Mannigel agrees.

“I really can’t explain it, but [my relationship with my wife] has changed,” he says. “I don’t know if she’s less anxious because I’m less stressed or if I have less stress because she’s less anxious. All I know is that since we [worked] with the horses, our relationship is better.”

This article about equine-assisted therapy helping Alzheimer’s disease patients appeared in the November/December 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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When she was a girl, Joni Miller would save her lunch money to afford to ride at a local barn. Back then, she had no idea that she would credit her current horse, a 20-year-old Appaloosa named Spud, with helping her live out her girlhood dream and with inspiring her to do more at an age when many women are doing less.

“I don’t ride as much anymore, but I’m active,” says Miller, who adopted the registered Appaloosa from the Maryland Equine Transition Service (METS), an organization that helps adopt out potentially at-risk horses, like seniors. “I’m out at the barn bathing, grooming. I’m problem solving every day. What would my retirement have been without him?”

A Natural Fit

Since 2010, surveys conducted by American Horse Publications (AHP) that were prepared by Jill Stowe, Ph.D., of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Kentucky, have revealed that women 45 to 65 years of age and older represent the fastest growing segment of those most likely to own horses.

Miller is squarely within that demographic, and according to gerontologist Nancy Schier Anzelmo, M.S., one reason why women like her are becoming horse owners is purely economic.

“Older women are retired and have more time and money to spend on keeping horses than they did when they were working and raising families,” says Anzelmo, who is the co-founder of The Connected Horse, a non-profit organization that sponsors therapeutic workshops that match horses to people coping with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.

Another reason has to do with a woman’s basic nature.

“Women have been caregivers all their lives, and they need this,” she says. “Horses give women a sense of purpose, especially after they have retired and their children are grown. It’s a symbiotic relationship.”

There is a physical component, too. While younger women are more likely to adopt hotter, younger horses rather than a senior horse because of the physical riding, training, and performance challenges they represent, older women are more mindful of their physical limitations.

“It’s a different dynamic,” Anzelmo says. “The older horse might not perform the way he did when he was younger—he may be stiff, might have arthritis, and older women can relate to this.”

Also read- Horse Adoption Drive: Take Home a Senior

Finding Love After Loss

That’s why older horsewomen are unwilling to give up their animals despite their own limitations, says 68-year-old Debbie Murphy Drake. When she relocated to Florida from New Jersey, Drake had second thoughts about taking her 29-year-old Appaloosa gelding, Gus, with her.

“But I couldn’t bear to leave him behind,” recalls Drake. “I wanted to be sure about the kind of care that he would get at his age.”

Just before the move, Drake was diagnosed with melanoma, and even though she and Gus had long given up trail riding and performance, she credits him with helping her through the illness.

“Gus gave me a reason to get out of bed in the morning,” Drake says.

But the pair were not to be together long. Three years after their move, Gus was euthanized at the age of 32 due to age-related health issues.

“I was devastated,” Drake recalls. “I swore I would never have another horse.”

But it was missing that horse-human bond that finally prompted her to form a new relationship with another horse.

“I kept wanting to give my trainer my saddle, but she kept refusing, and said, ‘Keep it for four months,’” Drake recalls. “Finally, I missed having a horse so much that I said, ‘I have to at least sit on a horse.’”

A few months later, Drake leased Red, a 23-year-old Quarter Horse, from a boarder at her barn. Now she and Red are regulars on her trainer’s lesson schedule.

‘When I’m riding, the years just disappear,” Drake says. “I smile like a kid.”

A Win-Win Relationship

The fear that a beloved horse might outlive you is a main reason that older women adopt older horses in the first place, according to Gabriela Rodriguez Quinn, 63, program director and founder of Blixx Horses, a non-profit organization that provides therapeutic riding and interactive education programs. Blixx Horses also advocates for the welfare of non-ridden horses, regardless of their age.

“The truth is that [older] women are not looking for a young horse that is going to outlive them,” says Quinn, owner of a 21-year-old Arabian mare named Lexxi and Fritzie, a 26-year-old warmblood. “People who know the horse industry know that there are all kinds of things that can happen to a horse that is left behind by an owner, so they have a plan for their horses when they can no longer take care of them.”

Additionally, older women tend to be more aware that if they don’t provide older horses with caring homes, nobody else will.

“Horses have no choice when they get older and are no longer useful as riding or racing horses,” Quinn says, adding that they are less desirable to potential homes.

“People don’t realize that there’s a lot you can still do with an older horse, even if you don’t ride him,” she says. “Spud and I walk, I bathe and groom him, I talk to him, and he makes me laugh every day. It’s our buddy time.”

That’s the same feeling Miller wants other older horsewomen to experience as well.

“What would I say to an older woman interested in adopting a senior horse? Just do it,” she says. “You’re not getting any younger, so give yourself this experience. It will open up a new world for you.”

This article about adopting senior horses appeared in the November/December 2021 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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A rash of horse deaths at California’s Santa Anita Park made international headlines and was so far-reaching that it changed the horse racing industry forever.

Official Investigations

Between the beginning of July 2018 and the end of June 2019, 49 horses either died or were euthanized as a result of injuries they sustained while training or racing at Santa Anita Park. Out of the 49 horses, 39 were attributed to catastrophic breakdowns during racing or training. The most equine fatalities took place between December 2018 and the end of March 2019, when a total of 25 horses died at the California racetrack.

In response, track operators asked Mick Peterson, Ph.D., director of Equine Programs and the Racetrack Safety Program and professor of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Kentucky, to thoroughly examine the surface conditions at Santa Anita. Peterson also serves as the executive director of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory. His evaluation revealed that there was no track surface-related link to the fatalities.

Meanwhile, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) launched its own investigation into the deaths, and in April 2019, then-L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey announced that her office had formed a task force to probe the incidents. That report absolved the operators of Santa Anita Park of wrongdoing in connection with the deaths.

Reforms

The series of deaths spawned reforms at Santa Anita, however. These ranged from the regular testing of the track’s surface to changing the way trainers get permission to work their horses.

Specifically, a team at Santa Anita that includes Peterson routinely conducts biomechanical tests. These involve a machine that mimics a galloping horse to collect data on deceleration, sliding, surface elasticity, and energy absorption.

In addition, ground penetrating radar is used to measure the depth of the surface layers every 10 centimeters along the track, and chemical and X-ray diffraction tests analyze track samples for density, moisture content, and mineralogical qualities.

Reforms also include strict limitations on the use of pain or anti-inflammatory medications, as well as treatments, such as joint injections, shockwave therapy, and anabolic steroids in horses.

Finally, trainers must apply for permission to work a horse in a timed, high-speed training exercise at least 48 hours in advance, and they must submit pre-entry vet forms before entering a horse for an upcoming race day so that the track’s veterinary staff have more time to identify any questionable horses.

The Role of Rain

Despite the new rules, some racehorse welfare advocates are still puzzled over the exact cause of the fatalities at Santa Anita in the first place.

“Was it the surface or the weather or the use of drugs?” Peterson asks. “I’d say all of the above.”

Before the track’s deadliest day was recorded, Santa Anita received 11½ inches of rain and had unusually cold temperatures. The wet weather hardened track surfaces, turning them potentially dangerous.

“Tracks are maintained by harrowing, grooming, and moisture control, but we had some bad weather—more than 11 inches of rain and cold temperatures in February 2019,” says Peterson. “Track surfaces became hard mostly due to the rain.”

This was documented by Peterson, who was involved in this investigation and who is still a consultant for Santa Anita.

Law Creates New Agency

The series of deaths at Santa Anita put the horse racing industry in the national spotlight, which resulted in the passage of HR 1754, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020. Signed into law in December 2020, the Act establishes the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, a conflict-free, self-regulatory organization set up to create and implement an anti-doping policy for the entire horse racing industry.

In addition, the Act forbids the use of all medication within 24 hours of a race, and charges the Authority with developing a racetrack safety program to establish a uniform set of training and racing safety standards and protocols, including racetrack design and maintenance, and oversight of human and equine injury reporting and prevention.

The Act also charges the Authority with establishing procedures for undertaking investigations at racetrack and non-racetrack facilities related to safety violations, and requires sellers to provide full and fair information disclosures to buyers of racehorse breeding stock.

HR 1754 represents the first federal equine welfare legislation in 50 years, since the passing of the Horse Protection Act (HPA). The HPA was passed by Congress and subsequently signed into law by then-President Richard M. Nixon on Dec. 9, 1970, and criminalized soring, the deliberate injury to a horse’s feet or legs to achieve the high-stepping, so-called Big Lick gait seen in gaited horses.

Although long overdue, this next step in equine welfare protection is a positive sign of progress if the racing industry is to move forward.

This article about horse racing at Santa Anita originally appeared in the August 2021 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post How Santa Anita Changed Horse Racing appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

When she was a girl, Joni Miller would save her lunch money to afford to ride at a local barn. Back then, she had no idea that she would credit her current horse, a 20-year-old Appaloosa named Spud, with helping her live out her girlhood dream and with inspiring her to do more at an age when many women are doing less. Horse Illustrated explores amazing stories of senior horse adoption by seniors.

“I don’t ride as much anymore, but I’m active,” says Miller, who adopted the registered Appaloosa from the Maryland Equine Transition Service (METS), an organization that helps potentially at-risk horses find new homes. “I’m out at the barn bathing, grooming. I’m problem solving every day. What would my retirement have been without him?”

Also Read: Adopting a Horse Poll

A Natural Fit

Since 2010, surveys conducted by American Horse Publications (AHP) that were prepared by Jill Stowe, Ph.D., of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Kentucky, have revealed that women 45 to 65 years of age and older represent the fastest growing segment of those most likely to own horses.

Miller is squarely within that demographic, and according to gerontologist Nancy Schier Anzelmo, M.S., one reason why women like her are becoming horse owners is purely economic.

“Older women are retired and have more time and money to spend on keeping horses than they did when they were working and raising families,” says Anzelmo, who is the co-founder of The Connected Horse, a non-profit organization that sponsors therapeutic workshops that match horses to people coping with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.

Another reason has to do with a woman’s basic nature.

“Women have been caregivers all their lives, and they need this,” she says. “Horses give women a sense of purpose, especially after they have retired and their children are grown. It’s a symbiotic relationship.”

There is a physical component, too. While younger women are more likely to adopt hotter, younger horses because of the physical riding, training, and performance challenges they represent, older women are more mindful of their physical limitations.

“It’s a different dynamic,” Anzelmo says. “The older horse might not perform the way he did when he was younger—he may be stiff, might have arthritis, and older women can relate to this.”

Finding Love After Loss

That’s why older horsewomen are unwilling to give up their animals despite their own limitations, says 68-year-old Debbie Murphy Drake. When she relocated to Florida from New Jersey, Drake had second thoughts about taking her 29-year-old Appaloosa gelding, Gus, with her.

“But I couldn’t bear to leave him behind,” recalls Drake. “I wanted to be sure about the kind of care that he would get at his age.”

Just before the move, Drake was diagnosed with melanoma, and even though she and Gus had long given up trail riding and performance, she credits him with helping her through the illness.

“Gus gave me a reason to get out of bed in the morning,” Drake says.

But the pair were not to be together long. Three years after their move, Gus was euthanized at the age of 32 due to age-related health issues.

“I was devastated,” Drake recalls. “I swore I would never have another horse.”
But it was missing that horse-human bond that finally prompted her to form a new relationship with another horse.

“I kept wanting to give my trainer my saddle, but she kept refusing, and said, ‘Keep it for four months,’” Drake recalls. “Finally, I missed having a horse so much that I said, ‘I have to at least sit on a horse.’”

A few months later, Drake leased Red, a 23-year-old Quarter Horse, from a boarder at her barn. Now she and Red are regulars on her trainer’s lesson schedule.

‘When I’m riding, the years just disappear,” Drake says. “I smile like a kid.”

A Win-Win Relationship

The fear that a beloved horse might outlive you is a main reason that senior women are using adoption of senior horses in the first place, according to Gabriela Rodriguez Quinn, 63, program director and founder of Blixx Horses, a non-profit organization that provides therapeutic riding and interactive education programs. Blixx Horses also advocates for the welfare of non-ridden horses, regardless of their age.

“The truth is that [older] women are not looking for a young horse that is going to outlive them,” says Quinn, owner of a 21-year-old Arabian mare named Lexxi and Fritzie, a 26-year-old warmblood. “People who know the horse industry know that there are all kinds of things that can happen to a horse that is left behind by an owner, so they have a plan for their horses when they can no longer take care of them.”

Additionally, older women tend to be more aware that if they don’t provide older horses with caring homes, nobody else will.

“Horses have no choice when they get older and are no longer useful as riding or racing horses,” Quinn says, adding that they are less desirable to potential homes.

“People don’t realize that there’s a lot you can still do with an older horse, even if you don’t ride him,” she says. “Spud and I walk, I bathe and groom him, I talk to him, and he makes me laugh every day. It’s our buddy time.”

That’s the same feeling Miller wants other older horsewomen to experience as well.

“What would I say to an older woman interested in adopting an older horse? Just do it,” she says. “You’re not getting any younger, so give yourself this experience. It will open up a new world for you.”

This article about senior horse adoption by seniors appeared in the November/December 2021 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Reversing Time: Seniors Adopting Senior Horses appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

From making the big decision to divorce to divvying up the property, everything about the process is complicated, emotional and stressful. As a result, the care and custody of the horse is just one of many things on the about-to-be divorced owner’s mind.

That’s exactly why some decisions should be made long before a breakup looms, such as determining the animal’s value (whether he is just a companion or a high-ticket performance horse), who will take possession of the horse, and who will pay the bills for his care.

“It’s critical to take an objective look at the horse, his value, ownership, and even state divorce law long before a divorce happens,” advises Peter A. Moustakis, managing member of Sowerby and Moustakis Law, PLLC, in Dedham, Mass.

Here are some things to consider.

How Much is the Horse Worth?

A horse that spends his life in the paddock, on the trail or on the local show circuit may be invaluable to his owner, but his value in the marketplace is probably completely different than one that has a high-profile racing or performance career. That’s why attaching a dollar value to the horse is key, Moustakis says.

“That means you have to have an appraisal,” he advises.

According to Moustakis, the courts generally consider horses to be personal property that will be distributed—based on dollar value—when the divorce settlement is made, or a case is consigned to court. An appraisal conducted by a certified, professional equine appraiser establishes an objective monetary value for the horse as property based on market research and analysis.

Judges generally uses these appraisals to provide “equitable distribution” or a 50/50 property split between parties.

“For example, that can mean if the horse is worth $10,000, one party gets the horse and the other gets $10,000,” says Moustakis.

If no agreement or fair division can be reached, the court might order that the horse be sold, says Emily Robinson, family law specialist in Westlake Village, Calif., and member of the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF).

“In that case, the parties split would the profit [from the sale],” she explains.

When it comes to determining a horse’s value, there are other considerations, too.

According to Ocala, Fla., attorney Mary Catherine Landt, the value of a horse that is part of a boarding barn or is held in a limited liability corporation (LLC) may be very different from one that is owned outright as personal property by one of the divorcing parties.

Whose Pet Is It Anyway?

Though most owners would be hard-pressed to attach a monetary value to a so-called companion or “pet” horse, when it comes to a break-up, who maintains the horse and who pays for it matters.

“For example, has one of the parties paid for part of the horse, his training or upkeep with their salary, or do you do all the training, work, riding and showing?” says Landt. “It makes a difference.”

According to Landt, there are a variety of ways to document who pays for what for horse care.

“A separate bank account isn’t required, but it is the clearest evidence of any contributions,” she says. “Receipts are helpful if they show the source of the payment, and a regularly kept ledger can also be used as proof.”

It also makes a difference in determining the animal’s welfare, Robinson says. If the horse is considered a companion animal, then the court will look at his best interests in determining who gets him. In addition, specific statutes in some states determine how the courts award custody of a horse that has been designated a companion animal.

California, Illinois and Alaska all have laws on the books that specifically addresses custody of a companion animal in a divorce case, says ALDF staff attorney Cristina Stella.

“In all other states, how to consider companion animals in divorces is up to the discretion of the judge presiding over the proceedings,” she says.

Once the horse is awarded to one party and any type of joint custody is ordered, the non-custodial owner could protest if he or she disapproves of the animal’s care, adds Robinson.

Prenups and Pet-Nups

According to Landt, judges generally prefer that couples agree to settlements on personal property issues before their divorce cases ever get to court. Moustakis says that couples don’t have to wait for a breakup to settle property issues.

Who gets what can be decided well in advance by creating prenuptial agreements that spell out in detail how property is disbursed, who is responsible for outstanding expenses, and what happens to companion animals—including horses—in the event of a breakup.

“There have been cases where divorcing couples have found that one partner had sold an animal or worse, so absolutely get a pre-nup,” advises Moustakis. “Make a personal agreement that includes who will get the animal after the breakup, what you get for compensation if you are not awarded the animal, and who is responsible for the pet horse’s expenses.”

Prenuptial agreements can also spell out visitation, care and other equine maintenance issues for non-custodial owners, he says.

Couples can also attempt to avoid contentious companion animal custody disputes by creating “pet-nups,” Stella says.

“A pet-nup is essentially like a pre-nup but for issues specifically related to custody, care, and financial responsibility for companion animals in the event of a breakup,” she says.

This article about what happens to your horse during a divorce appeared in the November/December 2020 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Horses and Divorces: Deciding Who Gets Custody appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Cari Simmons faced her share of challenges during her 25-year career in the U.S. military, but none of them compared to becoming a female military veteran struggling with anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. After grappling with these conditions for years, Simmons, who had some previous experience as a trail rider, turned to horses to help her cope.

“I was formally diagnosed in 1996, but suffered for longer than that,” says Simmons, who retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel. “I knew the power and healing of horses, so I looked for a program that used horses for therapy.”

When she set out to find an equine assisted therapy program that was created for U.S. military veterans just like her, Simmons quickly discovered that her options were sparse—if not non-existent.

“I was originally searching for a program for veterans and was pretty peeved when they said they only took men,” Simmons recalls. “Finally, they referred me to Serenity Ranch.”

Equine assisted activities and therapy (EAAT) have long been used to help male military veterans cope with PTSD and related conditions. As a result, the vast majority of established EAAT programs focus on men and how the conditions manifest in them.

Starting Something New

Serenity Ranch was established after Micah Fink, co-founder of Heroes and Horses, an equine assisted program for male combat veterans, turned to his neighbor, Lisa Ledoux, for help accommodating the increasing number of female veterans who were applying for his program.

“The Heroes and Horses program is pretty intense—veterans go up into the hills to camp and perform back-country outdoor skills—and they don’t have a program for women,” says Ledoux, the chief operating officer for Serenity Ranch. “We decided to explore putting together a program specifically for women that used a more retreat-like approach.”

The Ranch program plan was hatched after Ledoux and her family inherited a 71-acre property near Bozeman, Mont., from her stepfather, himself a military veteran with a long history of working with horses. A total of 43 horses—some rescued and some bred on site—reside on the property and play a role in the ranch’s programs.

By 2018, Serenity Ranch launched its pilot program designed specifically for female military veterans, as well as for women who serve as law enforcement officers, firefighters and other first responders.

According to Ledoux, the aim of the program is simple.

“Our aim is to help women cope with PTSD and other conditions by developing new ways to approach these problems,” Ledoux says.

How It Works

To do that, Serenity Ranch Program accepts between six and eight women to spend seven days and six nights at the Ranch, and pairs them with horses based on their size, equine experience and personality.

“The women are responsible for the horses’ care, feeding, grooming, riding, and just spending time with them,” Ledoux explains.

When they are not working with the horses, the women take part in mindfulness activities such as yoga, journaling and sharing the experiences that bought them to the program in the first place—including sexual trauma connected to their military service.

“It’s like a shark tank,” Simmons says of the military. “Most [in the military] are men, and women have to work harder and complain less than their male counterparts; also, there is a certain macho-ness that women must develop in the military or other professions that are still male-dominated. When women did speak up, you’d get the eye-roll—’Here we go again.’”

For Simmons, the ability to talk out her experiences with other women was key to making peace with the depression and anxiety connected to them.

“Our group of female vets, representing every branch of the service, ranging [in age] from 20s to 50, decided to bunk in all together on cots in the guest cabin,” she recalls. “The sharing, caring, and late raw emotion that was exchanged when we crashed after the long days was really impactful.”

The Courage to Move Forward

Long after her career as a combat veteran in the U.S. Army ended, Katherine Jordan grappled with the physical challenges of a significant back injury. Emotionally, she was haunted by depression and anxiety connected to service-related sexual trauma. Even so, the decision to get help was not an easy one to make.

“I was also turned down by the Heroes and Horses program, but I was ready when they told me about Serenity Ranch,” Jordan recalls. “At some point, you just say to yourself, ‘Get help.’”

Once she did, opening up to other program participants was challenging in itself.

“I was so petrified, because I think there is still so much stigma around women and mental health,” she says. “I was scared of speaking up because I was afraid of sharing my story—people don’t believe you—[they] look at you and say, ‘That couldn’t have happened.’”

Once she opened up, others did, too.

“It’s hard to be the first one, but I just decided that it was time for me to say something,” says Jordan. “Just one person has to speak up, then other people open up, too.”

But it takes more than talking to resolve—or even acknowledge—the residual issues that plague some of the female veterans who come to Serenity Ranch. Many struggle with a lack of confidence and physical changes to the way they look and perceive themselves and those around them.

“When these women were in the military, they were fit and confident,” Ledoux points out. “When they come to us, they are often overweight and less confident; they want to be invisible. Some of these women don’t even want to get out of bed.”

Working with the horses changes all that, Ledoux says.

“For example, when we teach them to back a horse out of their space, the women often start looking down with a hunched-over posture and they wonder why the horse won’t back up,” Ledoux explains. “We teach them to stand up tall and to be confident when they approach the horse, and when they see the horse move, they become more confident too.”

Benefits of the Program

There are other benefits, says Jordan, who was an experienced horsewoman when she arrived at Serenity Ranch.

“If you have experienced trauma, horses pick up on what’s happening with you emotionally,” Jordan points out. “Also, there’s something about women working with a large animal that can be intimidating—you have to manage yourself and still have a positive relationship with the horse.”

Like some other equine-assisted therapy programs, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Serenity Ranch, causing the facility to suspend programming until further notice.

When it does resume, Ledoux hopes to expand it to serve other female survivors, as well.

“In the past, our clients have been referred by veterans’ groups and social workers,” Ledoux explains. “But grieving women, abused women, and women dealing with breast cancer can all benefit from this program, too.”

In the meantime, Simmons and Jordan have moved on from Serenity Ranch and into careers: Jordan now works as an EAAT therapist for Easter Seals in Arizona. Simmons, who also pursued EAAT credentials, is now studying to be an equine masseuse and acupuncturist.

While both women credit the program with the ability to work through service-related issues over the short term, Simmons also believes that the Serenity Ranch experience is much longer-lasting.

“I found acceptance, empathy, lack of judgment, and camaraderie in ways I have never experienced from my brothers-in-arms,” Simmons says. “I keep in touch with the women to this day. It’s lifelong friendship.”

This article about the Serenity Ranch equine therapy program appeared in the October 2020 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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In 2007, 59 slaughter-bound horses were en route from Indiana through Illinois to a sale barn in Minnesota when the double-deck tractor trailer in which they were traveling overturned in Wadsworth, Ill. A total of 17 animals perished due to accident-related injuries, either on the scene or within days of the incident. The surviving animals were placed in the care of the Hooved Animal Rescue and Protection Society (HARPS) in Barrington, Ill. Shortly thereafter, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a rule prohibiting the transport of horses to slaughter in double-deckers, but publishing the rule was sidetracked. In response several pieces of horse legislation with both Democratic and Republic support were introduced in to Congress repeatedly all the way up to 2019. Some of those bills made it out of the U.S. House of Representatives, but never got far enough in the process to be signed into law.

This year though, the horse transport legislation got a boost when the so-called Carter-Fitzpatrick Amendment prohibiting double-decker horse transport became attached to H.R. 3684, the House’s version of the massive infrastructure bill called “Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act (INVEST).” That bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 1, 2021.

Even before the INVEST Act passed the House, several pieces of horse welfare-related legislation were introduced into both the U.S. House and Senate. In May, U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) who co-chairs the bi-partisan Congressional Animal Protection Caucus and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) introduced The Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act (H.R. 3355) of 2021 that would permanently ban slaughter of horses for human consumption and forbid the export of live horses to processing plants in Mexico and Canada.

In June, Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Mark Warner (D-VA) reintroduced the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act (PAST) Act (H.R. 693). That legislation would forbid soring and the use of action devices on Tennessee Walking Horses and other gaited horses. Soring is the deliberate injury to a horse’s feet and legs to achieve an overly exaggerated gait.

Both pieces of legislation represent legislators’ latest versions of the SAFE and PAST Acts. Previous versions have been introduced and re-introduced into Congress for years, but despite bi-partisan support, they either died in their respective committees or never reached the floors of the House or Senate for an up or down vote. Now, at a time when the balance of power in both Congress and the Oval Office has shifted toward the Democratic side of the aisle, some lawmakers say that the time may be right to bring the legislation forward. Among them is Sen. Warner.

“The House of Representatives recognized the need for action last Congress by passing this bill, and it’s my hope that the Senate will follow suit, with both houses passing this legislation this Congress,” Warner said. “I look forward to (working) with the Biden Administration this Congress to protect horses from abusive show practices.”

Meanwhile, GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the tradition of bi-partisan equine welfare legislation figured significantly when both the House and the Senate passed the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) of 2020 (H.R. 1754).

That Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump in December 2020, established the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, a conflict-free, self-regulatory organization to create and implement an anti-doping policy for the entire horse racing industry.

“That legislation earned broad support,” said McConnell spokesperson Stephanie Penn in a written statement.

Penn did not indicate that other pieces of equine legislation would have the same kind of success from both houses of Congress or from the Biden Administration.

In any case, Matt Sonneborn, the communications director for Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) said that that measure’s success has more to do with the legislative process than with which party controls the House, the Senate or the Oval office. Tonko, along with Republican Andy Barr (R-KY) co-chairs the Congressional Horse Caucus. He also introduced HISA.

“Good legislation just takes time,” Sonneborn said. “The Horseracing Integrity (and Safety) Act took five years of working with other members of Congress and with the industry and with equine welfare advocates.”

More recently, the inclusion of the Carter-Fitzgerald Amendment to the House’s infrastructure bill, may help get horse transport legislation finally signed into law.

“One of the interesting things is that the inclusion of the amendment means that the transport of horses is now considered an infrastructure issue,” Sonneborn said.

As a result, other horse-friendly legislation may also find success by becoming amendments attached to larger bills in this Democratic-majority Congress. Still, there are ways long-languishing equine welfare stand-alone legislation may also find their way on to President Biden’s desk.

“For example, there are messaging bills in which members are saying, ‘I’m for this,’” Sonneborn explained.

According to Sonneborn, some bills begin as messaging bills, and in either one or a series of hearings, could move through the House and eventually get a vote on the floor. The strength of the legislation makes the difference, he said.

“There have been many bills that began as messaging bills but moved through the (legislative) process because they were good legislation,” he said.

Another way is including the measure in a group of bills offered at the beginning of the House’s legislative session.

“Those bills are generally not controversial—they have made the rounds of committees and can be voted on by House members when they first arrive for a new session,” Sonneborn said.

Finally though, when it comes to moving horse legislation, even bi-partisan legislation, through the lawmaking process in this Democratic-majority Congress, it’s the quality of the proposed law that counts the most.

“Of course, the support of the President also certainly helps,” Sonneborn said.

Further Reading

◆ Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act Becomes First National Animal Anti-Cruelty Law
◆ U.S. House of Representatives Passes Horse Transportation Safety Act and Farm Bill to Boost Equine Welfare; Senate Approval Required Next

The post Equine Legislation and the Democratic Congress appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Why women love horses – the connection between horses and girls—and later women—existed below sociologists’ radar until recently.

Seventeen-year-old Corrie Bruning admits that she’s a horse girl. Not only because she enjoys feeding, grooming and otherwise taking care of the 12 horses at her family’s boarding barn, but also because she believes there is more to be gained from riding her Haflinger gelding, Beauregard, than just a trot around the arena.

“It’s confidence,” says Bruning. “I see the difference between me and my non-horse friends, and if I have a problem—even if I am afraid of something—I go through it and move on; they usually don’t even try anything that scares them.”

The Girl/Horse Connection

Bruning is not alone. According to Jean Halley, professor of sociology at the College of Staten Island and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), the connection between horses and women isn’t just something that so-called “horse husbands” commiserate about at barn parties, it’s a real thing. She should know—she wrote the book Horse Crazy: Girls and the Lives of Horses.

“I was a horse-crazy girl growing up in Wyoming and Montana,” Halley recalls. “Then I had a little girl and she reached that horse-crazy age. We were in Manhattan, and there were no horses around, so I began to wonder about it. I did some research, and I found out that nobody had studied this.”

To satisfy her own curiosity about why women love horses, Halley spoke with 25 women who identified themselves as having been horse-crazy girls, and asked them about their relationships with horses, what those relationships brought to their lives, and how they evolved into lifelong connections to horses. Those interviewed included horse owners, rescue volunteers and women who overcame physical challenges with the help of their horses.

“For example, I spoke with a woman who volunteered at a rescue, and she told me that most of the women who also volunteered were over the age of 60 and had been horse-crazy girls,” Halley says. “They handled the horses, groomed them and mucked their stalls—anything that was meaningful to the horses.”

She also spoke with women who overcame fear and significant physical challenges in order to stay connected to their horses.

“Many of the women I talked to had had broken bones—legs, arms—but girls who ride overcome fear; they might be afraid, but they ride through it,” Halley says. “It has something to do with the fact that they are in a partnership with another sentient being that happens to be 1,200 pounds.”

A Major Turnaround

The desire to get back on her horse was crucial when Debbie Conklin was diagnosed with cryptococcal meningitis more than 20 years ago.

“My muscles had atrophied and I weighed 96 pounds,” she says. “My fear was that I would not be able to physically recover to ride,” she recalls.

At first, Conklin was only able to groom her Paint mare, but approximately three months later, she was back in the saddle.

“We started at a walk and built up my stamina and balance,” she recalls. “Muscle memory was there, but it was a challenge.”

These days, Conklin rides her horse Elle frequently, works with a trainer regularly, and participates in horse shows whenever she can.

“It helps my muscles and my personal attitude to keep going,” she says.

A Nurturing Relationship

According to Halley, that kind of determination is directly connected to why women love horses. It’s the relationships women have with their horses.

“Everything takes place within a relationship—women feel safe with their horses even when they are afraid; in fact, they report feeling safest on their horses,” says Halley. “Also, women have intimate relationships with their horses, and in that relationship they feel powerful—they feel strengthened, and they feel safe.”

Bruning agrees.

“When I’m riding, I’m not thinking about what I can’t do, instead I’m thinking about what I can do,” she says. “Also, I feel I can leave a problem on the ground, and I have more confidence to solve the problem after I ride.”

At the same time, women may come by their relationships with horses naturally, according to Halley. That’s because girls are taught early on to be caretakers.

“Even if you don’t give your daughter dolls, everyone else will,” she says. With this often natural tendency toward caregiving, women are generally willing to do whatever it takes to look after their animals.

“For example, one woman reported that when she was in the hospital with an injury, her horse would not eat,” Halley says. “Finally, [her friends] put a phone up to the horse’s ear so that she could talk to him and let him know she was alright. After hearing her voice, he began to eat again.”

A Lifelong Passion

Finally, while the bond between women and their horses is obvious, the decision to become a so-called “horse girl” may not be a conscious one, Halley says. That’s because while not all girls become horse-crazy, horse-crazy girls often raise horse-crazy daughters.

By contrast, girls who don’t have horse-crazy mothers may become horse-crazy anyway.

“Living in New Jersey when I started riding, our neighbor told my mom, ‘Don’t worry, it’s just a phase, and Deb will grow out of horses,’” Conklin recalls. “During the passing years, my mom would look at me and say, ‘You never grew out of the horse thing.’ My response has always been: ‘And I never will.’’’ However, horse-crazy girls turn into horse women for life, and they have permanently changed the face of equestrian sports in general.

According to Halley, western pleasure, reining and cutting disciplines were once dominated by men. These days, as the number of women competing and winning in those events is on the rise, the number of young men participating in all equestrian sports is declining.

Halley thinks she knows why.

“Boys get teased about it, so they don’t want to be involved with a sport that is most often associated with girls.” Whatever the reason, the shift represents new ways for horsewomen to partner with their horses, whatever their age.

“It’s all about growth, acceptance, unconditional love and continuous education for my horse and for myself,” Conklin says. “I’d tell young horsewomen to keep doing what they do. If you feel that this is your love, don’t let go.”

This article about why women love horses appeared in the May 2020 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Why Women Love Horses appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.