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Group for neglected horses takes issue with unwanted breeding
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Published: February 7, 2009
China Grove - When Morning Dove arrived at the Horse Protection Society of North Carolina in China Grove last month, she had been so malnourished that much of her muscle was gone.
The 41-year-old horse's mangy, unkempt hide seemed to hang on her bony body, barely masking the shape of her large pelvic bones. She was a shadow of what a horse should be, shifting her weight awkwardly from one hind leg to the other. Joanie Benson, who founded the Horse Protection Society in 1999, petted her face.
In the stable next to Morning Dove's, another horse rescued more than a year prior stood in stark contrast with a healthy sheen and big round muscles for galloping. That horse held her head high and pranced playfully in her stable — ready for a run with the society's trainer. This — hopefully — will be Morning Dove's future after months of rehabilitation, said Benson.
It's been 10 years since Benson started the Horse Protection Society to help starved, abused or neglected horses who would otherwise have no place to go.
Over the last decade, the society's 800 volunteers have helped nurse hundreds of horses back to health. They give them the care they need and either place them in a new and loving home or allow them to live out their final days on the farm in China Grove, grazing peacefully in the pastures.
The Horses Protection Society is celebrating its 10th anniversary by launching a new national program called Stallion to Gelding Support free gelding, or neutering, for horses. The society wants to help unwanted breeding, a problem growing nationally, Benson said. And while there are no more equine slaughterhouses in the United States, according to the Horse Protection Society, about 100,000 to 150,000 horses are sent to Canada and Mexico per year for slaughter. The society attributes that to over-breeding.
Horses that are allowed to breed freely can create offspring with health problems and horses with little or no value in the horse market in the United States. Some of those unwanted horses end up mistreated, Benson said. Others might be sold for slaughter. Legitimate horse breeders use only registered stallions to ensure they create a healthy and valuable horse, Benson said.
But more than 400,000 unregistered horses are born in the United States each year, according to the Horse Protection Society, which receives 20 to 30 requests to board sick or unwanted horses per week. The society has nearly 40 horses now. It has had as many as 55 in the past. But it turns many away, taking only those in the worst shape.
"We've seen horses that were barely able to stand because of breeding," Deborah Baker, who has volunteered for the society for five years. "It's a national problem that we hope to gain more attention for."
The society recently received a $25,000 grant it will use to help folks throughout the country pay for gelding and the related tetanus shots and care, a total of about $225 per horse, Benson said.
Tamara Eichorn, the society's trainer, works with the displaced horses, trimming their feet and taking them riding. She also works with volunteers so they can help prepare the horses for adoption.
"You'd be surprised how many people have a horse behind their trailer — no lead, no training, no money to get him gelded," she said.
"They're the kind of people we want to help," Benson added.
It costs about $3,000 per year to keep one horse, giving it minimal care, Benson said. Sometimes folks don't want to allow their horses to breed, but can't afford to the gelding.
When horses don't get the care they need, they can end up like Morning Dove or Freedom, who came to the farm with a head too big for his body after being locked in small stable and malnourished for years.
"That's a terrible life for a horse," Benson said. "The only reason the guy had him was that he had lost his driver's license and wanted to ride him to the bar."
Another horse, Shenandoah, ran races until he was so arthritic he started to limp. He still limps, but he's improving and will likely live out his last days with his rescuers because he's one of the older horses.
"We do a lot of natural things here — supplements to aid the horses in their recovery," she said, adding that they also use massage therapy, chiropractic care and acupuncture to help the horses recover.
Benson said she first fell in love with horses when she was 8 years old and living in New Jersey.
"My girlfriend at the time had two horses," she said. "They saddled them up."
Benson got on for the ride she had been craving.
"The horse took off into a full gallop in an open field," she said. "It was the most thrilling thing that had ever happened in my life. I was hooked."
Benson is the mother of three including one Colorado rancher. She moved to North Carolina in 1991. That's when she rescued her first horse, she said. Eight years later, she started the Horse Protection Society.
"Some people have a mission in life," she said. "This is mine."
Benson said here goal for the organization's 11th year is drawing attention to the problem of unwanted horses. The organization also is building new housing to help unwanted ponies.
For more information about the Horse Protection Society of North Carolina or to learn how you can help, visit www.horseprotection.org. To learn more about the Stallion to Gelding Support program, visit www.stalliontogeldingsupport.org.
• Contact reporter Karen Cimino Wilson: 704-789-9141.
• Comment on this article online at www.independenttribune.com.
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