I was thrilled to read the wonderful news shared by Pure Thoughts, Inc. a nonprofit horse and foal rescue organization located in Loxahatchee, Florida, regarding their recent Thanksgiving rescue mission called, "Horses Give Thanks 2007."
This event was scheduled to save the lives of as many horses, yearlings and foals as possible at the well-known "slaughter" auctions. This effort by Pure Thoughts, Inc may be one of the biggest (if not the biggest) rescues ever. Jennifer Swanson, founder of Pure Thoughts, Inc, had planned to save 17 to 18 horses from slaughter at the Sugarcreek, Ohio horse auction, and she was not able to say,"no" to all the horses that called out to them for help. They rescued a total of 82 needy horses directly from the "kill buyers" (this total includes unborn foals and a few donkeys), and prevented them from going to slaughter. This rescue organization gave the majority of these horses a new lease on life with a future in forever loving, adoptive homes.
Jennifer Swanson purposely saved horses that were physically in bad shape, with the hopes of giving them a chance for a better life. Sadly, there were several horses who were either gravely injured or terminally ill. They could not be saved, and were humanely euthanized. This was heartbreaking for Ms. Swanson and the others involved in this rescue effort, but these horses were given the dignity of a peaceful end to their lives as opposed to slaughter.
The horses saved are of all ages, sizes and breeds, each with different levels of training. Some are ready to be ridden and those who are otherwise healthy, but for various reasons cannot be ridden, will be adopted as "pasture pals." All of the horses taken to the SC Pure Thoughts rescue facility are available for adoption.
Jennifer is taking individual loads of horses to their Florida facility on a regular basis. This will help ease the burden for her partner, Tracy Steiger, who runs the South Carolina facility. Additionally, this will increase the chances of all the horses being adopted quickly into approved, permanent homes.
This heart-warming rescue story clearly illustrates that horses who are no longer wanted, no matter what the reason, do not have to end their lives in slaughter houses. Many of these horses, through the dedication and hard work of the many wonderful rescue organizations like Pure Thoughts, Inc. will be able to live out their lives in a loving, nurturing environment.
Watch Angels, a touching video uploaded by inuears which features many of the horses rescued at this event.
1. Awesome work! Thanks to all involved for saving these magnificent creatures. We will stop the slaughter of American horses when our legislators decide it is important enough to vote on S.31l. Contact your representatives and tell them you want S.311 passed now!
Posted at 3:42PM on Dec 18th 2007 by Faye