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Vancouver Island rescue seeks donations, forever homes for horses

A Vancouver Island non-profit dedicated to saving horses from slaughter needs your help.

Humanity for Horses Rescue and RehabĀ aims to save, protect and improve the lives of horses in B.C. and Alberta that would otherwise be bound for meat.

The pandemic is taking a toll on the Duncan-based rescueā€™s donations, which drives its day-to-day operations.

Rebecca Sanesh is the president of the board for the Humanity for Horses Foundation.

She said theyā€™re getting a fraction of their usual amount of donations.

Sanesh noted that their average monthly donations were running at about $6,500 a month.Ā 

In March they got $3,000 and this month theyā€™re down to $2,100.Ā 

She suspects May will be even more dismal.

With the rescueā€™s expenses running about $8,800 a month, Sanesh said there is a constant cost.Ā 

ā€œWe still have to feed, we still have seniors that are on medications, we still have vet bills, we have seniors that are on mash diets only, we have horses with low sugar requirementsā€¦ so feed costs are huge for us, as are vet costs so we still need funds coming in and of course, with the COVID thing, and so many people unfortunately out of work, donations are way, way down.ā€

She said the farm has been through a lot over the past few months. It was going to close its doors in the fall because, Sanesh said, it was a victim of vandalism and online harassment.

ā€œThen somebody in Alberta chose to use Humanity for Horsesā€™ name and was writing fraudulent cheques back there,ā€ Sanesh said. ā€œSo the police were great, they got on board with it all, and the person who was writing the cheques has actually been charged with fraud, which is great, and the vandalism and harassment has all stopped.ā€

However, the non-profit continues to face challenges. To cut down on expenses, it stopped taking in new horses since last fall.

ā€œUnfortunately, there are so many horses being shipped for slaughter now into the processing plants,ā€ Sanesh said.

Now, itā€™s looking for anyone looking to adopt a horse or make a donation.

ā€œThere is an adoption fee; there is an adoption process,ā€ Sanesh said.Ā 

ā€œWe have 44 horses because we had two babies born that we werenā€™t expecting, and so we had to pull another one from the adoption list because she is due any day now, as well.ā€

Horses can be adopted to homes as far north on the island as the Comox Valley, Campbell River, and Port Hardy.

If you want to adopt a horse, you can take it for a monthā€™s trial before making an official decision.

ā€œAnyone who wants to adopt a horse, weā€™re not saying, ā€˜Here, you have to take it and youā€™re now stuck with it.ā€™ Itā€™s ā€˜Here, take it, try it, make sure youā€™re a good match with each other, make sure you know exactly what youā€™re getting into it.ā€™ At the end of the month, thereā€™s the option of, they can either return it, and we refund, and/or they adopt it, officially.ā€

The rescue says the horses are valuable for therapy, riding, PSTD, showing, and companions.Ā 

For more on the rescue, visit its Facebook page.Ā 

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