Double D Trailers has developed a Horse Rescue Corner to serve as both an educational and search tool for visitors to learn about local rescues in their state and across the country. Read the great article that Double D wrote about our rescue, https://www.doubledtrailers.com/roanchar-ranch-varysburg-ny/
The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS), the only globally recognized organization providing standards for identifying legitimate animal sanctuaries, awarded Verified status to Roanchar Ranch Draft Horse Rescue as of November 29, 2017.
Verification means that Roanchar Ranch Draft Horse Rescue meets the criteria of a true equine sanctuary/rescue and is providing humane and responsible care of the animals. To be awarded Verified status, an organization must meet GFAS’s rigorous and peer-reviewed animal care standards which are confirmed by a site visit and they must also adhere to a demanding set of ethical and operational principles. The verification status also provides a clear and trusted means for the public, donors and grantors to recognize Roanchar Ranch Draft Horse Rescue as an exceptional organization.
“We are proud to announce the recent Verification of Roanchar Ranch Draft Horse Rescue,” said Valerie Taylor, GFAS Program Director-Equine. “This organization strives to implement best practices in every area, from the rescue and rehabilitation of the horses to the application of sustainable business practices, both of which are so important in providing long-term, responsible care for horses-in-need in New York state.”
“Being verified by GFAS is a huge step for our organization in becoming the Gold Standard for draft horse rescues,” said Lida Mosovich, Executive Director of Roanchar Ranch Draft Horse Rescue. “We strive to provide the best care and facilities for our draft horses and the Verification confirms that we are on the right path.”
The GFAS Equine Accreditation Program is made possible by a generous grant from The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals® and the Kenneth Scott Charitable Trust.
About Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries
Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the sole purpose of strengthening and supporting the work of animal sanctuaries, rescues, and rehabilitation centers worldwide. The goal of GFAS in working with and assisting these animal care facilities is to ensure they are supported, honored, recognized and rewarded for meeting important criteria in providing care to the animals in residence. GFAS was founded in 2007 by animal protection leaders from a number of different organizations in response to virtually unchecked and often hidden exploitation of animals for human entertainment and financial profit. The GFAS Board of Directors guides the organization’s work in a collaborative manner. While the board includes those in top leadership at The Humane Society of the United States, International Fund for Animal Welfare, and American Anti-Vivisection Society, all board members serve as individuals dedicated to animal sanctuaries. www.sanctuaryfederation.org.
Jesse resting
October has historically been the month when owners contact us to surrender their horses. The difference this year was, that instead of getting a call or two, we got seven calls. Seven horses needed a soft place to land and we were only able to help one, Jesse. What a heavy burden it is to have to make the decision as to who to help. We know that the likelihood that some of the horses will end up at a livestock auction is high. We also know that if a horse does go to auction, that they run the risk of being sold for their meat and slaughtered.
The rescue was founded to provide a safety net for horses and an alternative for owners who would otherwise send their horses to a livestock auction. The harsh reality is that the rescue is not at a point where we can say yes to everyone and it is a reality that eats at me and that I fight every day to change.
My goal for next year is that we are able to help more horses than we have to turn away. I hope that you will help me reach that goal by supporting more horses like Jesse by donating.
As we continue to grow, we are always on the look out for new funding avenues. One led us to apply for a grant with a rather large foundation. While we were hopeful that our request would be granted, but knew the odds were against us. A few weeks ago we were informed, that in fact, we would not be awarded any money.
For the last nine months, we have been learning how to successfully raise funds with the help of Sandy Rees at Get Fully Funded. Her willingness to share her knowledge and insight has been invaluable. One tidbit that she recently shared with us was the fact that we shouldn’t be afraid to ask grantors why an application was denied. So, we contacted the foundation and asked to speak with someone to discuss how we could improve our next application.
To the foundation’s credit, they got us in contact with one of the members of the review board. She spent half an hour explaining candidly why we were not awarded a grant. While one reason for not winning the grant was our size, the reviewer told us not to be discouraged. She went on to say that we are doing great work with the resources that we have and that she understands that we are in a catch 22. We can’t get bigger without funding and we can’t get funding until we are bigger. Here is the real kicker, though. She told us that she would help us when we apply for other grants and even went as far as to tell us some angles that we should be using to set us apart from other applicants.
We now have a great resource in the grant world. One that we would have never made contact with if we weren’t told no.
I knew that I didn’t have much time left with Toby. I had done some research on nasal cavity masses and the prognosis was only three to five months. I thought that I had at least the summer with him. It was not to be. Every day I could literally see the mass growing and every day I could hear that breathing for him was getting more and more difficult. The uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach told me that we did not have months together, but merely weeks.
Every horse that comes into the rescue I make a promise to. Each promise is different, but the theme is always the same. In theory, it seems easy to do what is right, but the reality is that sometimes it is not. Making the decision to say goodbye is final; you can’t undo it. The decision also has a ripple effect not only on you personally, but also on those left behind.
A herd grieves the loss of a member the same way that a family does. Our herd has been no different. Maggie and Toby were close and found comfort with each other. Toby would lay his head on Maggie’s back while they both napped. With Toby gone, Maggie has become much more affectionate with me. Instead of walking away when she sees me coming to groom her, she drops her head, cocks her leg and closes her eyes.
I am keeping my promise to Maggie and Titan as I kept my promise to Toby. They will always come first. No matter what the future brings.
Growing up, there was nothing more that I hated than being told that I needed to “expand my horizons.” For a painfully shy child, telling me to climb Mount Everest would have been a less daunting task. I was content in my world filled with animals and a small group of select friends who excepted me, quirks and all. I didn’t see a need to introduce new people or new experiences into my life.
Fast forward 30 years and here I am, returning from the Homes for Horses Coalition conference that took place in Nashville. A day and a half filled with networking, learning and inspiring moments. Was I out of my comfort zone? Yes. Was I scared? Yes. Was I glad that I went? Hell Yes!
There is something about being around like minded people that understand your everyday struggles. It is an automatic connection that happens before a word is even spoken. A willingness to open up about your fears, share your dreams and know that you are understood.
Everyone at the conference was, at some point, exactly where Roanchar Ranch Draft Horse Rescue is. Desperately trying to gain footing so that their community and the world knows that they exist. Struggling everyday to raise money to buy hay and pay for medical treatment for the horses that are in their care. Worrying that they are not doing enough.
But every one of the people that I spoke to was encouraging and was willing to share with me what has worked and what has not in their journey. They are all now Roanchar Ranchers who I can turn to when I feel that I have hit a road block or I need someone to talk to who understands what I am feeling.
I finally understand why I was being told to expand my horizons as a child. I never would have met the amazing people that I did this weekend by staying in my own world.
It takes time. Baby Steps. Be Patient.
As the president of a fledgling animal rescue, these are the phrases that I keep saying to myself over and over again. I know that one misstep can not only bring the rescue to it’s knees, but will also cost draft horses their lives. I have named the process “Controlled Growth”; a methodical course of action to grow the rescue so as not to deplete our resources. It is the logical and the responsible thing to do.
However, I am an animal lover and have been for as long as I can remember. There has always been room for one more homeless soul, and cost has never been a consideration when one of my furry friends is in need. Logic and consequence are cast aside and replaced with the overwhelming desire to do whatever it takes to protect the life that I have been charged with. Some would call it blind zealousness, I call it being true to the person that I am. Have I made sacrifices? Hell, yes! Would I do it all over again? In a heartbeat.
I have a vision for this draft horse rescue, and so my desire to save every desperate drafty that I see at the auction must be held in check. As painful as it is, and however much it goes against the core of who I am as I person, I am not willing to put the future of the rescue at risk. I know that someday we will have the capacity to take on many more horses with the addition of a second barn and dedicated quarantine area that will be solely for intake. We will become a regional resource for other animal welfare organizations to turn to. We will consistently have clinics and educational opportunities so that the public can learn about draft horses and why they are called gentle giants.
But until that day comes, everyday is a struggle between who I am as a person and where I want the rescue to be.
Magdalene came to us one week after the sudden passing of Eli. While our hearts still ached, we knew that our mission to offer a safe haven for draft horses needed to supersede the pain that we were feeling. Maggie’s situation was much different than any of the horses that we had rescued to date. She walked off of the trailer in magnificent condition Her golden mane glistened in the afternoon sun, but when the light hit her hind quarters it was obvious why she was at the rescue.
While it had been three months since her beating, the marks were fading but still visible under her chestnut coat. She didn’t want anyone near her rear end and was not comfortable with people being at her side either. We slowly walked her to her pasture so that she could take everything in. It did not take her long to notice the other residents of the ranch, who she called to with a strong, musical neigh.
We had been told that Maggie liked to be a loner, but it became very obvious that she wanted to be with the other horses. She spent the entire two weeks of her quarantine pacing up and down the fence line closest to the other horses, calling when they were no longer in her line of sight. She would not settle down until they called back to her and even then she did not stop pacing.
After the two weeks, we began the process of integrating her into the herd. At first we let them share a fence line and fed everyone close to make sure that there was no aggression over her food. It was obvious that everyone was getting along when they started eating from each others piles under the fence. While happy that she was closer to the herd, she was still not calm about being alone. She soon made a path from pacing the shared fence line. It was decided that she would join the herd sooner rather than later. The introduction went very smoothly. She entered the pasture and quickly joined up. The rest of the day was spent exploring her new space with her herd right behind her.
Fast forward to today and you can’t see the physical marks of her abuse, but the mental ones are still present. Maggie is not open to new people, but has become very comfortable with those that care for her. She calls every time that they enter the pasture and comes to them for a rub under her mane. She enjoys being groomed and is an absolute angel for the farrier and vet. We have not pushed her with her training, instead opting to build her trust with groundwork. It is obvious that from the little that we have asked her that she does know a lot. In the coming months we will ask her to do more, but for right now she is happy roaming the pastures with her buddy.
Eli had been having a rough weekend with not eating, but had rebounded on Sunday with devouring all of his breakfast and dinner. He spent the evening walking the pastures and laying down intermittently like he had so many other nights. The thought of losing him had not even entered our minds. When we went to feed him his breakfast, it was apparent that something was wrong. He greeted us with a loud nay, which was unusual because you could barely hear him call even if you were standing right next to him. He turned his nose up at his food and started walking away. As we followed, we watched him misstep, we were now positive that he was in trouble. As it turned out, we were right.
The details of Eli’s passing are too personal to share, but what we do want to express are the feelings that have come with his loss. The overwhelming emotion that we have felt since Monday is that we failed. We not only failed our supporters, but more importantly we failed Eli. For one year we battled to make him feel comfortable. Between his severe arthritis, that months before had made us question if we were doing right by him, to the melanoma that grew to the size of a grapefruit, it was a daily struggle, but we had been winning. He was able to roam the pastures that he so loved without being in pain. The head bobbing and limping were gone and he was able to move majestically as he was meant to.
Eli had paid his dues of being a plow horse and we should have been able to give him more than just a few short months of happiness. We had a mission and that was to find him a forever home, where he could spend the next several years happy. As it turned out, we were to be the ones that would offer him the comfort and love that he so deserved. It was an honor laying with him as he got his ice treatments, listening to him coo as he ate his meals and watching him fall asleep as we gave him baths.
People have told us that we made a difference in Eli’s life and deep down we know that. For right now though, we can’t stop thinking about how much more we should have been able to do. Moving forward our mission will not change, to rescue, rehabilitate, retrain and re-home the horses that we rescue. For those horses like Eli, the rescue will be their forever home where they can live out their lives, for however long that will be, loved.
Advocate and writer Alex Brown recently finished a new video series titled, “Horses: Sports, Culture, and Slaughter in America.” This three-part series discusses the diversity of cultures, horses and issues that comprise the horse slaughter controversy. He walks through the a history of the slaughter industry.