Venting

Ok, so maybe if I do a bit of venting I'll feel less stressed and better focused for the rest of the day.

I've been surfing CraigsList for awhile and I've noticed a serious increase in horses for sale. I haven't been to a horse auction lately so I'm wondering what type of horses are being run through and at what price they are being sold. I've noticed the bigger auctions where they have loose horses the skinny horses aren't present. I KNOW they are out there but where are the ending up? It makes me wonder if they aren't being directly shipped or being sent to traders who need to fill a quota. These poor horses aren't even being given a chance for rescue.

I need to become non-profit so I can start working out a deal with the auction houses to simply take the thin, crippled, and blind horses. These horses need a chance.

I should maybe start keeping a closer tab on the horses on craigslist and posting them. At least that way they would have more views and possibly someone could rescue them.

I got on Kelo today and saw a horse trader posting that he was selling rescued horses. WHAT?!?!And the email said HORSETRADER. That's right, right in the email! uugh. So I emailed to see what he was selling for "older" horses. We'll see what type of response I get. Maybe I can start doing like what SOS Equine Rescue and Another Chance 4 Horses does and provide more viewing for these potentially lost souls.

With the economy the way it is, people are bailing and getting rid of their horses. The weather has been wierd so I'm not sure what the hay market will be like. I'm worried that the prices will be higher than last year. I'm a pessimist so it's hard to know for sure. :-)

The local horse rescue won't take in any more. They'll only take in those where authority figures are involved. I wish there was some venue I could put together where people who are selling their horses could meet and converse so that the horses could find GOOD homes.

On all these craigslist ads they put on there "to good home only" but how do they know its' a good home. I've been lied to by so many that it's hard to read people. I was used taken advantage of by some "good" friends. They made a promise that they never kept and I considered them close friends.

Without being non-profit I can't apply for grants for hay, land, vaccinations. I need help in getting that going but dont' know where to even begin. Well, I take that back. I think I do but then I have to clarify what I can and cannot do and maybe that's why I'm stuck. I have to define what age group of horses I can take and how many and I don't want to leave any behind. I think that's my stumbling block.

I have a bunch of ideas that I'd like to incorporate into my rescue/retirement home once I get it up and running:

• Low cost euthinasia in the fall
• Low cost gelding clinic in the spring
• Weekend clinics about geriatric horses or just clinics to learn anything and everything about horses.
• Some type of networking to advertise horses for sale so people don't have to take them to auctions.
• Fundraise to pull horses from auctions (loose horse auctions where their fate is already sealed)
• Basic lessons for kids and adults focusing on handling and general care
• Food pantry for horse owners that need a little help affording hay/grain/water to keep their horses for another month while they either scrape together money to keep their horse or find him a new home (instead of sending him to auction)

Those are the majority of ideas. Most of them are stolen from other rescues or Fugly Horse of the Day blog. I can't really take credit for any of them but I would love to get them incorporated into a rescue in South Dakota. There aren't enough rescues in the area for horses. There really needs to be a greater awarness.

I know there are a lot of pro-slaughter people in the area. I would love to get those people who are on the fence or who are uneducated and teach them. I believe education is the key. Now if I could just get off my fanny and figure out how to get the ball rolling. We really need something done in this area and fast. Fall is approaching all too quickly and something needs to be done.