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Equine Advocates provides safe home for abused and neglected horses
Sanctuary feeling economic pinch
By Sesame Campbell
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
Each year, more than 100,000 U.S. bred horses are slaughtered for human consumption, while horse abuse and neglect continue to be serious problems in the United States. Despite the overwhelming cruelty that so many of these magnificent animals experience, Equine Advocates has rescued thousands of horses since 1996.
The sanctuary is quite literally like a Garden of Eden for horses and humans alike. Most of the 75 horses there came from horrific circumstances. For many of them, it was the lucky lottery they hit before being sent to the slaughterhouse.
“We call this place Safe Home Equine Rescue and Sanctuary because it has become a safe home for [75] very fortunate equines; most of whom were terribly abused or were in situations where they were going to go to slaughter,” said Susan Wagner, president and founder of Equine Advocates.
With the tenacity and commitment of a pit-bull, Wagner was able to grow her dream of creating a sanctuary for abused horses into a reality.
Discovered by accident, Wagner saw the 140-acre farm that was in a dilapidated condition several years ago. She knew immediately that this was the safe home she would provide sick and suffering equines. With 20 horses and her dream, Wagner turned the decrepit farm into a heaven on earth for sick and suffering equines in Chatham. Her commitment has brought in numerous benefactors and supporters and even some celebrities, including Willie Nelson, The Beach Boys, The Pointer Sisters, Liza Minnelli, Gladys Knight, Burt Reynolds and Martha Stewart, to name a few.
“Over these 13 years, [Susan] has literally rescued thousands of horses,” said Karen Wagner, vice president of Equine Advocates.
Wagner started the organization in 1996 out of her apartment in New York City.
She recalls spending half of the week sitting at her computer and the other half driving 500 to 600 miles to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and surrounding areas where Equine Advocates’ horses were boarded or placed in foster homes.
Wagner’s love for the four-legged beasts began at 3 years old when her grandparents would come up to the Catskills. She rode her first horse in the Bronx when she was 4 and spent summer months in upstate New York riding. After Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973, Wagner decided to make a career out of her love of horses and began working at the Belmont Racetrack in Elmont, Long Island.
She spent the next 15 years of her life in the racing industry, going from racetrack to racetrack. What she encountered changed her perspective on the horse industry.
“I started this organization because I was so enraged about horse slaughter that I wanted to do something about it. You know, you just start with an idea and you let it evolve,” she said. So in 1993, Wagner rescued her first horse and never looked back.
So it was, too, with David Figueroa, farm manager for Equine Advocates Safe Home. Like Wagner, Figueroa was in the industry and worked at Belmont for 20 years. Their paths must have crossed countless times, but they did not meet each other until years later, after Wagner started Equine Advocates.
“I really liked animals and got on the racetrack in 1974 with the hopes of becoming a jockey,” Figueroa said. But fate had other plans and in 2004, Figueroa came to the sanctuary with his wife and son.
Horses need similar care, much like the needs of any other pet. They need love, they need contact with other horses and they don’t want to be alone.
“Here they get to know each other,” Figueroa said. “It is important for them to know their place. If they don’t have a place, they are very confused, but when they socialize they find their comfort zone. We have a lot of kids here who need a lot of special care,” he said.
The kids he refers to are horses like Ally, a thoroughbred who was actually used as a show pony. Unfortunately for Ally, her owners grew tired of her, so they locked her in a stall for a year and abandoned her.
And then there is Henry. “Even if I couldn’t handle him and had to put him down I would have rather done that then let him go to slaughter,” Wagner said. When she found Henry, he was being whipped and hit on the back of his legs with canes in the sales ring of a huge slaughter auction in New Holland, Pa. When they got him, Henry had a halter on that was so tight it was imbedded in his skull and they had to have it cut out. For every horse like him, there are thousands that don’t have it as lucky as him and will go to the slaughterhouse.
“There comes a time in every horse’s life when they can’t perform anymore,” Wagner said. “It is the owner’s responsibility to make sure that animal never suffers, starves or is abused or sent to slaughter.”
As if these horror stories aren’t enough, there are also the Premarin mares. Premarin is a drug that is made from the urine of pregnant mares. There are pictures of these poor animals that show them lined up, inches away from each other with no room to move.
“These horses are kept pregnant in a stall for six months at a time, with plumbing attached to them to collect their urine which is then used to produce hormone replacement drugs,” said Karen Wagner, as her sister gently approached Ella, a Premarin mare who shied away.
There are visible brands on Ella. Karen said that when she first arrived to the sanctuary, you could only see the whites of Ella’s eyes because she was so terrified.
“They have terrible lives,” she continued. “Horses are flight animals. These mares can’t run away from any dangers. They are confined to constant danger. They are turned into four-legged drug machines. They are basically born to stand on the lines. That’s it. It’s unconscionable, really.”
Every horse at the sanctuary is an ambassador to other horses, each telling the story of the abuse and neglect and the hope that help is possible.
“It’s great,” Susan Wagner said. “We’ve had a lot of individual success with horses, but it’s the education program that is making a large scale difference,” she said. “Each year we bring adults and children to the sanctuary and give them information that will make a difference in the lives of horses we haven’t yet met. It’s our hope that we can give people the knowledge and tools to recognize when a horse is being neglected so that they can be rescued.”
Just recently, Equine Advocates had members of a teachers union come up from New York City to partake in the educational program, as well as children throughout the northeast who have made the journey to EA.
Legislatively, EA is working with other humane groups to lobby the federal government on behalf of the thousands of vulnerable animals who are abused, neglected and sent to the slaughterhouse each year. Right now, it is not a felony to abuse horses. Wagner is hoping to change that.
“The average horse changes hands seven to eight times and then goes to the slaughterhouse,” she said. “There, the animal suffers in ways that are indescribable.”
Horse slaughterhouses have a particularly horrific brand of brutality. Horses arrive on trucks and trailers, usually after being purchased at one of the many horse auctions across the country. There, they are crammed into enclosures with other terrified horses. Then they are forced into the knock box and hit with a 4-inch bolt to the head. Sometimes workers need to shoot three to four times before the horse stops moving and is rendered unconscious, but that does not always happen. Often, while the horse is still conscious, it is dumped out a side door, strung up by its feet and has its throat slit so that it will slowly bleed to death.
“The main difference between horse and cattle slaughterhouses is that horses are more difficult to herd, often getting into fights while they are on their way to the holding pen,” Wagner said. “In part this is because horses are not bred for consumption. They are raised for riding or racing and are pets. They aren’t used to cramped quarters and the smell of blood terrifies them. Like other flight animals, when they are scared they try to run.”
But there are states, such as California, that have created initiatives to ban the slaughter of horses. Equine Advocates is supportive of legislation that would ban the export of horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter, thereby substantially reducing the indiscriminate breeding of horses.
Twenty years ago, it was a secret industry, Wagner said. Now that more information is becoming public, people are beginning to pressure their state and federal representatives to stop the cruelty.
“Our culture dictates that horses are favored animals, just like dogs and cats,” she said. “We give them names. To use them until they can no longer work and then send them to the slaughterhouse as a final thank you is just inhumane and frankly, un-American.”
As with many not-for profits, Equine Advocates has faced a reduction in the amount of contributions it has received through corporate and individual sponsorship. With the economic downturn, organizations such as EA have to do more with less. That, combined with a greater number of horse owners who can no longer afford to keep their animals, has increased the number of horses housed at the sanctuary from 65 to almost 75.
Then there are the countless hours donated through the help of 14 volunteers, like Diane Shapiro, an Old Chatham resident who “shows up like clockwork” to give her time to help. It takes close to $1.2 million a year to keep things running at Equine Advocates, with upkeep, feed and medical attention to the almost 100 horses that live at the sanctuary and at other locations where Equine Advocates keep horses.
“What she does with these animals is nothing short of miraculous,” said Elizabeth Hess, a local writer, member of the Equine Advocates Board of Directors and friend of Wagner’s. “She’s really struggling right now and is cutting back to the bare bones. But Susan gets up every morning and does fundraising breakfast, lunch and dinner. She has a tiny staff and works seven days a week, often from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. She’s a multi-talented person. It’s rare that you get the person who can address a room full of cops, talk about the cruelty cases, halter the horses and raise money from top Kentucky breeders. She’s a multi-talented person.”
For more information or to get involved with Equine Advocates, call 518-245-1599 or visit www.equineadvocates.org.
By Sesame Campbell
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
Each year, more than 100,000 U.S. bred horses are slaughtered for human consumption, while horse abuse and neglect continue to be serious problems in the United States. Despite the overwhelming cruelty that so many of these magnificent animals experience, Equine Advocates has rescued thousands of horses since 1996.
The sanctuary is quite literally like a Garden of Eden for horses and humans alike. Most of the 75 horses there came from horrific circumstances. For many of them, it was the lucky lottery they hit before being sent to the slaughterhouse.
“We call this place Safe Home Equine Rescue and Sanctuary because it has become a safe home for [75] very fortunate equines; most of whom were terribly abused or were in situations where they were going to go to slaughter,” said Susan Wagner, president and founder of Equine Advocates.
With the tenacity and commitment of a pit-bull, Wagner was able to grow her dream of creating a sanctuary for abused horses into a reality.
Discovered by accident, Wagner saw the 140-acre farm that was in a dilapidated condition several years ago. She knew immediately that this was the safe home she would provide sick and suffering equines. With 20 horses and her dream, Wagner turned the decrepit farm into a heaven on earth for sick and suffering equines in Chatham. Her commitment has brought in numerous benefactors and supporters and even some celebrities, including Willie Nelson, The Beach Boys, The Pointer Sisters, Liza Minnelli, Gladys Knight, Burt Reynolds and Martha Stewart, to name a few.
“Over these 13 years, [Susan] has literally rescued thousands of horses,” said Karen Wagner, vice president of Equine Advocates.
Wagner started the organization in 1996 out of her apartment in New York City.
She recalls spending half of the week sitting at her computer and the other half driving 500 to 600 miles to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and surrounding areas where Equine Advocates’ horses were boarded or placed in foster homes.
Wagner’s love for the four-legged beasts began at 3 years old when her grandparents would come up to the Catskills. She rode her first horse in the Bronx when she was 4 and spent summer months in upstate New York riding. After Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973, Wagner decided to make a career out of her love of horses and began working at the Belmont Racetrack in Elmont, Long Island.
She spent the next 15 years of her life in the racing industry, going from racetrack to racetrack. What she encountered changed her perspective on the horse industry.
“I started this organization because I was so enraged about horse slaughter that I wanted to do something about it. You know, you just start with an idea and you let it evolve,” she said. So in 1993, Wagner rescued her first horse and never looked back.
So it was, too, with David Figueroa, farm manager for Equine Advocates Safe Home. Like Wagner, Figueroa was in the industry and worked at Belmont for 20 years. Their paths must have crossed countless times, but they did not meet each other until years later, after Wagner started Equine Advocates.
“I really liked animals and got on the racetrack in 1974 with the hopes of becoming a jockey,” Figueroa said. But fate had other plans and in 2004, Figueroa came to the sanctuary with his wife and son.
Horses need similar care, much like the needs of any other pet. They need love, they need contact with other horses and they don’t want to be alone.
“Here they get to know each other,” Figueroa said. “It is important for them to know their place. If they don’t have a place, they are very confused, but when they socialize they find their comfort zone. We have a lot of kids here who need a lot of special care,” he said.
The kids he refers to are horses like Ally, a thoroughbred who was actually used as a show pony. Unfortunately for Ally, her owners grew tired of her, so they locked her in a stall for a year and abandoned her.
And then there is Henry. “Even if I couldn’t handle him and had to put him down I would have rather done that then let him go to slaughter,” Wagner said. When she found Henry, he was being whipped and hit on the back of his legs with canes in the sales ring of a huge slaughter auction in New Holland, Pa. When they got him, Henry had a halter on that was so tight it was imbedded in his skull and they had to have it cut out. For every horse like him, there are thousands that don’t have it as lucky as him and will go to the slaughterhouse.
“There comes a time in every horse’s life when they can’t perform anymore,” Wagner said. “It is the owner’s responsibility to make sure that animal never suffers, starves or is abused or sent to slaughter.”
As if these horror stories aren’t enough, there are also the Premarin mares. Premarin is a drug that is made from the urine of pregnant mares. There are pictures of these poor animals that show them lined up, inches away from each other with no room to move.
“These horses are kept pregnant in a stall for six months at a time, with plumbing attached to them to collect their urine which is then used to produce hormone replacement drugs,” said Karen Wagner, as her sister gently approached Ella, a Premarin mare who shied away.
There are visible brands on Ella. Karen said that when she first arrived to the sanctuary, you could only see the whites of Ella’s eyes because she was so terrified.
“They have terrible lives,” she continued. “Horses are flight animals. These mares can’t run away from any dangers. They are confined to constant danger. They are turned into four-legged drug machines. They are basically born to stand on the lines. That’s it. It’s unconscionable, really.”
Every horse at the sanctuary is an ambassador to other horses, each telling the story of the abuse and neglect and the hope that help is possible.
“It’s great,” Susan Wagner said. “We’ve had a lot of individual success with horses, but it’s the education program that is making a large scale difference,” she said. “Each year we bring adults and children to the sanctuary and give them information that will make a difference in the lives of horses we haven’t yet met. It’s our hope that we can give people the knowledge and tools to recognize when a horse is being neglected so that they can be rescued.”
Just recently, Equine Advocates had members of a teachers union come up from New York City to partake in the educational program, as well as children throughout the northeast who have made the journey to EA.
Legislatively, EA is working with other humane groups to lobby the federal government on behalf of the thousands of vulnerable animals who are abused, neglected and sent to the slaughterhouse each year. Right now, it is not a felony to abuse horses. Wagner is hoping to change that.
“The average horse changes hands seven to eight times and then goes to the slaughterhouse,” she said. “There, the animal suffers in ways that are indescribable.”
Horse slaughterhouses have a particularly horrific brand of brutality. Horses arrive on trucks and trailers, usually after being purchased at one of the many horse auctions across the country. There, they are crammed into enclosures with other terrified horses. Then they are forced into the knock box and hit with a 4-inch bolt to the head. Sometimes workers need to shoot three to four times before the horse stops moving and is rendered unconscious, but that does not always happen. Often, while the horse is still conscious, it is dumped out a side door, strung up by its feet and has its throat slit so that it will slowly bleed to death.
“The main difference between horse and cattle slaughterhouses is that horses are more difficult to herd, often getting into fights while they are on their way to the holding pen,” Wagner said. “In part this is because horses are not bred for consumption. They are raised for riding or racing and are pets. They aren’t used to cramped quarters and the smell of blood terrifies them. Like other flight animals, when they are scared they try to run.”
But there are states, such as California, that have created initiatives to ban the slaughter of horses. Equine Advocates is supportive of legislation that would ban the export of horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter, thereby substantially reducing the indiscriminate breeding of horses.
Twenty years ago, it was a secret industry, Wagner said. Now that more information is becoming public, people are beginning to pressure their state and federal representatives to stop the cruelty.
“Our culture dictates that horses are favored animals, just like dogs and cats,” she said. “We give them names. To use them until they can no longer work and then send them to the slaughterhouse as a final thank you is just inhumane and frankly, un-American.”
As with many not-for profits, Equine Advocates has faced a reduction in the amount of contributions it has received through corporate and individual sponsorship. With the economic downturn, organizations such as EA have to do more with less. That, combined with a greater number of horse owners who can no longer afford to keep their animals, has increased the number of horses housed at the sanctuary from 65 to almost 75.
Then there are the countless hours donated through the help of 14 volunteers, like Diane Shapiro, an Old Chatham resident who “shows up like clockwork” to give her time to help. It takes close to $1.2 million a year to keep things running at Equine Advocates, with upkeep, feed and medical attention to the almost 100 horses that live at the sanctuary and at other locations where Equine Advocates keep horses.
“What she does with these animals is nothing short of miraculous,” said Elizabeth Hess, a local writer, member of the Equine Advocates Board of Directors and friend of Wagner’s. “She’s really struggling right now and is cutting back to the bare bones. But Susan gets up every morning and does fundraising breakfast, lunch and dinner. She has a tiny staff and works seven days a week, often from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. She’s a multi-talented person. It’s rare that you get the person who can address a room full of cops, talk about the cruelty cases, halter the horses and raise money from top Kentucky breeders. She’s a multi-talented person.”
For more information or to get involved with Equine Advocates, call 518-245-1599 or visit www.equineadvocates.org.
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