*
Please check back regularly for updates!
*
Monday, 11/30/09: We had an incredible meeting last night and thanks to another gracious and amazing
donor – who has asked to remain anonymous – we are able to rescue another 10 pregnant mares who otherwise would
have faced the horrors of the slaughterhouses of Canada the end of this week!!! We haven’t decided yet if all
of these mares will be going to the rescue/sanctuary in Montana or if we might bring them here to Colorado! Stay tuned!
This is just incredible news and we are just so thrilled that those mares - thanks to a horse-loving individual
- will now have the chance to have their babies in the coming Spring! Heartfelt thanks from all of us at AVHR - we are
so incredibly grateful for the continued support from our community and the belief in our rescue efforts!*
*
EMERGENCY RESCUE: There are 25 mares still remaining
at the ranch in North Dakota who will face the auction houses in the next couple of weeks! We need your help!
The adoption fee for each mare is $500. Please consider helping us help them! We have a wonderful rescue ranch/sanctuary
for them in Montana if we can get them there! The rancher is rounding up his mares as I type and because of the economy,
he just doesn’t have an option but to send them to auction. He is out of money and just doesn’t have the
means to feed them through the winter ahead. These mares are pregnant and truly deserve a second chance at life!*
*
Sunday 11/29/09:
It was truly the most amazing Thanksgiving many of us have ever had – on Wednesday evening, the night before Thanksgiving
- we had a load of 33 horses (mostly Quarter Horses with a couple of Appaloosas and a couple of Belgian mares) arrive at the
beautiful Chapparal Ranch of Woody Creek in Aspen from Alberta, Canada! We are so incredibly grateful to everyone at
Chapparal Ranch who made this delivery on the 55’ semi possible – Chapparal Ranch was one location that could
actually accommodate that size of a trailer! All 33 of the delivered horses would have faced the auction/slaughter houses
had it not been for our supporters and adopters of Aspen Valley Horse Rescue! The most amazing realization to all of
us at AVHR: That none of the 33 horses are actually property of the AVHR, they have all been adopted! All of them
went straight from Chapparal to their respective homes upon arrival! The horses were transported from Alberta, Canada
to Colorado on that 55 foot semi, air-ride, transporter. It required a 4 foot cattle ramp to unload them – many,
many thanks to Scott Sumner for his incredible support and help in making Chapparal a reality along with the cattle ramp!
To Ty and Matt: We are so thankful for your help, support and efforts to make this delivery the success it was!
To Tim Pearce: Thank you SO much for all of your continued help and unmatched expertise has made all our rescue efforts
and deliveries not only possible, but an amazing success in the eyes of our adopters, sponsors, and supporters! To you,
we are eternally grateful! This last holiday weekend, many of us at AVHR spent time reflecting on how thankful and truly
grateful we are for the unbelievable support that has allowed us to be so successful so far – AVHR gave this Thanksgiving
a whole new meaning! Thanks so much to everyone who believed in us in the beginning and for those who jumped on board
and have ridden this incredible wave of success with us! We are so thankful for everyone’s support, because without
it, none of this would have been possible. *
*
Prior to Thanksgiving and preparing for the arrival of the 33 horses from Alberta, Canada, AVHR received two other
loads of horses, both directly from the two ranchers in North Dakota. One of the loads consisted of 12 pregnant draft
cross mares (that was a FULL load, let me tell you!) – the other load was a combination of mares and weanlings!
Nearly all of our horses at this point have been adopted and we just continue to be inspired everyday at the hope and love
these horses embody. Several are still very shy and will get within a few feet of you while you love on the more “gentled”
horses. The shy ones so desperately want to be loved – they stand just out of arms length with ears pricked forward
and everyday make a little bit of progress giving a few inches at a time. It’s amazing to see them all out in
the fields eating wonderful Colorado hay and prospering the way they should be. It never gets tiring being out in the
field with them witnessing their current situation and how grateful we are for them. On a regular basis, the horses bring
tears to our eyes.*
*
Wednesday, 11/11/09, 6:20am: This blog is for all of our donors, adopters, sponsors and supporters who, if
not for you, AVHR would not have been able to endure the incredible amount of success that we have been so fortunate to reap
thus far. *
*
AVHR is grateful to announce that we now have the official support of two our most respected, local, equine vets,
Dr. Maker of Alpine Animal Hospital and Dr. Bohanon of Glenwood Vet Clinic. Though recently our organization received
quite a bit of scrutiny as to the validity of the horses we have worked so hard to place, AVHR believes that these days of
negativity are now behind us and together with Dr. Maker and Dr. Bohanon, we are moving forward in a positive motion
and focused 100% on rescuing horses who are currently at-risk of slaughter. Many thanks to both Dr. Maker and Dr. Bohanon
who have offered their support and services to our 100% volunteer, non-profit (application pending) organization to better
the lives of the horses who are continuing to arrive here in our beautiful Roaring Fork Valley. Thanks too, to Dr. Maker
and Dr. Bohanon for shedding light on this problem in our country of the “bogus horse rescues” who continue to
feed the unwanted horse population problem - this is a critical issue that we agree indeed deserves the media’s attention
so that these “foal mills” stop producing baby horses who are intern marketed as “horses at-risk of slaughter.”
Without education, the general public has no idea how to differentiate between horse rescues who are feeding the problem and
those who are actually fixing the problem.
*
AVHR would also like to extend an incredible
warm and gracious thank you to Dr. Melissa McPherron - and her vet assistant, Christine Helling. Dr. McPherron is
one of the most incredibly talented and respected, local canine surgeons who has been a supporter of our's since
the beginning. She, along with Christine, have offered their time and support to us in so many ways including
the saving of two pregnant mares and also helping us obtain some basic essentials for our first load of foals who
arrived here in our valley October 8th. To Dr. McPherron and Christine, words can't describe how grateful we feel
for your support and initial belief in our organization! Many heartfelt thanks to you both for your initial and
continued belief in us and our mission! We look forward to your professional input and help in the days and years ahead!*
*
Because
of our generous adopters, sponsors and donors, AVHR has been successful in putting two ranchers in Alberta, Canada completely
out of the horse business. Because of our local rescue efforts, those two ranchers are now 100% horseless:
First, Hartes Appaloosas, who we have recognized was never a PMU rancher, is now officially out of the business of breeding
horses. Though Hartes Appaloosas was never in the actual PMU business, the rancher did lease her pregnant mares
over several winters to OK Appaloosas for use in the PMU collection barn. OK Appaloosas since having 100% of their horses
placed - and not slaughtered - has sold their ranch in Alberta, Canada and has moved into town. Our mission
is if we can get the mares out of the hands of the ranchers, they can not breed them and continue to feed the unwanted
horse problem. With AVHR's local efforts, we were able to help put two breeding facilities out of business for
good. For this, we feel like our community has accomplished a few major mile stones in a very short amount of time.
*
One of the other particular ranchers who AVHR has been working with who was particularly inquired upon by the recent
attention as to the validity of his horses, is Jim Lyster of Alberta, Canada. Mr. Lyster has been a confirmed PMU rancher
in the past. For years prior to Mr. Lyster being a PMU rancher, he was a QH breeder. When the Lyster’s lost
their PMU contract in October of 2003, they found themselves with nearly 300 mares on their ranch without jobs. Due to the daunting task of feeding and caring for those
nearly 300 mares, Mr. Lyster decided to start significantly reducing the size of his herd. Those mares had made him
a lot of money – and I believe that Mr. Lyster started using one or more rescue organizations to help place his horses.
Every year, he continued to gradually downsize his mare herd placing many of his mares through rescue organizations
– these were mares that if they didn’t get placed into a new home, he was going to be faced with sending them
to auction, meaning most likely to slaughter. His goal after he lost his PMU contract was to “transition”
back into what he was doing before – breeding Registered Quarter Horses. Every year post his PMU contract, he
continued to downsize his herd and breed his mares as he has always done. During those days, our world was a different
place. Our economy was still intact and there was a pretty good market for his foals. It is my understanding,
as of this year, that Mr. Lyster has approximately 40 – of his original and most favorite – mares and due to the
crippling economy, Mr. Lyster for the first time in his life is being forced to “dispose” of 100% of his mares.
These mares have made him a lot of money over the years and these mares have meant a lot to his family. I believe in
my heart, that the last thing that Mr. Lyster wants to see is his most valued and favorite mares sent to slaughter.
I believe that his older mares are indeed former
PMU mares and the younger mares are the byproducts from those former
PMU mares and because those younger mares are a byproduct of that industry, AVHR feels that they are all deserving of a second chance at life. AVHR believes that those mares have
spent, whether one year or ten years, of their lives bettering the lives of human women by producing foals every year and
having their urine processed into a drug that combated/combats the side-effects of menopause, Premarin.
*
A fair question posed to us is, “Why has Mr. Lyster continued to breed year after year after his PMU contract
expired in 2003?” Mr. Lyster was a QH breeder pre-PMU contract and post- PMU contract. In Canada, I believe that these ranchers consider their mares more valuable
than these horses’ off-spring because these mares have afforded the ranchers their ranching lifestyles. I also
believe that the ranchers view the foals as “livestock” and they don’t have the same emotional tie to them
whether those foals are bought and shipped to the US as someone’s pet or they are slaughtered. This is what I
consider to be a major cultural difference between the US and Canada.
*
Another
fair question that has been posed to us is, "Aren't your rescue efforts of placing these mares and foals just helping
to feed the problem? What will happen next year when you find the same ranchers have continued to breed and there are
new foals to 'rescue' next year?" AVHR from the beginning has stood the ground that we will not work with a rancher
who breeds his horses next year and finds he's in the same position again. Our goal is to get the mares out of the hands
of the ranchers so that they can't continue to breed. The fewer mares they possess, the fewer babies will be born next
year. Our organization's stance is that we will absolutely not work with a rancher who continues to breed his horses
after he's asked us for our help. Period.
*
AVHR was recently created due to the effect
the economy has had on the sky-rocketing “unwanted horse population” problem. In the first days of the formation
of Aspen Valley Horse Rescue, I was so moved knowing that in our country today, there aren’t many communities that can
help horses at-risk of slaughter, but I believed and still continue to believe that our’s can. Our efforts have
proven that. Knowing we wanted our current focus to be on “horses at risk of slaughter,” once we really
got into this, considering that AVHR was founded and now supported by 14 women, collaboratively we agreed that we wanted
to focus our efforts on the former PMU mares
who are at-risk of slaughter due to a crumbled economy up north. The ladies of AVHR collaboratively agreed that these
particular mares who – at some point in their lives,
whether that was 1 year or 5 years ago, or stood in the PMU collection barns for 1 year or 5 years – have given years
in their lives bettering the lives of women and therefore deserved a second chance at life.
*
Again, many thanks to Dr. Maker and Dr. Bohanon for their offer to support our local horse rescue organization and
for their support of these horses whom we all agree truly deserve a second chance at life. For this we are so incredibly
grateful.*Please call me personally if you have any questions, comments, concerns on my cel phone at anytime.
**Again, please do not hesitate to contact us directly with any questions/comments/concerns you might have. Thanks again
so much for all of the community, state and national support you have all lent to us this far – we are so grateful for
what we’ve been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time due to the incredible generosity of all of our wonderful
and selfless donors and vets here in our valley. Truly, from all of us at AVHR and especially from the horses, many,
many thanks! Sincerely, Kathy Raife 970.319.1635 cel
*
Sunday, 11/1/09:(I just realized when I signed
into our webpage that my update from last Sunday wasn't there - apparently I failed to click "upload to site",
but here is our most recent update, now several days delayed - my sincere apologies. Thanks for following
our progress!) * Yesterday was another exciting day for our organization here in the Roaring Fork
Valley! Our second load of horses - from Alberta, Canada - arrived the evening of Hallow's Eve and when the doors
of the trailer opened, out stepped 15 weary horses to their new home (for quarantine) here in paradise. In that
load of 7 mares and 7 foals, was Prince. Although he was the only gelding, he is the second of the first two
horses adopted here in our valley through the efforts of AVHR - thanks so much to Lisa and Teri for believing in us and AVHR's efforts
from the beginning! Lisa and Teri were there to meet Prince upon his arrival and it was a joyous introduction to
have been part of! Phil, also belonging to Lisa and Teri, was the very first horse placed through the rescue efforts of AVHR - he arrived here several months ago now
and is doing great - they have actually said, "He's a dream horse come true!" Phil will be Prince's eventual
"roommate" at Lisa's beautiful ranch in Missouri Heights. Both being geldings, they are two perfect examples
of the effects the economy has had on the "unwanted horse population" here in North America. Prior
to his adoption by Lisa and Teri, Phil was the personal riding horse of one of the ranchers we've been working with.
Not wanting to find his personal horse in an unfortunate and desperate situation in the near future, the rancher offered
him as part of his stock to be placed into a more secure home. Little did he know the type of home Phil would end up
in - a dream ranch with spectacular views of our mountains which I'm sure Phil's rancher has dreamt of in his days.
Many, many thanks to Lisa and Teri for believing in us and our efforts and taking a chance on two horses who truly deserved
a second chance at life. The mares and foals who arrived are just gorgeous and amazing additions to the pastures in
which they are grazing at the moment. To envision what the otherwise unthinkable fate would have been for
these beautiful and deserving horses is unimaginable. To see those babies trot and gallop across the pasture,
it's as if they are gazing at the view from Missouri Heights and saying, "Wow! Did we move up in the world!"
- Little do they all know.... It's comforting to know that they are safe now and that their futures ahead
are wide-open to whatever family and riding discipline might come their way - they have the chance now to live
their lives to be the best horses they can be. To watch all of these incredible horses happily
grazing in the fields reminds us all that what we've all
accomplished together is more than just "saving a life", but making a difference in getting the mares
out of the hands of the ranchers who have continued to add to the unwanted horse population here in our country.
Thanks to all of you who have made donations, sponsored and adopted horses to make our organization's dream a reality.
Please let us know if you would like to come see the horses at anytime as we would love to have you - just let us know when
you're available and we'll set up an appointment to visit! Again, endless thanks for your support and interest in this
community-wide labor of love! Sincerely, All of us at AVHR * Wednesday 10/2809: We just
got back from the AVHR benefit in NYC late last night! It was an incredible success and considering we put it together
in a matter of days due to the upcoming deadline of October 31st for many of the horses - it went off without a
hitch! I believe because of the support from The Big Apple, we were able to raise enough money to
save another 6 or 7 horses - that puts us over 100 horses as of today! As of this morning, there are
still 184 horses still in desperate need of help
who will be auction/slaughter bound in the next couple of weeks! Please continue to pass on our information to
anyone you think might be interested in helping to save a life! Our next load of rescued horses - 16 Appaloosas
- is scheduled to leave Canada tomorrow. I'm guessing the hauler will arrive here on the 31th? It's snowing
like crazy at this moment here in Basalt so we're hoping the snow won't put a damper on the horses' travel plans!
When I find out more - I'll post an update! Many thanks to my dear friend, Beth, for offering to host the fundraiser
in NYC and all of her planning and organizing to make the event such an incredible success! I will continue to
update our website as our progress continues! Heidi is leaving for Chile tomorrow and will be out of cel service - and
the country - until November 14th. Please feel free to call me or email Mary, Kim or me if you have any questions or
concerns! Again, many thanks for following our progress! Kathy *
*
Sunday 10/18/09: Our first load of
rescued horses arrived in the Roaring Fork Valley yesterday - a load of 24 2009 weanlings! What a gorgeous day it was
to welcome those 24 foals to paradise who otherwise would have definitely faced an otherwise grim end in the slaughterhouse! All
of us at AVHR want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you who have believed in us and our mission and who made this
rescue effort possible! The foals arrived in incredible shape and really looked better than I expected them to
- they settled in quickly and immediately found the water and the hay. Within an hour, several were laying and
rolling in the sun. Several of us sat in the pasture and sipped champagne and lost ourselves in the moment and
the reality that our first horses we have worked so hard to save had finally arrived! Thanks to everyone who has adopted
and sponsored horses, donated money, time and skills to make this hopeful vision a reality! Heidi and I spent
the afternoon today working on approaching and lightly touching a few of the babies. The wonderful reality is they are
"clean slates" in that they have had no bad human experiences, but we realize the hours ahead of us to get to working
with all 24! As of today, we are up to 75 horses rescued thru AVHR and the emails and phone calls are still
coming in! It's more than we could ever have imagined it to be considering we're three weeks in! Keep up the good
work, Colorado! We will share stories, photos and more as things progress and please don't hesitate to contact us if
you have questions or concerns. If you have attempted to contact us and haven't heard back, please send us another email
as we have been inundated with saving the horses and are aware that maybe a few emails and phone calls have "slipped
through the cracks" in all of the excitement and chaos! Please don't give up on us - we want to hear from you!
Again, many thanks, everyone! Kathy Raife *Friday 10/16/09: I just wanted to post an update for everyone to know
what the latest is with Aspen Valley Horse Rescue! As of today, thanks to all of the generous adopters,
sponsors and donors, we have been able to rescue 60 horses as of late last night - we are still working today to
place more! Because of our success, we were able to negotiate and gain another five days of time for all of the
Appaloosas and Quarter Horses. Their new deadline is October 20, 2009. We have our first load of 20 foals
coming to the Roaring Fork Valley the next couple of days! Our original expectation of being able to rescue
and save maybe 10 horses has now grown to 60 and we could not be more pleased! With that said, we are inundated with
emails, phone calls and trying to arrange transportation for all of the horses! Thanks to everyone for their incredible
support to our cause and please be patient as we plan to send out an "enewsletter" as soon as we can to update everyone
on the progress of the organization! Again, we could not have done this without help from all of you! Don’t
hesitate to email us if you have any questions or concerns and we will get back to you as soon as we possibly can! Way
to go, Colorado, on coming together to save these magnificent horses who deserve a second chance at life! Thank
you! Sincerely, Kathy Raife, President, Aspen Valley Horse Rescue
