By Jennifer Whittle
Every horse has an owner. Every owner has a responsibility. The mission of the Kentucky Equine Humane Center is clear – to provide a home for horses who may not have a clear future. Between the rising costs of hay, grain and gasoline, as well as the saturation of horses in the United States, horse owners and breeders are running out of options. The Kentucky Equine Humane Center serves as an option for those horses that would otherwise be sent to slaughterhouses in Mexico or Canada or simply turned loose in the wild.
Lori Neagle, the executive director of the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, was one of the founders of the first-of-its-kind facility. Coming from a Thoroughbred adoption center, Neagle felt a need to open a center that accepted all breeds of horses, no matter their condition. “I wanted to give an option for unwanted horses – not just slaughter,” Neagle said. The center is located on a 72-acre farm outside of Lexington, and has 50 equines awaiting adoption.
One of the unique aspects of the center is their lifetime adoption policy. When a horse is adopted, the person agrees to provide the horse a home for the rest of its life. If, for some reason, they can’t fulfill their agreement, the horse is brought back to the center.
The center also serves as a model center for other states. “Right now we are talking with a group in Illinois that is looking into a center like ours,” Neagle said. As a model center, Neagle and those involved with the Ky Equine Humane Center can provide suggestions for others who want to build a similar program, giving horse owners in other locations more options for their unwanted horses.
Currently the center relies on volunteers and sponsors to keep the program running. Volunteers are needed for a variety of tasks, ranging from hands-on work in the barns to paper work in the office. There is no age requirement to volunteer, but they ask that youth younger than 16 be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Not only does it benefit the center, but volunteers also benefit by learning more about proper horse care and management from the employees and the horses. “We have a 4-legged employee, Rachel, who is a 24-year-old mare and she is great with volunteers,” Neagle said. They often use Rachel to teach inexperienced volunteers how to handle and groom horses. The center has a volunteer orientation held every 2nd Saturday at 11 A.M at the center for anyone interested in volunteering.
Funding for the center is made possible primarily through partners and donors. Some of the partners of the Ky Equine Humane Center include Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, Sallee Horse Vans, Alltech and Neogen. Individuals who cannot volunteer can help out by making monetary donations or by supplying tack and equipment that is needed by the center.
Along with theses sources, the center also has a few exciting fundraisers planned for 2008. The first fundraiser for the center will be a horse show, held March 29, at the Shelbyville Fairgrounds. The show provides classes for all disciplines and everyone is encouraged to come out and support the center. The showbill and further information can be found on the Ky Equine Humane Center’s website.
Other new programs at the center for 2008 include an internship program and seminars held in conjunction with the adoption day and open house every month. If you are interested in adopting a horse or volunteering at the center, contact Lori Neagle at 859-881-5849 or at mailto:info@KyEHC.org. You can also find more information on the programs the center offers on their website: www.kyehc.org.
